To say that Bleacher Report wasn’t impressed with John Cena’s year-long retirement tour would be an understatement.
A tour that included some nice nods to Cena’s past rivals and a poorly-received heel turn culminated with the 17-time champion tapping out to Gunther in the final match of Saturday Night’s Main Event.
John Cena's retirement tour receives 'F' grade from Bleacher Report
Donald Wood of Bleacher Report graded the tour as a whole and gave it a failing grade – an ‘F’ to be exact. Wood cited the heel turn and questionable booking as rationale for the grade.
From Wood:
“While Bischoff and many others enjoyed aspects of Cena's retirement, the heel turn doomed the tour's success, as mishandled matchups and rivalries marred it throughout. Add in a lack of cohesion between matches and the overall storyline, and the fans looking for a meaningful departure have been left disappointed.
“Instead of finishing on a high note with a legacy-defining finale, Cena's retirement tour was a series of wasted moments.”
The decision to have Cena lose his final match, especially by tap out, instead of having him ride off into the sunset with a win, drew the ire of fans. Paul Levesque, WWE’s head of creative, shed some light onto the decision after the match.
“John has said the right thing his entire career, that it is about leaving this place better than you found it,” Levesque said. “I think that people don’t… There’s no way for people to understand that in the moment. But 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. I will do what I believe is right for this business. It just is what it is. I understand that’s tough for people to understand, but it’s part of what we do. That is the role we have chosen.”
At the end of the day, wrestling is subjective. Just because one person didn’t like the retirement tour doesn’t mean that everyone feels that way. There are likely people out there who really enjoyed it.
In the world of sports entertainment, being polarizing can be good for business, and Cena’s retirement tour and final match were nothing if not polarizing.