The fallout from John Cena’s final WWE match continues to spark debate, and one Hall of Famer has made it clear he was far from impressed with how Gunther followed up his victory. Cena’s career-ending tap-out loss to “The Ring General” at Saturday Night’s Main Event was always going to be dissected, but Kevin Nash believes the aftermath on WWE Raw missed a crucial opportunity.
Cena’s farewell sets the stage for scrutiny
Cena’s loss inside Capital One Arena marked the end of an era, with the 17-time world champion bowing out after submitting to Gunther.
The finish itself was largely accepted as inevitable, especially given Cena’s absence from television the following week.
Nash acknowledged as much while addressing the situation on his Kliq This podcast, explaining that the creative direction left little room for alternative outcomes.
However, where Nash drew the line was Gunther’s presentation on Raw the next night. Rather than cementing himself as the ultimate antagonist responsible for ending Cena’s legendary run, Nash felt Gunther’s demeanor undercut the magnitude of the moment.
Kevin Nash questions Gunther’s promo approach
Nash zeroed in on Gunther’s entrance and promo, arguing that the Austrian star should have leaned far more heavily into his cold, ruthless persona.
According to Nash, Gunther’s body language and tone sent the wrong message at a time when maximum hostility was required.
“I was envisioning when GUNTHER came out on Monday that he would walk to the ring, he would show absolutely no emotion,” Nash explained. “He was kind of glad-handing it. I thought that was wrong...”
The WWE legend then laid out what he believed would have been the perfect way to generate lasting animosity from the audience, even suggesting a creative twist that would have amplified the crowd’s reaction.
“I thought that if he would have went out, got underneath the bottom rope, was handed the microphone. If he would have cut a promo in German and then started to walk toward the aisleway as he was leaving, and then realized, ‘Oh s**’ and he came back and he goes, ‘For those of you that don’t speak German, what I was saying was, I tapped him out like a b*.’ Let the mic drop, walk out. That f**** place. He would’ve had heat. Gotta have heat, man.”
Heat matters after a historic win
For Nash, the issue wasn’t Gunther’s in-ring credibility, which remains unquestioned, but the missed chance to fully capitalize on retiring one of WWE’s most iconic figures.
Ending Cena’s career should have elevated Gunther to an entirely new level of villainy, and Nash believes subtle choices in presentation prevented that from happening.
Following the promo, Gunther was ordered to leave the arena by Raw General Manager Adam Pearce, before crossing paths with AJ Styles.
While spoilers indicate a different direction for upcoming episodes, Nash’s comments highlight how closely fans and veterans alike are watching Gunther’s evolution in the post-Cena landscape.