WWE star John Cena is winding down his retirement tour, which has featured new matches against some of his rivals, including CM Punk, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar. In addition to those wrestling legends, he’s faced many others throughout his several decades in the business, such as Edge, Chris Jericho, The Rock, The Undertaker, and Big Show.
Speculation swirled over who Cena would face in his remaining matches. After he battles AJ Styles in a rivalry rematch at Saturday’s Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia, Cena has only a few matches to go.
There was online chatter that he might face a returning superstar from his past, although individuals like Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and Edge seem unlikely. The Rock also appears uninvolved with any Cena plans since earlier this year, but one can never know.
Some fans and analysts suggest Cena will have a rematch to try to defeat Lesnar before he leaves WWE. Others speculated that Cena might face a surprising new star to help elevate them before he exits the company.
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The latest reports arriving from professional wrestling insider and journalist, Dave Meltzer, agree with the latter. Based on Ringside News’ details from Meltzer, Cena will take on “The Ring General” Gunther for his final match.
Now that it appears Cena might have his final opponent, some individuals previously associated with Cena and WWE are beginning to react. Among them was one of Cena’s former opponents, WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield, also known as JBL.
“You need somebody to carry what he’s going to be given, whether he goes over or not, that is a huge honor to be Cena’s last opponent, and you’re going to have a lot of stuff that is transferred to you, a lot of equity from Cena,” JBL said during the “Something to Wrestle With” podcast.
“Gunther can carry [the match]. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. That guy is a freaking worker. He’s a great worker. He has a great presence about him. He’s a terrific heel. I think Gunther will be able to do a lot with it,” he said.
JBL said he’s a “huge fan of Gunther,” and suggested that Cena is probably trying to “give something” to another talent before he ends his in-ring career with WWE.
Host Conrad asked if this would help solidify Gunther’s status as one of the most significant heels in WWE after Cena leaves. JBL believed Gunther could remain a heel, with a future talking point about how he was the one to retire Cena.
WWE announced John Cena’s final match will occur on Saturday, Dec. 13, in Washington, D.C., at “Saturday Night’s Main Event.”
As of this report, WWE hasn’t confirmed Gunther as Cena’s final opponent. If Gunther is the announcement for his last match, it’s likely to excite some fans, while frustrating others who didn’t get to see Cena face an opponent they preferred.
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