WrestleMania 41 -- John Cena's most memorable WrestleMania matches - ESPN

Farewell tours have become commonplace in American sports, as legendary athletes are literally and figuratively given their flowers as they play out their final season. And that's the chapter we've entered in the WWE career of John Cena.

After more than 20 years in professional wrestling, as a 16-time (for now) world champion and the most recognizable mainstream wrestling star since Dwayne «The Rock» Johnson, Cena announced last July that he would be retiring from in-ring action at the end of 2025. Cena's ride into the sunset is a little bit different from those of his traditional sports counterparts; Major League Baseball's Cal Ripken Jr. and Mariano Rivera never got to low blow any of their rivals to set up a shot at going out on top on the biggest stage in their business.

It has been more than 20 years since Cena's first WrestleMania match, and more than 10 years since the last time he vied for the WWE championship on wrestling's grandest stage. Cena is set to headline WrestleMania 41, closing out a weekend of action at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas against Cody Rhodes with a chance at a record-setting 17th world title.

The last chapter of Cena's story has been built upon every story that came before it — each rival leaving their mark. And so, before Cena dons his jean shorts for one final trip down a giant WrestleMania ramp, let's look back at 10 WrestleMania matches that have shaped Cena's legacy — with insights from five of Cena's WrestleMania opponents over the past 20 years: Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, The Miz, JBL and Austin Theory.

Cena is trying to make history this weekend, but there's a strong argument that he has done as much as any WWE superstar to shape the history of the United States championship,