If you watched Raw Talk after the WWE's No Mercy pay-per-view ended, then you saw the show close with an interview with John Cena. Cena was very open and candid about his loss to Roman Reigns, and you could tell that it was hitting the 16-time champion that his role in the company was changing.

It was always the plan to pass Reigns the torch. WWE has been building Reigns for years now, and while Cena was a full-time active member of the WWE roster, some would argue that there wasn't room for two "top dogs" in the company. Cena recently turned 40 years old, he's taking on more Hollywood projects and he's openly admitted, he'll have trouble continuing at the pace he's set over the last 15 years.

When Cena was interviewed by Jerry Lawler and Renee Young, they asked some very direct questions. Cena didn't shy away from answering them either.

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Lawler directly came out and asked Cena if he'd be retiring. After walking out of No Mercy on the losing end of his match with Reigns, Cena spoke privately to Reigns and left the ringside area to chants of "thank you, Cena" by the WWE fans in attendance. As a result, Lawler's question seemed to have merit.

Cena did not respond by saying he thinks he'll retire, but that he views his role in the WWE differently and that his schedule will change. He compared himself to a strange version of the Batman character. When the WWE shines the signal, Cena will come running.

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While the WWE Universe hasn't been shy about letting Cena know how they feel and that they're looking for a new "leading man" to march the company forward, fans will realize quickly what it means when Cena is really gone. It sounds like the WWE and its fans are about to find out.

He's not retiring, but he's not going to be the same John Cena fans have been watching for the past 15 years.