Saturday Night’s Main Event: John Cena’s Final Match featured one the most compelling in-ring matches the men in WWE have produced in years (probably since the Avengers: Endgame ending at Wrestlemania a few years ago).
And we sit here with a WWE Universe that is up in arms, infuriated by the finish of the main event. The main event that was the reason there was a capacity crowd in Washington DC on a Satruday night two weeks before Christmas and the reason so many people — even the most casual WWE fans (like myself) — tuned in for.
The goal for the evening, based on the card, was two-fold: celebrate the life and career of John Cena, and introduce the WWE Universe to the next generation of superstars that the company hopes will fill the sneakers that “Mr. Hustle, Loyalty and Respect” left in the middle of the ring on a cold Saturday night in December.
Was this mission accomplished?
Well, depends on how you look at it.
If you were watching this show and expecting a fairytale ending for “Big Match John” then you were one of the countless people incensed by the man who never gives up … giving up. From a professional wrestling standpoint, a veteran who is leaving a territory or retiring should almost always “go out on their back” aka lose their final match. Now, there are exceptions to the rule, a la Sting and Darby Allin winning at AEW Revolution against The Young Bucks in 2024. Sting not only won, but he retired from AEW undefeated and as a champion.
Again, this is the exception not the rule. However, WWE has never really had a full-blown retirement run in its modern history. We’ve seen stipulations send Shawn Michaels, Goldberg and Ric Flair into retirement while injuries and health put an unceremonious end (at the time) to Edge, Triple H and Bryan Danielson. So, outside of Dave Bautista telling Triple H to “give me what I want” with his final match, there’s really never been a “run” like this one. Hogan, Piper, Savage, Undertaker, Warrior, Andre, Austin, Rock, Bruno never had a farewell tour. And let’s face it, Cena’s retirement has not been the best.
The epic heel turn, which may have been one of the most audacious creative decisions of the Triple H regime, was magical … and we’ll likely never talk about it again due to bad creative, and bad timing, and probably egos and malarkey. Then we had the face turn, which was good … but ultimately kind of bland. There were small moments of glory, but a bit of too little, too late. The question we have to ask, and likely can’t answer right now is “Who benefited most from this retirement tour?” The cynical, but also honest answer would be that the WWE and their bank account (as well as John Cena’s) benefited greatly from this retirement tour. However, you have to wonder, has anyone else benefitted?
The answer, we hope, is Gunther. Hence, the second thing WWE needed to accomplish.
The match between “The Ring General” and “The Doctor of Thuganomics” was near perfect. Gunther, who has not had the greatest 2025 (in particular due to that tepid loss to Jey Uso), reminded the world why he is one of, if not the best in-ring professional wrestler in the world right now. On this night, he was every bit the classic monster heel that has terrorized babyfaces for generations, and John Cena played the perfect babyface in peril. Cena made everything Gunther did look like it was the most devastating move on the face of the planet. Meanwhile, Gunther sold all of Cena’s moves with shock, incredulity, and bewilderment. This match was the literal textbook David vs. Goliath match. To the point where even this near 40+ year fan of wrestling, despite his own predictions, thought Cena could win the match.
And with this win, Gunther should now be considered a legend killer, a beast, and most importantly, an important figure in WWE, for when he does lose the big one, the victor earns the respect, adulation and popularity they deserve from slaying this giant.
Yet, the audience does not seem to be hip to this win. On social media so many complained about Gunther being nearly 40, and how beating Cena would help the business. Also, many people after the match viciously booed Gunther (and went after him outside the arena), and then loudly told Triple how they really felt. They hated this finish. They hated his creative. They feel he dropped the ball and that he absolutely fucked up.
But, doesn’t it make sense that Cena lost? Well, yes of course it did. WWE was trying to make Gunther a made man, while also highlighting young talent on this show. It’s all wonderfully logical and smart from a business perspective. However, Suit Williams of Voices of Wrestling has this excellent point “…When you teach your audience to value MOMENTS over telling actual stories, which they didn’t bother to do for this match, you get them turning on the company for doing the objectively smarter decision.”
Williams correctly cites that the WWE audience does not care about what’s best for the future of WWE, because – let’s face it – how many times has WWE made decisions that are in direct opposition to that exacrlt theory. How many up-and-comers were kneecapped to keep the likes of Roman, Triple H, Brock and at times even John Cena “strong.” Like … did it make any sense for Brock Lesnar to destroy John Cena at Wrestlepalooza? Nope!
So if WWE hasn’t cared, why should the fans? These are the fans who are either your everyday ride or dies, or casuals wrapping themselves in the warm nostalgia of this Cena retirement. They’re the ones who are throwing up one finger for Roman Reigns, signing Cody Rhodes’ theme song, yeeting, and likely own one or more Cena “the time is now” towels. And given the prices for premium tickets to this event … people do not give a damn about tomorrow. They’re living for the moment, the payoff, that moment of euphoria in a time where the world kicks so many people in the teeth. They want their hero to conquer evil one last time, and they don’t get it. It’s not unreasonable.
Now, let’s talk about the rest of the show, and wonder if WWE accomplished the mission of getting the next generation in front of the eyes of so many, and getting them over.
Champion vs. Champion – Non-Title Match: “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes (WWE Universal Champion) vs. “The Ruler” Oba Femi (NXT World Champion)
WWE loves showing “candid” videos of Triple H choreographing entrances for WWE and NXT talent. Listen, it was the only thing he ever did well that didn’t involve him doing a coast-to-coast run of the razor with Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, or Mick Foley. This is the embodiment of those videos. Oba Femi looked like an absolute, print money, Wrestlemania headliner star when he came out. The way the entrance was shot, his music, the lasers, etc. lead to a huge pop.
After that, the match was fairly pedestrian. Oba got a couple big man spots. Cody hit a couple signature spots, but he looked a little off (chalking that up to the emotion of the night). The finish with Drew McIntyre coming in and slowly “laying waste” to Cody, thus extending their never-ending and heatless feud, was an absolute fart in church ending, and the crowd responded in kind.
Oba Femi is a future star, but this match didn’t do much to elevate him.
Bayley with Lyra Valkyria vs. Sol Ruca with Zaria
The second pass the torch match of the night was definitely better than the first, but also exposed the talent they wanted to get over.
Sol Ruca has really found her character, and a connection with the audiences of NXT. Her storyline with Zaria has been a nice slow burn (but can we trust it’ll pay off?) However, the main knock on her is that she is still a bit raw, and needs in-ring seasoning. This match proved that. Bayley worked her tail off selling for Sol, and helping her through the match. Ruca had some impressive spots, like really impressive. However, there still needs to be work done when it comes to piecing everything together, and that was very obvious here. The Sol Snatcher got the crowd going, but Sol’s time is not now. And if WWE decides to have the main roster push for her soon, it could backfire.
The Miz, R-Truth, and Joe Hendry Segment
A nice little segment. The Miz, correctly, is pissed that he was ignored throughout John Cena’s retirement tour. And let’s face it, Miz hasn’t exactly had a ton of TV time in 2025 either. The promo he cut was solid, and that leads to the requisite gaga fest. R-Truth comes out dressed like John Cena. Hey! Remember that time the WWE fired R-Truth after a Saturday Night’s Main Event earlier this year, the wrestling world got pissed, they resigned him, and then R-Truth returned as Ron Killings, cut his hair off and was going to be a serious character. Oh, we remember. And to see him back being a goof ball, shows that maybe the WWE’s chants of “You Fucked Up” at Triple H isn’t unwarranted.
Then came the requisite Joe Hendry moment. As someone who’s watched Hendry work since ICW in Scotland about a decade ago, it’s wonderful to see him on the main stage. However, this meme gimmick isn’t for me. The audience loves it. They believe. They love the head turn. They sing the song. It’s great that the audience loves him. Also, thankfully, the WWE audience does not remember when Randy Orton and WWE creative made him look like an absolute geek at Wrestlemania this year. Remember moments, not stories.
WWE World Tag Team Title Match: “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. “The Young OG” Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater (TNA X-Division Champion):
If you hate on AEW tag team matches, but you love this or if you hate on this match, but love AEW tag team matches — you’re a tribalistic jerk, and not an actual fan of pro wrestling.
The biggest complaint this writer has with this match is that it was way too rushed. Give this one a few more minutes, and maybe a bit more build, and we’re talking about a definite Match of the Year candidate. It didn’t, but had it not been for the main event, this would’ve easily been the Match of the Night. These four went all out for this one, and it was a joy to watch. The person who got the most shine here was Leon Slater. He came out to deafening silence, and left a name for the WWE fans to see more of (and they will because let’s face it he’s gonna be signed by WWE as soon as humanly possible). Je’Von Evans is a definite star, but WWE is allergic to allowing him to win, ever.
Dragon Lee didn’t have that many moments to shine, which he likely should’ve, but he made the most of his minutes. AJ Styles, meanwhile, reminded everyone why we’re going to miss him once he retires.
In closing: Saturday Night’s Main Event: John Cena’s Final Match was probably one of the best WWE shows in a long time. It helped get new faces over (to varying degrees), there was some really good wrestling, and a fantastic main event. However, this statement comes for a casual fan. Diehard fans may disagree, especially with the main event outcome. Please keep boo-ing Triple H’s creative, though. He needs to be held accountable by this fanbase.
Now, it’s going to be weird living in a world where John Cena is not an active WWE competitor. However, the table has been set, at least in part, for young talent to step up. We’ll have to see if WWE can capitalize on it though.
