To say that many WWE fans were unhappy with the way John Cena’s final match came to an end at Saturday Night's Main Event would be an understatement.
Instead of going out on top with one final victory, Cena ultimately tapped out to Gunther after a hard-fought match that showcased the strength and toughness of both guys. In other words, he gave up after building an entire career off of the phrase, “never give up.”
As WWE’s head of creative, Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, was the main focal point of the fans’ ire, and the sold out crowd at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. Made their feelings known.
Aware of the fans’ feelings, Levesque tried to provide some insight into the decision to have one of the most beloved wrestlers of all time have his career come to an end in such an unceremonious way. Basically, it came down to doing what he thought was best for business.
“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.”
Perhaps Levesque thought it would be easier for fans to accept Cena’s retirement if he went out on a loss. Or maybe he wanted to use the opportunity to continue to build the character of Gunther, who also defeated Goldberg in his retirement match earlier this year. Maybe we’ll get some more insight into the decision in the upcoming season of WWE: Unreal on Netflix.
At the end of the day, fans don’t have to like the decision to have Cena end his career with a loss, but they have to accept it. Plus, Cena himself almost assuredly signed off on the ending. Otherwise, it probably wouldn’t have gone down the way it did.
Luckily for fans who were unhappy with Cena’s final match, they have over two decades of memorable moments and big wins from Cena to focus on and remember.