John Cena turned babyface again to feud with Logan Paul. (Credit: Cooper Neil/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE via Getty Images
WWE Clash in Paris 2025 pitted John Cena against Logan Paul in one of the last matches of the 17-time world champion’s legendary career.
Weeks after Cena officially turned babyface following a failed five-month stint as a heel, he found himself opposite arguably WWE’s biggest villain in Paul. Two weeks ago on SmackDown, the two stars engaged in a stellar promo battle that turned this brief feud into a red hot one at the drop of a dime.
With Cena no longer in the WWE title picture or booked as a villain opposite Cody Rhodes, WWE Clash in Paris 2025 marked his first babyface vs. heel match this year.
WWE Clash in Paris 2025 Results for John Cena vs. Logan Paul
WWE Clash in Paris 2025 demonstrated why Cena’s short-lived heel turn failed so miserably. The man is a babyface through and through, and inside the Paris La Défense Arena, he showed exactly why that’s the case.
Capping off a back-and-forth match that had the crowd on the edges of their seats, Cena got back in the win column when he hit Paul with a pair of AAs, finally putting “The Maverick” down after Cena’s second straight stellar PLE match.
As expected, Cena and Paul tore the house down in Paris. Here are some of the notable happening from their first-ever, and likely last-ever, match between Paul and Cena.
- The crowd, as expected, went absolutely berserk for Cena’s final match in Europe as “The Champ” made his entrance.
- Early on, Paul unloaded on Cena with some punches to the gut in the corner. Cena fought back and hit a monkey flip on Paul, who landed on his feet, showing off his incredible athleticism. Paul missed an uppercut and Cena responded with a hard-hitting clothesline.
- Paul was able to hit a blockbuster off the middle rope followed by a delayed vertical suplex. The crowd serenaded Cena as he attempted to come back. Paul briefly ended the chants with a gutwrench suplex and a leaping uppercut in the corner.
- Cena came exploding out of the corner with another big clothesline to level the playing field. Cena hit his traditional shoulder tackle comeback and then the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He went for the Attitude Adjustment, but Paul wiggled out and onto the apron and hit a buckshot lariat for two.
- Paul attempted his Paul from Grace frog splash from the top rope, Cena got his knees up and then hit the AA, but Paul kicked out at two. Paul was able to lock in the octopus submission, Cena picked him up and went for the AA, Paul rolled through, Cena got out, and then Cena locked in the STF.
- Paul got to the rope to break the hold, Cena dragged him into the ring and then leaped off the middle rope for a tornado DDT for another close two-count.
- Cena hoisted Paul on his shoulders again, but Paul avoided an AA and hit an overbomb on Cena. Moments later, Cena mounted another comeback, but Paul was able to hit a Zig Zag to stop Cena’s momentum.
- Cena planted Paul with a modified flatliner similar to Baron Corbin’s End of Days. Again, Cena attempted an AA, Paul escaped, and climbed to the top, hitting a Swanton Bomb and a standing moonsault.
- Paul missed a running uppercut in the corner, then Cena hit a sitout facebuster, again for a two-count. Cena and Paul exchanged strikes as the crowd responded with boos and cheers. Paul put an end to the exchange with a pop-up uppercut that barely glanced Cena.
- Making a mockery of Cena, Paul hit Cena’s own comeback on “The Champ” and went for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but took too long and Cena responded with an AA for the closest nearfall of the match. The two stars again exchanged a series of blows, ended by a hurricanrana and a Code Red from Cena.
- Cena attempted yet another AA, Paul grabbed the top rope and then hit Cena with a devastating right-handed punch for a two-count once again. Paul finally connected with the Paul from Grace splash not once but twice. Cena still kicked out at two.
- Paul hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle and attempted an AA, Cena rolled through and hit a Styles Clash as the crowd went bonkers. But Paul somehow kicked out one more time. Cena lifted Paul onto the top rope, went for an avalanche AA and was knocked off the rope. Paul attempted a crossbody block, Cena caught him and rolled through into an AA.
- Cena hit an AA and then another. Finally, that was enough for the three-count and the win.
Cena now has fewer than four months left in his WWE career, with his retirement match taking place on Dec. 13 at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
WWE Clash in Paris 2025 Results: What’s Next for John Cena and Logan Paul?
After Cena’s win at WWE Clash in Paris, “The Champ” is likely hopping from one massive feud to another.
Following Brock Lesnar’s shocking return and subsequent attack on Cena at SummerSlam, WWE is reportedly planning on booking Cena vs. Lesnar at next month’s WrestlePalooza. The blockbuster event will be the first major Premium Live Event for WWE on ESPN, the start of a huge partnership between the two sports entertainment juggernauts.
Lesnar vs. Cena is one of the biggest possible matches WWE could book on that show, which will have the whole sports world watching as WWE begins it new era. There is already reportedly some disagreement in WWE about who should win that match, with Lesnar looking to secure his first WWE win in a couple of years and Cena looking to continue his momentum as a fan favorite.
As Cena moves on to Lesnar, Paul’s immediate future is less clear.
Of course, it’s a bright future, regardless. Cena has frequently sung Paul’s praises, and on SmackDown two weeks ago, he labeled Paul as both a future world champion and a surefire WrestleMania main eventer. Love Paul or hate him, he’s demonstrated during his feud with Cena that he’s indeed world champion material both in the ring and on the microphone.
WWE, however, doesn’t have a lot of options for Paul’s next feud if “The Maverick” remains on SmackDown. One option is SmackDown’s newest acquisition Sami Zayn, but with Zayn winning the United States Championship last week, a title previously held by Paul, that would be a step backward for him.
Other potential opponents include Damian Priest or Cody Rhodes, but WWE doesn’t appear to be in a rush to elevate Paul to the WWE Championship scene. Following Paul’s WWE Clash in Paris, look for the uber-talented star to briefly disappear from WWE programming before returning for a feud with Priest or Zayn on Friday nights.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakeoestriecher/2025/08/31/wwe-clash-in-paris-2025-results-as-john-cena-beats-logan-paul-in-instant-classic/
