Thomas Hall On John Cena Tapping Out In His Last WWE Match
- Thomas Hall
- Dec 20
- 7 min read
Last Saturday, John Cena’s WWE career came to an end when he lost to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event. That is not something you see every day, as Cena is one of the most successful wrestlers of all time and WWE certainly went out of their way to let you know about it. Much like the weeks before it, the show featured all kinds of tributes to Cena, both from wrestlers and celebrities alike. While Cena has lost before, this time was a bit different and that’s what we’re going to look at this week.
Cena lost the match to Gunther via submission when he tapped out to Gunther’s sleeper. While this was what Gunther had promised to do, he probably didn’t expect it to happen like this. Not only did Cena tap out, but he tapped out with a smile on his face. To say that this was a weird way to go would be an understatement, as Cena ended his career and seemed happy about doing it. So what in the world is going on here?
Well it depends on how you look at it. On one hand, you have Cena turning his back on the idea of “NEVER GIVE UP”, which had been his mantra for the majority of his career. Cena was known for a lot of things throughout his career, including fighting on against all odds no matter what. That doesn’t sound like someone who was not only going to give up, but be happy about doing it. Naturally, the answer involves Star Wars.
John Cena Compared The End Of His WWE Career To Star Wars
In an interview on Cody Rhodes’ “What Do You Wanna Talk About” podcast, Cena spoke about the match and compared the end of his match to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death in Star Wars. In the film, Kenobi is dueling with Darth Vader but stops, looks at Luke Skywalker, smirks (ala Cena), and allows himself to be killed. This comes after Kenobi’s statement of “if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”
"Everything I preach about story and drama and having a conversation with the audience. The ones I love are in the front row, I know my colleagues are watching on the monitor back there. We're just in a sleeper hold, but we're having that conversation with the audience. So, as I essentially take my last breath, I have struggled." (h/t Sports Illustrated)
While it shouldn’t be a surprise that Cena had something unique in his plans (check his Instagram, as he LOVES the cryptic messages), this one was pretty much spelled out in advance. The entire point of the Last Time Is Now tournament and the majority of his retirement tour, has been about wanting to say goodbye and let the next generation take over.
Cena wanted his final match to be against someone who had earned the spot and wanted to win his 17th World Title so he could shake the hand of the first person to win #18. Heck the rest of Saturday Night’s Main Event was about having the NXT stars get their chance on the main roster. Whose idea was that? Cena of course.
The End Of Shawn Michaels' WWE Career Was Similar
At the same time, the ending felt like a recreation of another famous wrestling retirement. Back at WrestleMania XXVI, Shawn Michaels put his career on the line against the Undertaker and the Streak.
After a long match, Michaels realized that he couldn’t win, slapped Undertaker in the face, admitting defeat and being Tombstoned to end his career once and for all (ok mostly for all). That’s how the finish to Gunther vs. Cena came off. After being caught in the sleeper and not being able to escape it for a good while (as Gunther kept getting it back on), Cena finally admitted defeat and tapped out.
It was fitting with everything that he had been doing for the last several months (at least since the heel turn was pretty much dropped overnight in a kind of amazing moment) and the smile fit in as well. What we were seeing was Cena wanting to see someone ready to take his spot and being enough of a monster to beat him. As it turns out, this is something Cena has been building towards for a very long time.
John Cena Had Been Looking For A Replacement For A Long Time
Flash back with me to August 2017. No Mercy 2017 was set for the following month and one of the featured matches saw Cena, who was making another return, facing Roman Reigns. During the build towards the match, the two got into one heck of a promo exchange with each other, with Cena talking about how he was back because Reigns wasn’t ready. This included the line “I’m still here because you can’t do your job.”
That’s the whole thing right there. Cena has been wanting someone to take up his mantle as the next star who was able to go harder than Cena could. That’s what he found with Gunther, who left Cena with no way out. With someone new there like Gunther, Cena was able to finally quit the work he had been doing for so long, because for the first time, he felt that his job was done.
It Wasn't The First Time John Cena Tapped Out
Every Time John Cena Tapped Out In WWE
Wrestler | Show | Submission Hold |
|---|---|---|
Kurt Angle | WWE No Mercy 2003 | Ankle Lock |
Chris Benoit | WWE SmackDown - December 4, 2003 | Crippler Crossface |
Kurt Angle | WWE No Way Out 2004 | Ankle Lock |
Gunther | WWE Saturday Night's Main Event XLII - December 13, 2025 | Sleeper Hold |
This wasn’t Cena giving up like it was any other match (which he has done before). This was Cena saying that his time was up and everyone else’s time was now. It’s what he’s been wanting and talking about for years now and after everything he has done, he has found what he wanted and it was a burden off his shoulders. As a result, Cena was able to smile and give up for good, allowing him to ride off into the sunset.
It might not have seemed like the best idea as it went against what Cena was all about, but that was kind of the point. This wasn’t just any other match. This was Cena’s grand farewell, which we had known about for well over a year coming into the show. It was Cena’s last chance to find what he had been looking for and it came against someone who had earned it, which was what Cena had said he wanted for months. This was a great way to wrap everything up and above all else, it made sense for Cena to go out that way, famous catchphrase aside.
While we’re on the subject, I’d like to take a minute (just sit right there) and address one related aspect of this whole thing that is utter nonsense and always has been...
"Time Honored Tradition" Is No Longer A Thing
Yes Cena lost, and some of the opinions you’ll see on it have talked about the “time honored tradition” of wrestlers losing as they wrap up their careers or move on to another promotion as an active wrestler. In short, this is and has not been a thing and it is high time that it be forgotten.
Back in 1997, Vince McMahon spoke about the “time honored tradition” of having a wrestler lose on the way out. McMahon had been in charge of the company for years at that point, so I guess he forgot the tradition when the wrestlers left:
Bruno Sammartino didn’t lose a match for the last seven months of his career
Randy Savage didn’t lose a match for the last four months of his WWF career
Ultimate Warrior left the WWF THREE TIMES and went out a winner each time
Hulk Hogan lost at King Of The Ring, but he then went undefeated at house shows for nearly two months, including in his last match before going to WCW
Andre The Giant (save for some battle royals he didn’t win but that’s a stretch)
I’m sure there are others, but those are some all time stars in the WWF who absolutely did not follow this “time honored tradition”. Heck it’s not like it’s something that became a thing after that speech, as Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Edge (among others, like VINCE HIMSELF) have gone out winning their (likely) last WWE matches.
Sure there are names like Kurt Angle, Kane or Cena who lose on their way out of a promotion, but it is far from some guaranteed idea. In other words, it’s a thing that happens sometimes but quite a few of the biggest names in company history certainly do not go out on their backs or tapping out. This has been nonsense for decades and it’s still nonsense to this day. Some wrestlers lose on their way out and some don’t. It’s a mixed bag of results so stop bringing up the “time honored tradition” nonsense.
John Cena Tapping Out: Good Or Bad Idea?
All that aside, the only thing that really matters is that Cena is gone and he seemingly went out on his own terms. Yes it was a bit weird on the surface, but it made perfect sense for Cena to go out as he did, finally being able to stop the work that he had spent so many years doing. His time was done, and he felt he had accomplished his goals. That’s why he went out with a smile on his face, because at the end of it all, Cena won.
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