WWE: R-Truth Reveals Length of His Current WWE Contract, John Cena on Why Fan Response to His WWE Retirement Match was “Perfect”, Updated List of Indie Talents Invited for WWE Tryouts

R-Truth Reveals Length of His Current WWE Contract

As noted before, R-Truth made his surprise return to WWE at this past June’s Money in the Bank 2025 following him departing the company earlier that month after his contract was not renewed at the time.

TV Insider held a recent interview with R-Truth. One of the topics discussed included R-Truth revealing the length of his current contract with WWE.

“I signed a four-year deal with a three-year option. Again, that’s one of the things with the wrestling business. You’re going to have people that speculate and insinuate and throw things out there, but don’t know the back behind the story and the truth of it. It’s the same as Unreal. People are not going to know the exact truth of it, but you’re still going to have people on the outside going to give their truth, version, or take on it. Nick (Khan) and myself had talks. I also had talks with Hunter. Everything led me to being back at Money in the Bank. When I came back to Money in the Bank, that was a show of power, a show of humanity, a show of reading the room, listening, appreciation, and gratitude. There are so many things that came out of that moment and led from the phone call with Nick. It was all like a dream to me. It was surreal. I’m going through it, going through it, going through it to where I’m at right now.”

R-Truth also gave his thoughts about if he currently has retirement plans for his wrestling career.

“Definitely. Watching (John) Cena’s endgame gave me ideas about mine. I want to articulate mine creatively. Again, one of the greatest of all-time to ever do this. I learned a lot from him in the ring and out of it, one hill at a time. A lot of things I’ve said, I learned from Cena. I learned from his retirement that I want mine to go. We’re all on a ride. The ride stops at some point, and it was great seeing him have some control and go, ‘I want to get off right now.’ That’s what I want to do. I signed a four-year deal with a three-year option. The cutting of my hair was symbolizing a new beginning of the beginning. A lot of people thought they knew why I cut my hair. They didn’t know why I cut my hair. Nobody knew, but me. I talked to Hunter. I wanted to cut it way before then. I asked Hunter, ‘Can I do it now? Can I do it now?’ I had the right moment. I had the right eye. I had the world compelled. The world was watching me. Tupac, ‘All Eyez on Me.’ It was the right time to set the pace for a new beginning. By ending one, there is going to be a new one.”

R-Truth also gave his thoughts about who would be his choice for the final opponent in his wrestling career.

“The Miz (is who I’d want to face in my final match). I have a story with The Miz. I have an outside-the-ring story with The Miz. I have a relatable story with The Miz. The history. I remember when he first came here from The Real World. He is so underrated. The things I could do with him. I will have that with The Miz.”

---

John Cena Comments on Why Fan Response to His WWE Retirement Match was “Perfect”

A recent Fan Expo New Orleans event in New Orleans, Louisiana featured a Q&A panel featuring John Cena. One of the topics discussed included Cena’s thoughts about why the fan response to his retirement match against Gunther at this past December’s WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event show was “perfect.”

“Thank you [for reminding] me that you’re allowed to have your opinion, and thank you for not just conforming to a certain set of standards. Thank you for being vocal enough to express how you felt, because every moment can be a teachable moment. I put together — my job is to try to put together a story that I think you all will enjoy.

And when there’s critical opinion out there, I’m all ears. I don’t ignore the critics. I’m thankful for them for [Washington] D.C. and every match I had before that. And like I said, I guess a kind of parallel to my career, I think it was a perfect end. Because a whole lot of people thought it sucked, and a whole lot of people thought it was special. And that’s kind of been my story for 23 years. So I thought it was perfect.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com

---

Updated List of Indie Talents Invited for WWE Tryouts

As noted before, WWE is currently scheduled to hold new talent tryouts at their Performance Center in Orlando, Florida this week.

The Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez reported that the following is the full updated list of male and female indies talents who were invited for WWE’s new talent tryouts this week.

Men:

• Starboy Charlie (independent wrestler)
• Leon Lokombo (independent wrestler)
• Jack Pasquale (independent wrestler)
• Manny Lo (independent wrestler)
• Jeremiah Lakhwani (social media influencer from Bali, competed on Netflix reality series Physical: Asia)
• Blade Brown (independent wrestler)
• Ben Finneseth (college football)
• Jariel Rivera (independent wrestler)
• Bhupinder Gujjar (independent wrestler, former TNA talent)
• Tyler Jordan (independent wrestler)
• James Karnik (Canadian basketball player)
• Manny House (independent wrestler)
• Bruss Hamilton (independent wrestler, 2025 America’s Strongest Marine competition winner)

Women:

• Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana (independent talent)
• Elli Finch (track and field at Michigan State)
• KJ Johnson (gymnastics regional champion)
• Regina Tarin (Mexican MMA fighter)
• Casey Schaeoff (basketball, lacrosse, cross country)
• Sallie Grace (social media sports influencer)
• Alyssa Daniele (vlogger & snowboarder)