Ric Flair Sets “The Record Straight” On John Cena Breaking His World Championship Record

Almost as soon as 16-time world champion John Cena announced that he was retiring at the end of 2025, fans began to speculate about the possibility of having one final championship reign, meaning he would individually hold the record. Subsequently, this would be brought up to the current record co-holder, Ric Flair, during a recent episode of Busted Open, where he said he said he was OK with Cena doing this. Still, he personally hoped that his daughter Charlotte, who is a 14-time women’s world champion, would be the one to beat his record.

And now, to ensure his opinion was accurately communicated, he has taken to X to “ set the record straight for the final time ,” noting that he would be the first person to shake Cena’s hand if he breaks the record.

“There Has Been Way Too Much Attention Brought To This. Let’s Just Set The Record Straight For The Final Time. My First Choice Would Obviously Be The Queen Charlotte Flair. I Think The World Of My Friend John Cena, Who Is An Incredible Athlete & Genuine Person! I Will Be The First Person To Shake His Hand & Congratulate Him If He Breaks My Record As I Would For Anybody Who Would Break It. When That Day Comes, It Will Be An Honor! WOOOOO!”

While Ric Flair is recognized as a 16-time world champion by WWE, technically, he could be listed as up to a 25-time world champion. This is because, on multiple occasions, Flair would drop the title and subsequently win it back within a day or two while touring, and as it usually never aired on television, it wasn’t officially recognized. And while Flair has previously said that he considers himself a 21-time world champion, over the years he has seemingly settled on WWE’s number.