“You guys didn’t like me when I showed up, because I’m out there with the frickin’ Rock. … But you allowed me to speak as one of you, and in a matter of 15 minutes, you changed,” Cena said. “I felt like I was at home, and I’ll never, ever forget that.”

Cena kicked off his WWE farewell tour in January, and will make a stop in Springfield Sept. 15. The location for his retirement match in December is yet to be announced.

“The last match is coming up. We’ve got 11 dates left,” Cena said. “Hopefully we’re going to swing through Boston, that’d be great.”

When asked why he decided to retire, the 48-year-old wrestler said it was the right choice to make at this stage of his career.

“I feel a little bit slower,” Cena said. “I’m not as strong as I was, and I look at all the current superstars, and there’s a ton of them. There’s really good talent. They have earned the right to have their 25 years.”

He added, “So how does it feel to come to an end? It feels honest, because it feels like it is time.”

During the event, Cena told the audience about his favorite places in Massachusetts. Cena picked Route 1 mainstay Kowloon as the state’s top restaurant. The wrestler also shouted out Amesbury’s Hard Nock’s Gym and its founder, Dave Nock, for setting him on the right path.

“I needed a father figure, a mentor, in my life around the age of 15, and it was very influential,” Cena said. “It molded my values.”

Cena revealed that he visits West Newbury “multiple times a year,” as his family still lives there, and gets back to Boston during the holidays to “cause some trouble.”

“I got my spots that I love around here, but if I tell them to you, you’re going to crash my party,” Cena said.

Ryan Yau can be reached at ryan.yau@globe.com.