Updated John Cena 'Last Time is Now' Bracket Picks and Surprise Predictions

WWE has effectively filled television time with The Last Time Is Now tournament over the last two weeks and will continue to do so through Saturday Night's Main Event on Dec. 13.

Faces both new and old from Raw, SmackDown, NXT and even TNA have emerged in an effort to earn the honor of being John Cena's final-ever opponent. As of this writing, six Superstars have advanced with only two matches remaining in the first round, set for Friday's SmackDown.

Although a bracket has yet to be unveiled, it has been confirmed Gunther will face the winner of Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed and Solo Sikoa will square off with the winner of Finn Bálor vs. Penta when the quarterfinals kick off on next Monday's Raw.

Sheamus, Rusev, LA Knight and Jey Uso are all moving on following their first-round victories and have their own scores to settle with Cena. That's in addition to The Unseen 17 possibly walking into his retirement match as intercontinental champion depending on the outcome to his upcoming clash with Dominik Mysterio at Survivor Series.

These are the latest bracket picks and surprise predictions for what's left in The Last Time Is Now tourney.

Rest of 1st Round: Hayes vs. Reed, Penta vs. Bálor

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WWE will wrap up the first round of The Last Time Is Now tournament on Friday's SmackDown with Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed, and Penta vs. Finn Bálor.

Penta has been at odds with Bálor and the rest of The Judgment Day for the better part of 2025, so there isn't anything all that fresh about this outing.

It should be well-wrestled considering the level of talent involved, but coming off The Judgment Day's tag team loss to John Cena on Raw in Madison Square Garden, there's little doubt Penta will be the one moving on.

Reed vs. Hayes, however, is a bit more unpredictable. Reed has been booked as an unstoppable force since beating Roman Reigns in Australia at Crown Jewel, so on paper, it may seem counterproductive to have him get bumped in the first round.

That said, Reed was responsible for Cody Rhodes getting laid out on last week's SmackDown when Drew McIntyre was revealed as the fourth member of the heel squad in the men's WarGames match at Survivor Series. Rhodes should retaliate by costing Reed the win against Hayes.

Hayes could be eliminated by way of interference from his rival, The Miz, but it would mean more for Hayes to advance so there's at least one legitimate shocker in the bracket.

Quarterfinals: Gunther vs. Hayes, Sikoa vs. Penta

Hayes' luck will likely end at the first round. Gunther has been heavily speculated as Cena's ultimate opponent for months, and if he managed to get past Je'Von Evans in their thriller of a match on Monday's Raw, then he should be able to overcome Hayes with relative ease.

Amazingly, the two of them have never gone one-on-one before, so they'd be bound to bring the best out of each other and have a great match. Hayes can gain a ton from taking Gunther to his limit before narrowly losing.

It'll be a little less certain who moves on when Solo Sikoa and Penta collide in the quarterfinals.

Sikoa squashed Cena in their match at Crown Jewel 2023 but has fallen far since then and isn't an exciting opponent for The GOAT at this stage in the slightest.

Penta doesn't have the highest chance of making it all the way to the finals, either, but theoretically, it'd be much more interesting to see him share the squared circle with Cena on Dec. 13 than Sikoa.

Plus, Penta could give Sikoa one of his better bouts, much like Dolph Ziggler did upon his return to Raw on Monday night.

Quarterfinals: Sheamus vs. Rusev, Knight vs. Uso

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The matches on the other side of the bracket aren't yet in stone, but based on what's advertised for Monday's Raw, it will consist of some combination of Sheamus, LA Knight, Jey Uso and Rusev.

There aren't many intriguing match possibilities between the four, but it would make the most sense for them to revisit the rivalries they've already had in recent months with Sheamus taking on Rusev and Knight battling Uso.

Rusev decisively defeated Sheamus in their Good Ol' Fashioned Donnybrook match at Clash in Paris, only to fall short in every opportunity he had at the Intercontinental Championship thereafter.

Meanwhile, The Celtic Warrior has been embroiled with The Judgment Day and should further it in the tournament to play up the idea that he could capture his first Intercontinental Championship by beating John Cena.

Uso beat Knight in their last singles encounter, but The Megastar should avenge that loss and advance to the semifinals, especially if Uso's focus is currently on WarGames. As a former world heavyweight champion, he'll lose nothing from failing to knock off Knight.

Despite all four of these guys being Raw stars, next week's SmackDown should host these two matchups so the semifinals are locked in for Survivor Series.

Semifinals: Knight vs. Sheamus, Gunther vs. Penta

It would have been ideal for the finals to take place at Survivor Series, but with just over a week away until the event, that won't be happening unless WWE rushes through the quarterfinals and the semifinals before then.

Survivor Series will feature two WarGames matches and Stephanie Vaquer vs. Nikki Bella for the Women's World Championship, so it would be logical to fill out the card with two tournament matches as well.

Gunther and Penta have history from the independent scene but haven't crossed paths yet in WWE. With enough time, their semifinal match could be a show-stealer at Survivor Series, but Gunther is guaranteed to go over, regardless.

There's more uncertainty surrounding LA Knight vs. Sheamus. The Megastar is the fresher face, but the Irishman has a storied past with Cena dating back to 2009. In fact, Saturday Night's Main Event on Dec. 13 coincides with the exact 16-year anniversary of when he shocked the world by beating The Unseen 17 for his first WWE Championship.

Sheamus winning would mean a fourth match between himself and Gunther in the finals. Those two never cease to deliver whenever they wage war, but Knight could benefit from the high-profile victory at Survivor Series, so him winning is the better bet.

Finals: Knight vs. Gunther

The only time LA Knight and Gunther have faced off in WWE was at NXT's Stand & Deliver in 2022. The Ring General emerged victorious and both men moved to SmackDown immediately afterward.

They've gone on to experience great success on the main roster and either would be worthy of the honor to be a part of Cena's retirement match at Saturday Night's Main Event, albeit for different reasons.

Knight has been struggling to break through to the next level since first being endorsed by Cena when they teamed up at Fastlane 2023. Handing Cena his very last loss would be an incredible boost for him and land him back in world championship contention where he belongs.

Gunther is much more established by this point but is the perfect foil for Cena in the future WWE Hall of Famer's final outing. He beat Goldberg in his grand sendoff at the July installment of Saturday Night's Main Event and can continue to lay claim to retiring legends if he silences Cena as well.

For the strongest possible dynamic, WWE must go with Gunther in the prestigious spot. Falling short when it matters most is nothing new for Knight, and wanting to retire Cena gives the Austrian direction for the final stretch of 2025 away from the World Heavyweight Championship for now.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.