John Cena revealed the city his current peers believe have the WWE’s best crowd as he gets ready to appear there shortly.
John Cena Names Greatest Crowd in WWE History for Current Roster originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
John Cena is preparing to step into a WWE ring located in France later this month, and the 17-time world champion revealed an interesting nugget about WWE crowds home and abroad on Thursday.
Judging by what his peers have told him, Cena already knows what to expect from the fans set to attend the upcoming WWE events at Lyon, France.
Speaking on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" while promoting the second season of "Peacemaker," Cena said his peers have labeled the Lyon audience the “greatest crowd in WWE history,” one that the legendary wrestler will get to enjoy by himself for the first time in his career.
WWE’s most recent major event in the French town, Backlash, took place in May 2024 and drew better reviews for the crowd's intensity than the actual wrestling.
John Cena says that the current roster calls Lyon, France the greatest crowd in WWE history.
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) August 14, 2025
(via @FallonTonight) pic.twitter.com/wa5ZUNwuLe
“All the stuff I've ever done in my career—I've had 17 championships. I've been around the world a hundred times..." Cena said. "I've never heard the so-called 'greatest crowd in WWE history,' and it's supposedly in Lyon."
John Cena's Lyon Appearance Is Part of Farewell Tour
Cena is scheduled to appear on the August 29 episode of Friday Night SmackDown in Lyon, just two days before facing Logan Paul at Clash in Paris.
The stop is part of Cena's farewell tour, which will conclude in Dec. 2025 with his final match in a potentially controversial move by the WWE.
The 48-year-old has said his focus is on making the tour special for both fans and the business, leaving WWE “better than I found it,” and making it clear he won't be the one choosing his final opponent.
“It is [John] Cena and Brock Lesnar on September 20th. I think that's very clear now. And that's going to go head to head with All Out in Toronto. And you know what the effects of there are, we don't know.
— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) August 14, 2025
The one thing we do know is that for, you know, All In: Texas, it didn't… pic.twitter.com/uQmUhHQe4T
While WWE has not confirmed any future Cena matchups beyond Paris, insider Dave Meltzer has reported that Cena will meet Brock Lesnar at a September premium live event in Toronto.
"It is [John] Cena and Brock Lesnar on September 20th," Metzler reported. "I think that's very clear now."
For Cena, the Lyon crowd represents an opportunity to cross off a career first at the tail end of it, while testing himself in front of fans with a growing reputation as bona fide wrestling supporters outside of the USA.
Related: Dave Meltzer Reveals Rumored WWE Strategy to Take Down AEW
Related: "A Little Disappointed": Logan Paul Didn't Hold Back on His Opinion of John Cena
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
