Backstage Update on WWE’s Internal Plan for John Cena’s Final Match

John Cena’s final WWE match is officially on the calendar, and the latest backstage update confirms who’s being lined up for the honor: Gunther.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE has internally locked in the “Ring General” as Cena’s opponent for Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The company plans to build toward the bout with a televised tournament, but the outcome is already set behind the scenes. Dave Meltzer revealed the direction WWE is taking:

“That’s the plan right now. Yeah. The plan as of this week was to do a tournament that Gunther would win for Cena’s final opponent. You know, it’s not like etched in stone and I haven’t seen brackets or anything like that, but that is the idea. And, you know, the match is December 13th in D.C.”

That set off a debate between Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez about how the match should end—whether Gunther should go over, or if Cena should ride into retirement with one final win.

“Honestly, to me, I feel like if you do John Cena vs. Bron Breakker, I feel like Bron has to beat John Cena. But if you do John Cena vs. Gunther, John Cena can win and you have a happy ending,” Alvarez argued.

Meltzer disagreed, saying Cena doesn’t need a win to cement his legacy:

“You don’t need a happy ending though. If you want to get that equity, like they did with Lesnar—who’s not even around now—Bron Breakker is the guy. They did that with Kurt Angle’s final match. Bill Goldberg’s final match. The idea is you do it to make the new heel off the win.”

The current plan still has Gunther winning a storyline tournament to earn the match, but the debate over the finish remains open. Meltzer noted Cena may have one more bout before December, possibly against AJ Styles, but all roads now lead to Washington, D.C.

With Cena facing one of WWE’s most dominant modern champions on his way out, this isn’t just a sendoff—it could be the match that defines his legacy.

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