• John Cena Reveals The Real Reason He Didn’t Retire At WrestleMania
On the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast, John Cena explained the decision to retire on Saturday Night’s Main Event in December instead of WWE’s biggest event, WrestleMania:
“Retiring at WrestleMania is selfish. It doesn’t do anything for the business. We retire in December, our weakest month, and we take the middle of December, the dry zone, that desert from the end of Survivor Series to the beginning of the Rumble, we put it like right in the middle of December, because I know once you do the holiday tour, the houses will come back. You guys will make money.”
According to new Pollstar data provided by Post Wrestling, John Cena’s retirement match drew $6.55 million in ticket sales.
This sets a new record for the highest arena gate (revenue from ticket sales) in wrestling history. 17,121 tickets were sold for Cena’s final match, with the average price being $383.
The previous record for the highest arena gate was held by RAW’s Netflix premiere episode in 2025, which had a gate of $4.9 million.
• Emmy-Winning Actor Confirmed To Play Mick Foley In New Series
An Emmy-winning actor and a wrestling icon are finally teaming up to bring a legendary life story to the screen. Paul Walter Hauser has officially confirmed that he is attached to star as WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley in a new limited series currently in development.
While the project has not yet been picked up by a network, the announcement marks a major milestone for a collaboration that Hauser and Foley have discussed privately for years. Speaking with The Stunner, Hauser revealed that the series is moving beyond the concept phase and is preparing to head to market.
Rather than a standard highlight reel of Foley’s most dangerous stunts, the production aims to pull back the curtain on the man behind the character. Hauser emphasized that the goal is to humanize the subject.
The focus will be on the “Mick Foley story” as a whole, rather than just a retelling of his time as Mankind, Cactus Jack, or Dude Love. Hauser hopes to infuse the role with his own personality to showcase the warmth and depth of Foley’s real-life character.
Hauser is uniquely qualified for the role; not only is he a critically acclaimed actor, but he is also a fixture in the wrestling industry. In addition to his on-screen success, he currently serves as an executive producer for MLW and frequently competes on the independent wrestling circuit.
