John Cena has paid tribute to The Miz after the WWE veteran celebrated 20 years since making his SmackDown debut.

The Miz officially arrived on the blue brand in September 2006, defeating Tatanka in a match taped on August 29 and broadcast days later.

Cena marked the milestone with a heartfelt message, praising his longtime rival as an example for younger wrestlers.

“Respect is earned. You earned mine a long time ago,” Cena wrote. “Each sunset makes it far more difficult for most anyone else to deny theirs. Congratulations on an incredible 20 years! You ARE the example I consistently bring up to young talent of effort & turning anything into entertaining!”

Cena and The Miz share a lengthy history, including their WWE Championship main event at WrestleMania 27 in 2011. The Miz had hoped to face Cena one final time during his retirement tour, but the match never came together.

However, he appeared during Cena’s retirement show and later shared the screen with him at WrestleMania 42, where Cena served as host.

Celebrating his anniversary, the 45-year-old Miz made it clear that his WWE journey is far from over. He is set to team with Kit Wilson against Bakusai members Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki on Friday’s SmackDown.

Cena retired from in-ring competition in December 2025 and now serves as a WWE ambassador. He also recently teased progress on the planned John Cena Classic, an All-Star-style event featuring talent from WWE’s main roster and NXT.

“Normally, I want to say, ‘We’re figuring out the details.’ I’ll say this: we have all the details,” Cena said. “You just gotta hang in there with me, because they want me to keep it a secret until it’s time to say it. But we got a lot of information we’re going to dump on you. It just ain’t going to be today. I’m very excited about it. I really am, I really am excited.”

Respect is earned. You earned mine a long time ago. Each sunset makes it far more difficult for most anyone else to deny theirs. Congratulations on an incredible 20 years! You ARE the example I consistently bring up to young talent of effort & turning anything into entertaining! https://t.co/uVwLw0IvmG

, John Cena (@JohnCena) September 2, 2026