John Cena Posts Symbolic IG Photo After Emotional WWE Retirement Match vs. Gunther

After his in-ring retirement from WWE, John Cena celebrated the end of his legendary career with a symbolic post on Instagram.

Cena shared a photo of his wrestling sneakers and wristbands left in the middle of the ring following his match at Saturday Night's Main Event:

Cena lost to Gunther in the main event of Saturday's show in Washington, D.C., by submission. After he tapped out for the first time in over two decades, fans in attendance at Capitol One Arena were visibly stunned, and Gunther was showered with boos as he walked out of the ring.

Following the match, the WWE locker room surrounded the ring to give Cena a proper sendoff. WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk presented Cena with their title belts in a symbolic gesture.

While speaking on Busted Open Radio, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry revealed the emotional backstage reaction to Cena's retirement match.

"I walked through the back — and there was a line of about thirty or forty people trying to get to John, hugging him and consoling him. We gave a salute," Henry said (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News). "I mean, people were emotional. It's been a while since — the last time I saw people crying like that was when somebody passed away."

Cena will now tackle another challenge as he fully commits to his acting career. It can be expected that the 48-year-old will be busy in Hollywood over the next year, so fans certainly haven't seen the last of him.