John Cena is being pretty blunt about this: he doesn't have a ton of time left in WWE.
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In an interview with Complex, Cena talked about his time in WWE and openly admitted that he knows his days in the company are "numbered".
"The reason that I wanted to be a free agent and the reason they kind of granted my request is because I don't know if I'll be available for Smackdown specific only or Raw specific only, and I also know that my days are numbered. I just turned 40 in April and we have so many young and talented performers, I don't know how many years I have left. So in the time I have left, I'm gonna do what I can to dedicate to this company I just want to be able to do it the most time that I possibly can."
Cena just turned 40, and his time away from WWE has increased in recent years as he has started have more ventures into film and other television. Cena is by far WWE's biggest box office draw in terms of television ratings, and it looks like the company really needs to prepare for Cena's permanent absence sooner rather than later.
Cena is a 16-time world champion in WWE, making him one of the most prolific champions in the company's history. Cena is currently on the company's SmackDown Live brand, but as Cena and WWE have mentioned, he is treated as a "free agent" and could appear on Monday Night RAW at any time.