John Cena Talks Final Match Critics, Dom Mysterio Injury Update, WWE Rumors on Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

John Cena Addresses Criticism of Final Match

In typical John Cena fashion, he appreciated that people felt so passionate in their response to the finish of his final match against Gunther.

Appearing at Fan Expo New Orleans (h/t Joseph Currier of F4WOnline.com), Cena felt the fan reaction was "perfect" for the story he wanted to tell in the bout:

"Thank you [for reminding] me that you're allowed to have your opinion, and thank you for not just conforming to a certain set of standards. Thank you for being vocal enough to express how you felt, because every moment can be a teachable moment. I put together—my job is to try to put together a story that I think you all will enjoy.

"And when there's critical opinion out there, I'm all ears. I don't ignore the critics. I'm thankful for them for [Washington] D.C. and every match I had before that. And like I said, I guess a kind of parallel to my career, I think it was a perfect end. Because a whole lot of people thought it sucked, and a whole lot of people thought it was special. And that's kind of been my story for 23 years. So I thought it was perfect."

There was a very polarized reaction to Cena tapping out when Gunther had him in a sleeper hold, so much that Triple H, who is in charge of creative, was loudly booed by the Washington D.C. crowd when he came to the ring as part of the post-match celebration.

Having Cena tap out when his entire WWE persona for two decades was built on the slogan "never give up" certainly was a bold choice. There is definitely an argument that it was poetic.

Regardless of the immediate reaction, Cena's retirement tour was certainly memorable and one that won't be forgotten. His final match with Gunther was a high point, even if it didn't end exactly the way some fans would have preferred.

Liv Morgan Talks Dominik Mysterio's Injury

Just over three weeks after suffering a shoulder injury during a match at AAA Guerra de Titanes, Dominik Mysterio could be getting closer to a return.

Appearing on the Raw Recap podcast after Monday's show (h/t Currier), Liv Morgan was asked about the status of her fellow Judgment Day member:

"Daddy Dom, he's home resting. He's recovering. We're just playing it safe. He is, after all, our double champion. He is, as of right now, the crown jewel of The Judgment Day. So we protect and cater to Daddy Dom. And we're just playing it safe with him. He'll be back soon, but he's doing some well deserved [rest and relaxation]. He was quite literally running Monday Night Raw for, like, the last full year. You don't think that Daddy Dom deserves a little bit of a break, a little bit of a rest, a little bit of an off day, a little bit of a reprieve? My goodness."

Mysterio was injured on the Dec. 20 show in the main event tag match when he was teaming with El Grande Americano against Rey Fenix and Rey Mysterio.

On the Dec. 29 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Ian Carey of F4WOnline.com), Dave Meltzer reported Mysterio doesn't need surgery and there is a chance he could be back in time for the Royal Rumble.

Mysterio, who currently holds the AAA Mega championship and intercontinental title, figures to be in a major match going into WrestleMania. If he can return for the Rumble on Jan. 31, it would allow WWE to start the storyline build to whatever his role will be at the biggest show of the year.

Morgan didn't offer any specifics about Mysterio's comeback in her comments, but it sounds encouraging that she mentioned he would be back soon.

WWE Considering Rhea vs. Iyo Sky for WrestleMania

Even though Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are still riding the high of winning the women's tag team titles on the Jan. 5 episode of Raw, WWE is at least considering pitting them against each other at WrestleMania.

On a recent episode of Self Made Sessions (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), the creative team has "mentioned" a Rhea vs. Iyo bout for the biggest show of the year.

Perhaps just as notable as the possibility of the match happening is that WWE would consider making it the main event for one of the two nights.

There have only been two women's matches that closed WrestleMania. The first one was the triple-threat bout with Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 35 for both the Raw and SmackDown women's titles.

The second one was when Bianca Belair defeated Sasha Banks for the SmackDown women's title on night one at WrestleMania 37.

If the plan would be to break up team Rhiyo before WrestleMania, that would seem really abrupt right after they just won the tag titles. It would also be a mistake to turn either one of them heel at this point if that was the direction.

One potential solution is either Ripley or Iyo wins the women's Royal Rumble, then the other wins the women's world title at Elimination Chamber to set up the singles bout.

That seems like a lot moving parts, especially since WWE seems more invested in building up the women's tag division right now than ever before. But everything should be under consideration when thinking about the biggest possible matches for WrestleMania 42.