John Cena Loses to Gunther in Retirement Match of Historic WWE Career at SNME

In the final match of his legendary WWE career, John Cena lost to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event in Washington, D.C.

The GOAT gave everything he had in his final WWE contest, but The Ring General locked in a sleeper hold and forced Cena to tap out.

Last year, Cena announced 2025 would be his final year as an active professional wrestler, and over the course of the past 12 months, plans for his retirement match came into focus.

Cena revealed last month that a tourney called the Last Time Is Now tournament would be held in order to determine who would earn the right to face him in the last match of his career.

The 16-man tournament featured Superstars from Raw, SmackDown and NXT, and even some surprises from outside the company, such as Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler.

It all came down to Gunther and LA Knight in the finals after Gunther beat Je'Von Evans, Carmelo Hayes and Solo Sikoa in the first three rounds, while Knight got the better of Ryder, The Miz and Jey Uso.

On the Dec. 5 episode of SmackDown, Gunther and Knight met for the opportunity to compete in one of the biggest matches of their respective careers, and The Ring General prevailed to set up the clash with Cena.

Cena made his WWE main roster debut in 2002, and he went on to establish himself as one of the biggest stars in wrestling history over the next 23 years.

His 17 world title reigns are the all-time record, plus he has achieved numerous other accolades, putting in the same conversation as legends like Hulk Hogan, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock.

Fittingly, Saturday Night's Main Event represented a celebration of Cena's illustrious career, and a chance for fans to see him entertain them in the ring one final time.

While Cena won far more often than he lost over the years, he has been generous in putting over talent in recent years, so it is fitting that he did the honors for Gunther on his way out.