John Cena’s final WWE match is upon us and his retirement tour is coming to a close at Saturday Night’s main event in Washington D.C.
Let’s get into the results:
Cody Rhodes def. Oba Femi via DQ after Drew McIntyre interferes
Sol Ruca def. Bayley
AJ Styles and Dragon Lee def. Leon Slater and Je’Von Evans
Gunther def. John Cena.
Notes:
Rhodes busted his ear open after taking a closeline over the announce table. The match ended when Drew McIntyre interfered to attack Rhodes, but Oba Femi was not going to let that happen. The NXT champion stopped the beating and allowed Rhodes to get back up. Once dealt with, Rhodes and Femi raised each others hands.
A video package with several superstars paying homage to Cena, including a teary CM Punk airs before a little stats graphic that says Cena has had 726 televised matches as of tonight. He had 2,241 overall.
WWE packed in some names at ringside including Mark Henry, Even Torres, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Tris Stratus and Sami Zayn.
Dragon Lee took a look of offence from Leon Slater and Je’Von Evans as they showcased their high-flying styles. Michael Cole also wrongly said Slater was from Bedford, England but luckily for him, Wade Barrett was quick to correct him that it’s actually Bradford.
“This is awesome” chants rang out during this match. Slater delivered a 450 swanton bomb which is frankly freakish athleticism. AJ Styles uncharacteristically botched, slipping on the top rope when he was going to a phenomenal forearm.
However, he caught Slater jumping off the top rope in a powerbomb position and put him into a Styles Clash for the win.
The Miz turned up complaining he wasn’t getting respect for beating Cena in the main event of WrestleMania. R-Truth turned up, told Miz that he cheated someone out of an opportunity in the Last Time is Now tournament and passed him the ball.
The name? Joe Hendry. Say his name and he appears! Hendry and Truth put the beat down on The Miz and Truth, for some reason, count the 1-2-3 for Hendry.
Predictably, the crowd went absolutely mental for Cena’s entrance. Cena greeted some legends at ringside which included Kevin Owens, Haku, Booker T and Elias!
And now, to Cena. As predicted, Gunther dominated large parts of the matchup so Cena could play the brave underdog that he has done so well his entire career.
They got into the heavy moves quite quickly which suggested this wasn’t going to go as long as some might like. Cena went through his five move of dooms twice – with only one AA – as his flurries interrupted Gunther simply beating him down with strikes.
Cena reversing Gunther’s sleeper into one of his own got a huge pop from the crowd. Gunther continued just beating him down but Cena scored the biggest moment of the match with an AA through the announce table from steel steps.
A leg drop from the top rope followed which prompted “you still got it” chants for Cena. Even an AA from the top rope could not get the job done on Gunther.
After Gunther spent a good five minutes trying to put Cena to bed with a sleeper, Cena managed to land another AA, but Gunther kicked out and then immediately locked in yet another sleeper.
Eventually, with almost a smile on his face, tapped out. The cameras showed several children and adults crying in the crowd and they chanted “bullshit” as Gunther celebrated.
Cena eventually rose to his feet to chants of “thank you Cena”. Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and a whole host of production staff and superstars came to the ring to celebrate Cena. CM Punk and Cody Rhodes put their titles on the legend.
As Cena celebrates, a fantastic video package airs celebrating his career whole he watches on in the ring.
He left his wrist bands and trainers in the ring to signify the end and then headed to the top of the isle to soak in the love one last time.
Analysis:
Good choice opening with Oba Femi and Cody Rhodes. The NXT champion was given plenty of the match and Rhodes let him showcase his power and charisma. He looks like an instant player. Also, as soon as he made his entrance, my missus said “who is that!?” Always a good sign.
Sol Ruca showed out in her chance in the spotlight, too. There was a clunky minute or so when they were trying to chain wrestle in the middle of the ring, but Ruca nailed all of her high spots and there was plenty of them. She has the potential to be the best high-flying woman, perhaps even Rob Van Dam-esque innovator, of her generation.
Do need to quickly note, Bayley is so damn giving. I always knew she was going to put over whatever NXT talent was in this spot – she’s so giving to women’s wrestling. She’s done it again!
Leon Slater and Je’Von Evans also showed up during their time on the big stage. Slater, a Brit, and Evans are two of the most athletic youngsters in the game with both them just 21.
Styles is nearing the end, but the one botch aside, he didn’t look out of place with three high-flyers and super talents.
And just like that, Cena’s WWE career is done. Many fans didn’t like the tap out with a smile, but it was symbolic of Cena knowing the time has come where he can’t fight it anymore. It actually made good sense.
It was a textbook Cena match without the heroic overcoming of the odds that made his career. Instead, Cena eventually gave in to father time as he had to; he passed the torch and Gunther now stands as a monster villain and great foil for the top stars in the company.
Where does John Cena rank all-time? He’s an all-time great, for sure. He’s the man of his generation and redefined what it means to be the WWE’s poster boy, to be the main man.
He’s not the undisputed GOAT as WWE would have me believe during this final run, but he’ll make plenty of Mt. Rushmores and in terms of longevity and representing the company, nobody has ever done it better than Cena.
