John Cena’s Retirement Match Expected to Break WWE Gate Record at Saturday Night’s Main Event

John Cena’s final match is shaping up to be one of the biggest nights in pro wrestling history—and it might soon break a major financial record for WWE.

As Cena prepares to close out his year-long farewell tour this weekend at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C., WWE is staring down what could be its largest arena gate ever. The show at the Capital One Arena is already a confirmed sellout with 18,740 fans packing the venue—but according to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the real story is in the numbers.

“Because of the ticket prices, this will be the largest arena-sized building gate in the history of pro wrestling. We don’t have an estimate, although it’ll be well above $4 million.”

That figure would break WWE’s all-time record for an arena show—but it hasn’t officially happened yet. Still, with demand on the resale market spiking, it’s becoming increasingly likely. Meltzer pointed out that WWE may have priced the tickets too low, which only intensified secondary market sales.

“The reality is they underpriced tickets, not overpriced, given the secondary market average ticket price sold as of two days before the show is $866.98. So they were getting double and triple face value. The lowest price to get in at press time was $365, and that’s with late slashing factored in. The 400 section for the most part is ranging from $444 to $879.”

This weekend marks the finale of Cena’s massive retirement run—a storyline that has fueled WWE’s biggest shows of the year. From his heel turn at WrestleMania to setting records at SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Elimination Chamber, Cena has proven once again he’s box office gold.

“It’s been the best business storyline in history, record gates for WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Elimination Chamber and Survivor Series. Cena’s appearances have significantly increased television ratings from the normal level,” Meltzer added.

The decision to make Cena’s final match part of Saturday Night’s Main Event was initially designed to pull in the largest possible viewership. However, plans changed when NBC removed the show from its broadcast schedule.

“The idea of doing it on Saturday Night’s Main Event was the idea that it would be the largest possible audience for his farewell, as well as for the company all year in the U.S. But that show being taken off NBC changed that.”

Even so, the card is stacked and the energy around Cena’s final match is reaching a fever pitch. Here’s the current lineup:

• John Cena vs. Gunther – Cena’s Retirement Match
• Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi – Champion vs. Champion (Non-Title)
• Bayley vs. Sol Ruca
• AJ Styles & Dragon Lee (c) vs. Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater – WWE World Tag Team Championship

The record hasn’t officially fallen yet—but all signs point to Cena going out with a bang.

Do you think John Cena’s final match will break WWE’s all-time arena gate record? Or should WWE have saved this for a bigger pay-per-view stage? Drop your take in the comments and join the conversation.