'Blindsided,' WWE Backstage Reaction to John Cena Retirement Loss to Gunther Revealed

WWE higher-ups were reportedly surprised by the fans' negative reaction to John Cena tapping out to Gunther in his retirement match at Saturday Night's Main Event over the weekend.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), WWE's backstage decision-makers were "blindsided" by the response, and there was "no discussion" of that type of reaction beforehand.

In Washington, D.C., Cena went to battle as an active wrestler for the final time, facing off with Gunther, who won the Last Time Is Now tournament to earn the right to be Cena's last opponent.

Gunther made it his stated goal to make Cena tap out, which is something he had not done in more than 20 years.

Cena fought out of Gunther's sleeper hold on multiple occasions, but The Ring General eventually cinched it in to the point where there was clearly no escape.

It was then that a smirk came over Cena's face, as he seemingly accepted his fate and the end of his legendary career, leading him to tap out, much to the shock and chagrin of the fans in attendance.

The WWE Universe chanted, "Bulls--t," in reference to the result, and they directed their vitriol toward WWE head of creative Triple H when he was among those to make their way to the ring in honor of Cena.

While there is little doubt that the crowd was filled with Cena fans who wanted to see the 17-time world champion go out on a high note, it is tough to argue with the sound logic behind the finish.

By making Cena submit, Gunther is firmly established as a dominant heel who WWE can make money with for many years to come.

Gunther opened Monday night's episode of Raw, and he received the desired reaction with fans essentially booing him out of the building in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The boos got even louder when Gunther declared that he made Cena tap out like a "b---h."

While the reaction in D.C. may not have been what WWE expected or wanted, what happened on Raw seemed to prove that there was merit behind the booking decision, and that everything is on the right track.

Now, the onus is on WWE to book Gunther properly and ensure that his win over Cena didn't happen in vain.