Prior to WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII, there was a ton of speculation regarding the finish to John Cena’s retirement match against Gunther, as many were hoping that the former 17-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion would end up prevailing against the “Ring General,” however, this didn’t end up being the case, as the former face of the company ended up tapping out in his farewell match.
Moreover, the finish was met with stunned silence and disappointment from the live crowd, which surprised at least one WWE executive, the head of creative, Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
While speaking on Saturday Night’s Main Event post-show, Triple H admitted that he thought the crowd was going to be louder during the finish, saying that he was “disappointed” with their reaction.
But, while he was disappointed in the response, he did defend the company’s decision to have Cena tap out to Gunther, saying that he will always do “what’s best for the business.” He also went on to say that Cena had no problem with putting Gunther over on the way out because he wanted to leave WWE better than how he found it.
“You do what is right for the business, you do what is right for this industry, John has done that his entire career, and I’m going to do that my entire career,” said Triple H during the Saturday Night’s Main Event post-show. “I will do what I believe is right for this business, which is what it is. I understand that’s tough for people to understand.
“If you want to talk behind the scenes, he will put over somebody on the way out. He will leave this better than he found it. He will go into the ring and make somebody on his way out. That’s what John has always done. I know people will criticize this, and people will look at it and talk about this moment right here. I’ve got big shoulders, I’m good with it.”
The unfortunate part of the modern wrestling business is that the average fan knows so much about what’s going on behind the scenes that they often blame the company for what they consider to be a bad finish, as opposed to getting upset at a heel for defeating their hero in his final moments. Also, Triple H learned from Vince McMahon, who strongly believed in the “time-honored tradition” of putting your opponent over on the way out.
From a booking perspective, Gunther defeating John Cena via submission makes sense because Cena is retiring, so other than creating a nice ending, there was no benefit to having Cena go over Gunther. Moreover, it’s likely that the “Ring General” is now the hottest heel on the active roster, which will only benefit the company in the future.
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