{"id":148685,"date":"2025-12-15T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=148685"},"modified":"2026-01-21T02:03:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T07:03:02","slug":"3-potential-reasons-for-the-finish-of-john-cena-vs-gunther-at-wwe-saturday-nights-main-event-xlii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/15\/3-potential-reasons-for-the-finish-of-john-cena-vs-gunther-at-wwe-saturday-nights-main-event-xlii\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Potential Reasons for the Finish of John Cena vs. Gunther at WWE Saturday Night&#8217;s Main Event XLII"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>John Cena&#8217;s WWE career reached a<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/12\/13\/wwe-saturday-nights-main-event-snme-xlii-results-12-13-25-live-updates\/4\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"> dramatic and emotional conclusion<\/a>. Michael Cole described the ending best when he claimed that &#8220;professional wrestling had destroyed sports entertainment.&#8221; Gunther made Cena give up to the Sleeper hold.<\/p>\n<p>The Never Seen 17 passed a gentle smile before tapping out to the Ring General. This was the first time Cena had suffered a submission defeat in over two decades. The fans were understandably shocked, and they directed harsh chants towards Triple H during the aftermath of the bout.<\/p>\n<p>However, the booking decision can be justified, especially if one looks at the bigger picture. On that note, here are three reasons why Cena tapped out to Gunther.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>#3. WWE Looking to Present Gunther as Next Major &#8220;Old-School&#8221; Submission King<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Gunther carries himself and performs like an old-school professional wrestler. Submission moves were an integral part of wrestling repertoires in the past, but the modern generation adopts a more risky, fast-paced, athletic approach.<\/p>\n<p>Bret Hart had the Sharpshooter, Ric Flair had the Figure Four Leglock, and John Cena, himself, had the STF. The next generation needed more submission specialists in the top tier. Gunther may be in line to fill that role as one of the top villains and technicians in the industry.<\/p>\n<p>His Sleeperhold has now retired two of the most prolific names in wrestling history: Goldberg and John Cena. Thus, he is using his technical prowess to great effect when it comes to killing legendary careers.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Gunther: \u201cI will force John Cena to GIVE UP in his final match\u201d: Raw highlights, Dec. 8, 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LUFRhhPaQCI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>#2. Gunther Looks to Become the &#8220;Ultimate Career-Killer&#8221;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Within the span of six months, Gunther retired Goldberg and John Cena, two of the all-time greats, with super high win percentages. Michael Cole alluded to this fact as the Ring General walked to the locker room after defeating Cena at Saturday Night&#8217;s Main Event.<\/p>\n<p>Vince McMahon molded Randy Orton into the Legend Killer in the early part of his WWE career. Along similar lines, Triple H could be building a similar narrative for Gunther. The only difference would be that the Ring General will put the storied careers of these legends to rest for good.<\/p>\n<p>Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, and CM Punk are all nearing retirement, and it wouldn&#8217;t be a surprise if Gunther comes calling for them as he adds more legends to his impressive list.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Crowd reactions to John Cena&#039;s loss: Saturday Night&#039;s Main Event, highlights, Dec. 13, 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cOt7JU2wXJw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>#1. John Cena&#8217;s Time was Indeed Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>There was one subtle detail that fans need to consider. John Cena passed a gentle smile before tapping out to Gunther&#8217;s Sleeperhold. This was a clear recognition of an inevitable reality: Cena&#8217;s time in the spotlight was indeed up, and giving up was the only realistic option remaining.<\/p>\n<p>The 17-time World Champion wanted to give back to the business. He had already put over Cody Rhodes and Dominik Mysterio. But, on his way out, Cena created a super villain that will dominate pro wrestling for the next decade. The Ring General received nuclear heat following his victory over Cena.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_148527\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-148527\" style=\"width: 227px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-148527 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/22-10-227x300.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic for the WWE Saturday Night's Main Event (SNME) XLII results for December 13, 2025, where John Cena retires.\" width=\"227\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/22-10-227x300.jpg 227w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/22-10-776x1024.jpg 776w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/22-10-768x1014.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/22-10-1163x1536.jpg 1163w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/12\/22-10.jpg 1290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 227px) 100vw, 227px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-148527\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The WWE Universe will not forget that Gunther was the last person to defeat and embarrass John Cena by making the &#8220;Greatest of All Time&#8221; give up for the first time in over 2 decades.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Cena says farewell to the WWE Universe: Saturday Night&#039;s Main Event, Dec. 13, 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EDZqjfBrzu0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><b>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><i>Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><em><u><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0for more on the WWE Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event (SNME) XLII results, John Cena, and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Main Event, as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Cena&#8217;s WWE career reached a dramatic and emotional conclusion. Michael Cole described the ending best when he claimed that &#8220;professional wrestling had destroyed sports entertainment.&#8221; Gunther made Cena give up to the Sleeper hold. The Never Seen 17 passed a gentle smile before tapping out to the Ring General. This was the first time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5689,"featured_media":148526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3],"tags":[8238,165,9074],"class_list":["post-148685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-gunther","tag-john-cena","tag-wwe-saturday-nights-main-event"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5689"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148685"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151219,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148685\/revisions\/151219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}