WWE SNME: Should John Cena win or lose his final match? (And was Gunther the right choice?)

The legendary in-ring career of John Cena comes to an end this weekend at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington D.C. Part celebration of Cena, part exhibition for WWE’s up-and-coming stars, Saturday truly marks the end of an era for WWE.

Uncrowned’s Horsemen — Kel Dansby, Robert Jackman, Drake Riggs and Anthony Sulla-Heffinger — have gathered to pay tribute to Cena one last time and answer some of the burning questions heading into this weekend’s show.

Let’s ride.

1. Is Gunther the right choice for John Cena’s final match? Should he win or lose?

Sulla-Heffinger: Gunther is definitely more established than some of the other stars that were in WWE's Last Time Is Now tournament, but I am going to argue he’s the right choice for this spot.

First, you want this final match to have a bit of realism to it. Is there anyone outside of Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns on the current WWE roster who presents a more legitimate threat than Gunther? I would say no, so in that respect the danger level for Cena’s final match is about as high as it gets.

Second, Gunther kind of needs this. I know it sounds absurd to say considering his résumé, but 2025 has been an odd year for "The Ring General." He submitted to Jey Uso and lost to CM Punk, dropping the World Heavyweight Championship on both occasions. Retiring John Cena doesn’t just get him into any title picture he wants (Cody Rhodes, anyone?), it arguably pushes him past needing a belt around his waist at all. Beating Cena could put Gunther into the Undertaker-level — not needing a top championship to be a main-event draw — which is a great thing for WWE because they have leaned more heavily into these extended championship reigns.

I’ve essentially answered whether or not Gunther should win or lose here, but I find it hard to justify him losing here. Gunther wins, celebrates quickly and rolls out of the ring to allow Cena to get up and address the fans/accept his flowers. It’s a tried and true recipe that should be repeated on Saturday.

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Riggs: It's hard to say before it happens, because this needs to springboard Gunther into a "Legend Killer" type of gimmick if he wins. It writes itself. Have him retire Goldberg, Cena, Rey Mysterio, Brock Lesnar, maybe even Chris Jericho, then finally, Randy Orton at WrestleMania. Whoever else makes sense. Do I have faith in WWE to go such a fun and creative route, or to align the timing with all those names? Definitely not.

So with that in mind, no. This was one of the worst choices WWE could've gone with — unless Cena wins, making Saturday's farewell the first main roster non-title match Gunther has ever lost.

It will be in Washington D.C., after all. The American superhero vs. the big, evil foreigner — it's a tried-and-true formula WWF used to love.

But the No. 1 reason Gunther was the wrong choice is that Cena himself — and the line has been repeated ad nauseam in his video packages — said he wanted to give someone in his position 20 years ago a similar opportunity to the one he had. This match is the complete opposite of that. Cena was a nobody when he challenged Kurt Angle and launched the "Ruthless Aggression" era. Gunther is essentially a bulletproof former champion who's largely considered one of the best wrestlers on the planet. Unless he travels down the route I mentioned off the top, this will have been nearly pointless outside of getting what should be a solid, classic Cena never-give-up match.

Dansby: Gunther is absolutely the right choice. Sure, some fans would prefer a rising star like Bron Breakker for the rub, but Cena isn’t looking for a quick “future-building” moment. He wants a true classic to close the book on his in-ring career. There isn’t a better pure wrestler on the WWE roster than Gunther, and his style meshes perfectly with Cena’s big-match pacing. They’re going to put together something special.

As for the result, Cena has to lose. He knows the tradition — icons go out on their shield, and letting Gunther brutalize him in a hard-hitting, war-of-attrition match sets the tone for Gunther's next era as a top attraction. Let Cena stay in the ring afterward, soak in the crowd and deliver the real goodbye once the cameras stop rolling.

Jackman: Obviously it isn’t the worst choice, given that Gunther is easily among the biggest names Cena hasn't already faced. I think the real shame here is that it was leaked so early in the process.

Yes, you may well be thinking, “Journalists complaining about leaks — isn’t that a bit rich?” and you’d have a point. But you can’t deny those reports took a lot of the suspense out of this tournament. Honestly, once the surprise entrants were revealed in round one, the whole thing just felt like waiting for the inevitable.

As for the win-or-lose question, I think Cena has to lose. Given that Gunther has been away for six months after suffering two huge losses in back-to-back stadium shows, there’s a real risk that another defeat would do serious damage to the whole “Ring General” brand. That would be one hell of a risk to take with one of the most promising talents in pro wrestling, all to give Cena one last victory he doesn't want or need.

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2. Where does John Cena belong among the all-time greats? Is he on your Mount Rushmore?

Riggs: Mount Rushmore debates are always insanely difficult, but particularly so for pro wrestling. In my eyes, I feel like it should focus more on the most influential figures rather than just the top four all-time greats — because that's more realistic than the actual Mount Rushmore.

So in that sense, Cena feels like he probably has to be on there for a wild number of reasons.

Is he a top-four in-ring wrestler of all time? How about overall, including mic work? No. 

That's not to say he isn't top 15 at the absolute worst, but I never think of him in those conversations. 

But in terms of overall influence, longevity and the like, it's hard to deny the dude. He's one of the few truly generational figures in wrestling's history.

Jackman: I agree with Drake that Mount Rushmore debates are sometimes more trouble than they’re worth. If you really want to understand what makes John Cena so important, I’d recommend using the "Family Feud" test instead: If you asked 1,000 randos to name five pro wrestlers, what are the chances John Cena would end up on the top-10 list alongside cultural icons like Hulk Hogan and The Rock?

Pretty damn high, I’d say.

For me, that neatly encapsulates Cena’s success. It isn’t just that he’s become Hollywood-famous, but that he’s done so while still being much more of an active wrestler than, say, The Rock or Dave Bautista. This isn’t another grumble about Dwayne’s absence after Elimination Chamber — it stretches back way longer than that. The fact that John Cena has had a WWE match every year for the past 23 years, while making dozens of movies and becoming a genuine A-lister, is pretty remarkable.

Sulla-Heffinger: This is a VERY hard question.

You could poll 100 different people and get 100 different answers here, depending on the era they grew up in, what promotion they preferred, etc.

In my opinion, when looking at his longevity, connection to fans and ability as an entertainer, Cena belongs on the Mount Rushmore of pro wrestling. Strictly looking at impact on the business/industry, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin are the other three faces that join him. Cena wasn’t just the top guy for 20 years, he was the top guy as WWE transitioned from a professional wrestling company to a global entertainment juggernaut. It was a massive weight on his shoulders that he never crumbled under.

Dansby: Cena dominated an entire era, carried WWE through years of transition, and remains one of the most influential figures the company has ever produced. But my Mount Rushmore leans heavily on in-ring work as well as cultural impact. For that reason, he doesn’t quite crack my top four.

Over the past decade, Bryan Danielson has built a stronger case. He performed at a world-class level in every major company he touched — WWE, AEW, ROH, NJPW — while never losing a step. Danielson’s ability to elevate any opponent and craft technical masterpieces puts him right on the edge of my all-time list more than Cena, whose legacy leans more on star power than wrestling excellence.

That said, Cena comfortably sits in the next tier as one of the top faces of WWE’s history alongside Hogan, Austin, Rock, and Roman Reigns.

Ricky Havlik

3. Which young talent in WWE could have a Cena-like trajectory in their career?

Jackman: Can I make the case for Rhea Ripley here? I mentioned before how John Cena was a trailblazer in straddling the massive cultural gap between pro wrestling and Hollywood. I could see her doing something similar in the whole online influencer sphere.

Look at the crazy numbers she does on social media, for example, and the way her clips go viral on TikTok. To state the obvious, it isn’t just pro-wrestling nerds who are driving that phenomenon. The ever-changing nature of social media makes predictions tricky, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see her end up as one of the most famous women in the world, perhaps in ways we don't really understand yet.

I don't think that's a silly parallel to make. After all, who would've predicted the direction of Cena's movie career back in 2006, when the entertainment industry was almost unrecognizable to now. We all know the old joke about how Netflix used to be a DVD-subscription service. But that wasn't the only difference. Back then, comic book movies were still a niche industry. Now you have HBO spending hundreds of millions to make a running series based on "Peacemaker," a lesser known DC character, with Cena in the starring role. That would have been unthinkable 20 years ago.

At this point, I should probably say something about Cena and Ripley's respective wrestling careers too. If anything, “The Eradicator” is already well on the Cena trajectory in that regard. “The Champ” headlined his first WrestleMania at age 28. Rhea Ripley came within a whisker of doing that at just 25 years old: If it weren’t for Stone Cold Steve Austin agreeing to do one last match, Ripley and Flair would have main-evented night one of WrestleMania 38 for sure. And you just know that she has a huge 'Mania match in her near future, perhaps even as soon as next year.

Riggs: Going off what I said in our second question, I don't know if there is anyone right now, or if there will be anytime soon. The only name that comes to mind is MJF, who has obviously had a wildly different trajectory but has found huge success early in his career and with his own style, as Cena did.

It might sound funny to compare the two because of the heel/face element, but this is also another case of understanding exactly how huge Cena was for so long. Replicating that in this era feels nearly impossible — especially when WWE, in particular, has long refused to push young talent into those big spots.

Sulla-Heffinger: I love Drake’s MJF reference here, which I’ll dive into a little deeper in a separate piece in the future.

Based on the pro wrestling climate, I’m not sure we’ll ever see a pure babyface run like Cena’s ever again. It’s what makes him such a unique figure in the history of the industry.

I do think we have the potential to see Bron Breakker become a top guy for a long time in WWE. He’ll probably be more of an anti-hero babyface once we’re past this Vision run and he inevitably captures one of WWE’s top championships, but we’re seeing a skill set both in the ring and on the microphone that lends itself to being somewhat of an heir apparent.

Dansby: I’m cheating here and naming two.

First is Rhea Ripley, who already feels like the female equivalent of John Cena. She’s dependable, wildly charismatic and always slotted near the top of the card. WWE trusts her in any situation, and it’s only a matter of time before Hollywood recognizes the same thing. She has the look, presence and crossover appeal to become the next major female action star.

Second is Je’Von Evans. At only 21 years old, he already carries himself like a natural babyface you can build an entire era around. The authenticity is what stands out — he connects with every crowd without forcing anything, which was always Cena’s greatest weapon. Give him a top-tier entrance theme and a real feud with emotional stakes, and he’ll be a megastar within five years.

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Bonus: Cena used a three-word mantra — "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect" — for the majority of his career. Sum up the “Never Seen 17’s” career in three words.

Riggs: Champ. Is. Here.

Jackman: It’s been fun!

Sulla-Heffinger: I love Randy Moss and this plays from a merch/ticket sales standpoint too: Straight Cash Homie.

Dansby: Ultimate Sports Entertainer.

You can argue The Rock reached higher peaks in both WWE and Hollywood, but he didn’t have Cena’s longevity or consistency. Cena embodied what WWE means when it calls itself “sports entertainment.” Even fans who prefer pure wrestling have to admit he transcended the ring. His character, mainstream presence, promos, Make-A-Wish legacy and connection with multiple generations of fans elevated him into GOAT territory — even with only one Dave Meltzer five-star match to his name.

Cena is the definition of sports entertainment, and his career proves why that label exists.