For the past couple of weeks, fans have known about the Last Time is Now Tournament. Sixteen wrestlers will compete, with the winner facing John Cena at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. So far, not all of the matchups have been revealed. For some of those matchups, there have been mystery entrants that will be known when the match happens. But the November 10, 2025, episode of Monday Night Raw might’ve revealed the winner of the tournament.
John Cena captured the Intercontinental Championship for the first time in his career. He beat Dominik Mysterio, becoming a 17-time title holder and a Grand Slam Champion. It was also revealed that Gunther will face Je’Von Evans in his first round match, his first since SummerSlam. There are lots of reasons why Gunther is the best option to face John Cena in his final match.
Cena Winning the IC Title Raises the Stakes
When the tournament was first announced, the wrestlers assumed they were going to face Cena in his retirement match. There would be no championships involved, just the honor of being his last opponent. Him winning the Intercontinental Championship changes the whole tournament in a big way. Unless he gets a title match at Survivor Series: WarGames and potentially loses, he’ll carry the title until Saturday Night’s Main Event. That means that the winner of the tournament will also face him for the Intercontinental Championship.
In one night, the stakes of the entire tournament got raised exponentially. Cena became a Grand Slam Champion with Monday’s win. If someone manages to beat him, they’ll be in the history books for a variety of reasons. Taking the championship off a Grand Slam Champion in his retirement match is no small feat, which is why his win was significant.
Gunther Already Has a History with the IC Title
Gunther made his main roster debut on the Raw after WrestleMania 38. Since then, he has won many different championships and solidified himself as one of the best wrestlers on the main roster. His very first championship won on the main roster was the Intercontinental Championship from Ricochet.
He held it for 666 days from the June 10, 2022, episode of Friday Night SmackDown until Night 1 of WrestleMania XL, when Sami Zayn won it. His title reign introduced the main roster audience to someone who is a legitimate and talented fighter. When Cena won the Intercontinental Championship, the winner’s choice became perfectly clear.
Having Gunther win back the title that made him a star would be a perfect storybook ending for Cena’s career. Cena gets to put over someone who deserves another title reign, while Gunther gets to add another accomplishment to his main roster career.
Cena vs. Gunther is the Best Case Scenario
The Last Time is Now Tournament was just meant to be a final sendoff and “thank you” to John Cena. But since he won the Intercontinental Championship on Monday, the tournament just became way more important. The winner will get an automatic title shot, provided that Cena doesn’t lose the title in the next couple of weeks. Looking at the bracket so far, it seems that there’s one person who has already been revealed who would make perfect sense to win.
A returning Gunther is the most likely person to face Cena. He was Intercontinental Champion for nearly two years, a title that he won just two months into his main roster career. Fans saw him grow into a talented main eventer who is still putting on great matches. Gunther being Cena’s final opponent is necessary so he can reclaim the title that put him on the map on the main roster.
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