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John Cena takes final WWE bow after SNME loss to Gunther
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- John Cena takes final WWE bow after SNME loss to Gunther
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When John Cena announced that 2025 would be his final year as a professional wrestler, fans openly wondered what the WWE Universe would be like without "The Face That Runs the Place."
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Making his debut all the way back in 2002 in an open challenge against Kurt Angle, Cena showcased his unique ability to connect with fans during a period of transition in professional wrestling, when the "Attitude Era" made way for sports entertainment and "real" grasp enthusiasts turned to Mexico, Japan, and the indies as an alternative to Vince McMahon's new product.
He may not have wrestled many five-star matches, with his long perfect mark from Dave Meltzer coming back in 2011 at Money in the Bank, but Cena made as many careers as he buried, winning title after title, year after year, until he became the winningest World Champion in the promotion's history.
How could a wrestler with such gravitas just… go away? How could he go from a part-timer, to a 40-date wrestler, to a suit marched out for legacy appearances and Hall of Fame ceremonies in the blink of an eye after two decades in the ring? Sure he's in a million different projects outside of the ring, from Peacemaker, to Wipeout! and even voices in car commercials, but in a way, modern WWE owes as much to John Cena as John Cena owes to WWE, making the definitive end of his in-ring career hard for some fans to stomach.
Could this all be a trick? Could Gunther "fall ill" and be replaced with a more rightful final foe like Chris Jericho or Edge? Or maybe Cena would pop up and declare he isn't done yet, declaring for the 2026 Royal Rumble on the spot.
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And yet, in the end, Cena did what almost every Superstar of his caliber did before him: he lost.
Sure, Cena played things up for the crowd like any veteran performer would, pressing all of the well-worn buttons on his controller to get cheers, geers, and gasps from a captivated Saturday Night's Main Event crowd , but in the end, after fighting out of suplex after suplex and sleeper after sleeper, "The Champ" simply decided he didn't have any fight left in him. He tapped out consciously and sat in the ring until the rest of the locker room came to his court, celebrating his run while allowing him one final chance to hold both World Championship belts.
As fans watched on, Cena recalled his career to the tune of One Republic's " I Lived " and in the end, left his boots, arm bands, but crucially not his jorts in the ring as the crowd watched on, giving his final bow to the camera before walking off into the sunset like any old gunslinger should.
Has the WWE Universe seen the last of John Cena? No, he's already said he will be around and will continue to serve as an ambassador for the promotion well into the future. But from a pure wrestling perspective, it's hard to imagine the Hollywood star returning to the ring after a finale straight off the silver screen.
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