A WWE icon has defended an unusual decision involving John Cena on December 13, the 17-time World Champion fought in his last match against Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event.
The finish of the fight saw John Cena tap out of the Ring General to finish his legendary career. The decision to let him give up in his final WWE match has not gone down well with a lot of fans. However, tag team legend Matt Hardy has justified why the finish made sense.
On The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, The Broken One said that he was not surprised with the result.
“I went into the match, I was 99% sure he was going to lose. I was probably 50% sure he was going to tap out. You know, 'you are sports entertainment. I am pro wrestling. You’re the guy that never gives up. I’m going to make you give up.' And the way that was highlighted that he is the guy that never gives up, and he would never tap out whatever else. I felt like that was kind of the perfect storm where they could create this opportunity, and Gunther could do something that no one else has done. And it is something that could be like an event that kind of springboards his career into another level. And I think that's what their intent was," he said.
Hardy also argued that the finish gives WWE a shot to build Gunther as a career killer with the retirement of AJ Styles and potentially Brock Lesnar looming. He noted that the company can bring in a babyface to take him down and replace him.
“If you make Gunther into this monster, who’s this, this immovable object, and you bring a babyface in there that can eventually conquer him, you can make that babyface. So I feel like John was trying to build something that could make another babyface like him down the road,” Hardy added.
John Cena's last WWE match gets a high rating
The fight between John Cena and Gunther was filled with drama. Cena hit Gunther with an Attitude Adjustment through the announcers table and even performed an Avalanche AA for a nearfall.
Gunther repeatedly tried to put The Cenation Leader in the chokehold, but kept failing until he finally succeeded. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Dave Meltzer gave a rating of 4.5 stars to John Cena's final fight.
Meltzer elaborated the match as very heated. The result has left fans with mixed reactions, and the question over the end remains.