Chael Sonnen Claims John Cena Was Set Up by Someone in WWE for Humiliating Farewell

John Cena’s farewell bout against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event has sparked fierce debate—and Chael Sonnen just took it to a whole new level on during a conversation with with Ariel Helwani.

The former UFC fighter didn’t hold back when asked about Cena’s dramatic finish, which saw the 17-time world champion both tap out and then pass out in the same sequence. According to Sonnen, the ending wasn’t just questionable—it was downright humiliating.

“John Cena can’t wait. And you brought this up yesterday. Now you are so correct on this, and this is open to interpretation. And I have my own. John Cena is not a legit badass. Not like in the slightest. He didn’t go take martial arts classes, right? He was doing the bodybuilding and this kind of stuff. But it’s very relevant to understand that because I don’t believe in my heart that John Cena understands what it means to tap and pass out.”

Sonnen explained that different submissions and losses carry different weight—and Cena may not understand the optics of what happened in the match.

“There’s very different taps if your leg is going to snap because you’re in Ric Flair’s figure four and you sacrifice the evening’s festivities for the goodness of your health in your leg. If you tap out due to strikes. If you tap out in a chokehold. John Cena, not being a badass, does not understand the difference in those three.”

What really set Sonnen off was Cena’s apparent desire to go out valiantly. Instead, Sonnen argues, the result made him look weak.

“And moreover, in evident of the fact is he then passed out. Ariel, they not only got him to tap and quit. He then fell asleep. Now he fell asleep as a way of saying I hung in there to the bitter end. It’s just from a physiological standpoint not possible. You cannot tap and not have consciousness. It’s a double loss from a wrestling standpoint. It’s being pinned while being technical fault. And whoever talked him into this in the back is not his friend.”

In Sonnen’s eyes, someone in WWE creative did Cena dirty on his way out.

“Whoever told him this is the way you want to do it, John, and then act like you’re unconscious that you fought to the bitter end is not his friend. And there’s only a few true shooters in the back and one of them set him up.”

Ariel Helwani tried to interject, but Sonnen didn’t let up. “Wow, wow, wow. So am I correct in insinuating from that response—” Sonnen jumped in:

“One hundred percent. You’re correct. Sorry to cut you off. No, no. You hated it too. Oh, it was awful. It was awful. I couldn’t believe that he did it. And Ariel, I just can’t tell you how in line I am with you.”

According to Sonnen, this isn’t some honorable tradition—it’s new territory, and not in a good way.

“I mean again yesterday’s clip, but you said, hey, listen, it’s a time-honored tradition. No, it’s not. It’s a time-honored tradition—excuse me, comma—in the main event. It is not a time-honored tradition because you’re saying c’est la vie when you’re jerking the curtain and people are still getting their popcorn and sitting down. That’s brand-new tradition. As a matter of fact.”

Despite praising Gunther, Sonnen doubled down on how badly he thinks Cena went out.

“Now it could not have happened to a better guy in Gunther. I think Gunther is one of the great workers. I’ll just share with you. John didn’t lose once. He didn’t pass the torch. He lost twice. He tapped out and he passed out.”

He finished with a devastating claim about the rules of wrestling—and Cena’s lack of awareness.

“Per the rules of professional wrestling, if you are separated from your consciousness, not only do you lose—if it’s a title match, the title can change hands. It’s not like a countout, for example, or a disqualification where the title can’t change hands. It’s the same as a one, two, three. He lost twice. And my problem with it—I don’t think he knows.”

Sonnen’s take was brutal, and fans are already debating whether he went too far or hit the nail on the head.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.