For some, the 2025 Royal Rumble served as a catapult to the next level of their respective careers. For 16-time world champion John Cena, it marked his last in-ring appearance at the premium live event, as he plans to retire at the end of the year. On a recent episode of "Busted Open Radio," WWE alumni Tommy Dreamer evaluated the performance Cena put forth, especially with it being his final Royal Rumble outing.

"John Cena gave us one last Royal Rumble moment," Dreamer said. "We're never seeing it ever again. He went out there and told us a great story and endorsed the next John Cena, which a lot of guys don't do. But we saw this amazing performance from this guy who was the face of the company that we're never gonna see again."

"Just like you got to understand for the Elimination Chamber, [it] will be John Cena's last Elimination Chamber, and you need to appreciate that," Dreamer continued. "When baseball players announce their retirement, they go to all these different cities. they make a big deal of it. This was his last Royal Rumble you're ever going to see, and he went out the way a true superstar goes out."

In his 30-minute Men's Royal Rumble showing, Cena eliminated Logan Paul, Braun Strowman, and Finn Balor before coming face-to-face with Jey Uso. The faceoff between Uso and Cena saw a memorable image of the latter dangling from the apron, with one of his feet nearly touching the floor. While initially able to recompose himself, Cena was knocked off the apron moments later, signaling Uso as the winner of the match.