Fantasy Booking John Cena's Road to WWE WrestleMania 41

John Cena's retirement tour is officially underway, and there's no telling how many twists and turns it'll take throughout the year.

His first stop in Los Angeles for Monday's WWE Raw on Netflix premiere saw him declare entry for the upcoming men's Royal Rumble match, automatically making him the odds-on early favorite to win the whole thing.

Doing so would earn the 47-year-old the opportunity to advance to one of the two WrestleMania 41 main events in Las Vegas on April 19-20 and challenge for either the Undisputed WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship.

Despite Cena claiming that his ultimate goal in his final run is not to hold gold one more time, it's what a majority of fans want to see. It'd also make for the strongest story before he calls it a career at the conclusion of 2025.

The veteran has been linked with a high-profile matchup at The Show of Shows recently, but whether a world championship would be on the line remains to be seen and entirely depends on what his Road to WrestleMania entails.

Between now and the two-night April extravaganza, this is what WWE should have in store for Cena based purely on fantasy booking.

After the emotional promo Cena cut on Monday's Raw, the belief among fans is that he will win the men's Rumble match and cement his spot in one of the two WrestleMania main events, most likely against Cody Rhodes.

WWE already hypes Cena as "the greatest of all time" and a third Rumble victory would be yet another accolade for the company to boast about, as it would tie him with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin for most Rumbles won ever.

However, reigning supreme in the Rumble would be too easy of an obstacle for Cena to overcome. He needs more adversity as he enters the twilight of his in-ring career, and winning the famed Battle Royal on Feb. 1 is too predictable of a path to take.

Cena's story will be a captivating one to follow during the Rumble, but the win should ideally go to someone who hasn't won it before, especially following Rhodes' second-straight victory last year.

His elimination will put tremendous heat on whoever's responsible for taking him out, and that person doesn't necessarily have to be his eventual opponent at WrestleMania 41.

If Cena truly wants to work his way back up to championship contention, losing at the Rumble would be a fitting start.

Once Cena fails in his pursuit of winning the Royal Rumble, all eyes will turn to Elimination Chamber, which has historically offered a second chance for competitors to punch their ticket to WrestleMania by way of the same-titled match.

It's unknown if Cena would be willing to endure the pain and punishment that comes with wrestling in the sadistic structure at this stage of his career, but he did take part in one as recently as 2018 and won three other installments in 2006, 2010 and 2011.

Cena could look at the Chamber as alternative route to securing a WrestleMania match. A victory at the March 1 event in Toronto is possible, but again, he should be unsuccessful.

The Cenation Leader stressed in his Raw promo that he hasn't had his hand raised in a singles bout in nearly 2,500 days. Thus, his next major victory should come in a one-on-one scenario, not in a multi-man matchup such as the Rumble or the Chamber.

The Chamber could be where his WrestleMania adversary is determined, and of the countless options available, one makes more sense than most.

Drew McIntyre is essentially the man without a match at WrestleMania 41 as of now.

Of course, nothing is yet set in stone for The Show of Shows, but multiple matches have been speculated about and McIntyre isn't involved in almost any of them.

The Scottish Warrior is coming off the best year of his career, from both a promo and character standpoint. Additionally, he had a slew of stellar matches with the likes of CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Damian Priest and therefore belongs in a marquee match in Vegas.

As part of his ongoing war with The O.G. Bloodline, a match with Roman Reigns at the event would be logical, but that doesn't currently appear to be in the cards. That said, facing Cena instead would be a perfectly suitable consolation prize.

Cena and McIntyre have shared the squared circle before in tag team and multi-man matches, but never one-on-one. The Scot should want to make the biggest possible impact at WrestleMania if only out of frustration, and Cena is the quintessential target with the sheer amount of buzz surrounding him right now.

If built up properly, nothing needs to be up for grabs for this match to feel like a big deal.

Rey Mysterio and Paul Heyman's recent inductions into the WWE Hall of Fame proved active talent are eligible to be enshrined. There's no reason for Cena to be an exception.

If 2025 in WWE is going to largely revolve around the former franchise player, it's only appropriate that he takes his rightful place among the immortals in the WWE Hall of Fame on the eve of his final outing on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

With the many allies and enemies Cena has made throughout his tenure in WWE, there's no shortage of Superstars who could do the honors of inducting him, though Randy Orton stands out as the most obvious option.

WWE typically doesn't begin to announce the upcoming class for the Hall of Fame until after Elimination Chamber, but Cena would be the headliner. Making WrestleMania weekend Cena-centric would be a welcome addition to his retirement tour.

Once inducted, every match he has from that point forward would be that much more meaningful.

WrestleMania 41 should be where Cena finally breaks his losing streak in singles matches. Winning a world title doesn't have to be a 'Mania moment when it can be saved for later in the year with more buildup.

In any other instance, Cena beating McIntyre would be blasphemous. As a wrestler, Cena is several notches below where he once was whereas McIntyre is in the prime of his career. It would be much more realistic for the Scot to run through the veteran with ease and pick up the decisive victory.

Cena must channel his inner "Super Cena" heading into the last stretch of his career, starting at The Show of Shows. That isn't to say he should squash McIntyre, but the story can be that he's an aging veteran who needs to be pushed to his limit—as he was at his peak—in order to reach those same heights again.

As an established main eventer, McIntyre loses nothing in defeat, especially against an icon of Cena's caliber. He can dominate a majority of the drama-filled match before the WWE icon digs deep to eek out the win.

From there, Cena can continue his winning ways en route to breaking the record and becoming a 17-time world champion in the latter half of 2025.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.