John Cena has heard fans saying WWE is wasting Gunther after the Ring General ended Cena’s legendary in-ring career, and he isn’t pretending those fans are automatically wrong. The difference is that Cena believes there could be a much bigger plan happening behind the scenes that nobody outside WWE’s creative meetings can see yet.
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Cena looked back at the thought process behind his final WWE match and how he approached working with Gunther. Cena’s final match saw him tap out to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event, bringing his in-ring career to an end. Cena explained that he has always tried to approach whatever creative direction he is handed as a challenge rather than campaigning for another opponent.
“I’m not the guy who pushes and says, ‘I think this opponent is a bad idea.’ I’ve always looked at that as a challenge in the business. Hey, you’ve got this. Make something special out of it.”
That mentality is something Cena said he encourages younger talent to embrace as well. Working with familiar opponents and partners can be easy, but Cena believes a wrestler’s real ability is tested when they have to make something work under difficult circumstances. Cena then used an artist analogy to explain the mentality.
“Working with teams and partners you know really well, that’s the bonus. That’s the easy part. Those are the times you cherish. Most of your career, you’re going to be put in difficult situations that test your ability.”
“A true artist will paint a picture using only one color, and it’ll still be a beautiful picture.”
That philosophy played directly into his response when WWE presented Gunther as his final opponent. Cena said he immediately saw an opportunity to do something that completely went against the “Never Give Up” identity that defined his career. For Cena, losing that way wasn’t just about putting Gunther over. He felt tapping out gave his own character arc a definitive ending.
“When they said ‘Gunther’ first, I said to myself, ‘I’m going to submit immediately.’”
“That was the thing where I said, ‘Man, this is a great way to end the arc of this character.’”
Gunther ultimately did exactly that, forcing Cena to tap in his final match. Cena’s WWE career ended with Gunther making him submit, giving the Ring General one of the biggest victories of his career. The conversation then turned to what WWE has done with Gunther since that night. Cena acknowledged that he has seen the criticism from fans who believe WWE hasn’t properly capitalized on the momentum. Cena didn’t tell those fans they were wrong.
“I know there’s a sentiment out there saying, ‘Man, they’re wasting Gunther.’ Maybe they are right now, but we don’t see the vision from upstairs.”
That is where Cena believes perspective matters. He is no longer sitting in the creative meetings where WWE maps out the months ahead, so he isn’t going to pretend he knows where Gunther’s story is headed. Cena offered several possibilities for what WWE could be doing with Gunther.
“I’m not in those meetings where they’re looking at the whiteboard, connecting the dots. Maybe they’re just cooling him off. Maybe they’re keeping him off television. I don’t know.”
The important thing for Cena was doing his part when the opportunity was in front of him. His responsibility was to make Gunther look as strong as possible while they were working together, not dictate what WWE did with Gunther afterward.
“What I’m going to do is I’m not going to challenge anybody’s opinion, and I’m not going to say, ‘I’m not giving this to this guy because you’re going to forget about him.’”
Cena said his job was straightforward. After that, Cena said the decision belongs to WWE.
“This is the work I need to do today, and we’re going to make it look as good as possible, and I’m going to give him every bit of momentum I can.”
“What you do with it after that is not my decision.”
Gunther remains one of WWE’s most protected stars, with a résumé that includes the World Heavyweight Championship, the longest Intercontinental Championship reign in company history and the victory that permanently closed the book on Cena’s wrestling career. Whether WWE immediately cashes in on the momentum from beating Cena or is deliberately letting Gunther cool down, Cena isn’t ready to judge the plan without seeing where it ends.
The bottom line is that Cena believes he did everything he could to hand Gunther a massive piece of momentum on his way out. If fans ultimately believe WWE failed to capitalize on it, Cena made it clear that what happened after their match was never his call.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
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