The Cenation is still reeling from John Cena’s emotional retirement at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII. Fans had months to prepare for the “Never Seen 17″‘s farewell, but it still feels difficult to believe that Cena won’t ever wrestle again.
Nonetheless, as he promised, Cena had given us a year-long retirement run, which saw him wrestle at every PLE on the WWE calendar. We saw the “Greatest of All Time” renew old rivalries with Randy Orton, CM Punk, and AJ Styles. The Champ also won his elusive 17th World Championship, defeating Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 41 – Night Two.
Despite an eventful and mostly successful retirement run, Triple H did make several questionable booking decisions during Cena’s farewell tour. Here, we examine four such instances.
#4. John Cena finishes his final Royal Rumble as the runner-up
The 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble had one of the most stacked fields in recent memory. John Cena, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, and Rey Mysterio were confirmed for the 30-man melee. Yet, despite an all-star field, WWE made the risky move of going with the fresh Jey Uso as the winner.
This proved to be one of the most controversial decisions of 2025. Not only did the move overexpose Jey, who received a ton of backlash following his win, but it also robbed Cena of a deserving Rumble win. In hindsight, Cena would have been the better choice.
The odds were stacked against Cena, who had struggled to win big in the last few years. This was his final chance to tie Stone Cold Steve Austin’s record of 3 Rumble wins. The stage was set for “Super Cena” to make a grand return and kickstart the farewell tour with a Rumble win.
#3. John Cena sells out to The Final Boss at Elimination Chamber 2025
It wasn’t easy to top Hulk Hogan’s shocking heel turn and alliance with the NWO. However, WWE sent shockwaves through the wrestling industry and mainstream media by turning John Cena heel. Fans had demanded a character change for years, but no one expected Triple H to pull the trigger during Cena’s retirement run.
As for the moment, it was spectacular. Seemingly acting on the behest of The Final Boss, Cena sold out and ruthlessly assaulted Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare was left in a heap of blood as an “evil” John Cena walked backstage with The Rock and Travis Scott.
However, the aftermath of his heel turn and the subsequent run left much to be desired. The catalyst for the turn, The Rock, randomly disappeared. Cena never truly explained his motivations for selling out to the Final Boss. The Champ desperately tried to get the crowd to boo him, but the Cenation stuck by his side.
Two days before SummerSlam, Cena randomly turned face, and everyone carried on like the heel turn never happened. The Champ’s heel turn was a generational moment that should have led to a generational run. Sadly, it turned out to be one of the more forgettable moments of his final run.
#2. Brock Lesnar squashes John Cena at WrestlePalooza
Brock Lesnar has made a career out of targeting and destroying John Cena. Suplex City was born at SummerSlam 2014, when Lesnar obliterated “Super Cena” in a squash match. Triple H attempted to run a sequel at WrestlePalooza, but it failed to gain traction.
Cena put over Lesnar, but it did no one any favors. Many felt that it was a waste of Cena’s limited appearances. Later, the Never Seen 17 revealed that the goal was to rebuild the Beast as a credible threat. While WWE’s intentions were understandable, Lesnar is one of the all-time greats, and he didn’t need another win over Cena to prove his dominance.
#1. “The Greatest of All Time” taps out to Gunther in his final match
Gunther won the “Last Time is Now” tournament to earn the right to become John Cena’s final opponent at Saturday Night’s Main Event. The Ring General boldly predicted that he would force Cena “to give up,” and he made good on his promise.
Till the very end of his last match, Cena survived and fought. However, Gunther was relentless with the Sleeper hold. In the end, the “Never Seen 17” let out a graceful smile before tapping out for the first time in over two decades. The crowd was absolutely stunned and hurled abusive insults at Triple H.
WWE wanted to put Gunther over as a super villain and make him the ultimate “Career Killer.” Nonetheless, the Cenation is upset that Gunther’s rise came at the expense of Cena’s entire legacy: the hero who never gave up throughout his whole career eventually tapped out at the end.
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