“This is for real, we’re going to go down swinging. Stu, let’s go to work one last time”: Cena’s final message before making his final entrance for his final ever WWE match.
He greeted a number of legends sitting ringside, shared an embrace with Kevin Owens, received a glowing ring introduction from Lilian Garcia and then locked horns with Gunther.
After taking plenty of punishment, Cena rallied, played all the hits from his trademark arsenal, almost making the former world heavyweight champion tap out before earning a couple of near falls after hitting his finishing move, including an ‘AA’ through the announce table and a ‘Super AA’ off the top rope.
Gunther controlled most of the match, much to the disgust of a heavily pro-Cena crowd, he finally got the victory by way of submission as he locked in a succession of sleeper holds and ultimately it was too much for Cena to withstand.
On a night like this, however, the outcome mattered not so much. After the match, Cena took his final bow but not before the entire locker room made their way out to the ring to pay their respects.
Cena, almost sheepishly, posed with the two main titles, handed to him by Cody Rhodes and CM Punk before being shown a video tribute that visibly moved the legend.
The show ended with Cena removing his trainers, and his wristbands, heading to the top of the entrance ramp before offering one last salute, exiting a WWE arena for the very last time as an active performer.
Kicking off the night after the pre-show, the television special began with the sighting of WWE Hall of Famers, Shawn Michaels, Trish Stratus and Mark Henry in attendance at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
Then followed brilliant video package reflecting on Cena’s glittering career on the WWE main roster, highlighting why he is considered by many as the ‘G.O.A.T’ of professional wrestling.
From his debut on June 27, 2002, Cena’s 23-year career featured many iconic moments, numerous world title wins and unforgetable rivalries against the likes of Kurt Angle, CM Punk, The Rock, Randy Orton and AJ Styles.
Throughout the night, there were special messages from icons such as The Undertaker plus members of the current WWE roster – while Snoop Dogg and Peyton Manning were among the celebrity figures to pay tribute to a legendary career.
Wanting shine a light on WWE’s bright future, three of NXT’s most promising talent, and TNA’s Leon Slater were handpicked to feature on the card of Cena’s last ever match.
NXT champion Oba Femi opened the show by facing off against Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes, though the match ended in a disqualification after Rhodes was attacked by Drew McIntyre.
Sol Ruca then picked up the biggest win of her promising career by pinning a sure-fire one day Hall of Famer Bayley with a roll-up after hitting her finishing manoeuvre the ‘Sol Snatcher’.
Rising star Je’Von Evans teamed with Slater in a losing effort against world tag team champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee, though the two youngsters proved why they have such bright futures in the industry.
WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event results
Cody Rhodes def. Oba Femi via disqualification: Champion vs Champion match
AJ Styles and Dragon Lee def. vs Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater
