John Cena’s legendary pro wrestling career is officially over.
The WWE star tapped out in a sleeper hold in his final match against Gunther at “Saturday Night’s Main Event” in front of an announced crowd of 19,232 at Capital One Arena on Saturday (US time).
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Cena fought his way out of Gunther’s signature hold multiple times — even having one final Attitude Adjustment finisher in him before the “Ring General” slapped it on him for a sixth time.
An exhausted Cena bizarrely seemed to smile and wink at the camera before finally tapping his hand to submit to his final opponent.
Cena, 48, had been submitted only four times prior in his 23-year WWE career, the last time being in 2004 by Kurt Angle.
Part of Michael Cole’s final call was: “Tonight, professional wrestling destroyed sports entertainment.”
The locker room emptied after the match and Cody Rhodes and CM Punk gave Cena their world titles to hold one last time as “The Last Real World Champion.”
The crowd in D.C. was not happy with the finish.
While a retiring star going out on his back is almost always the right move, the anticlimactic ending combined with the seemingly forced ‘moment’ of Cena smiling before submitting left a sour taste in fans’ mouths.
The fans unloaded chants of “bulls–t” and then “You f–ked up!” as Triple H came out, blaming the current WWE booker both for the decision and for the current trajectory of the product.
He was booed as he hugged Cena and fans chanted for rival company AEW while Triple H spoke on the post-show.
Cena, who still got plenty of cheers, took final bows to the crowd and left his sneakers and wrist bands in the ring when it was all over.
He took one more bow in the entrance way and had one final message to the WWE fans.
“It’s been a pleasure serving you all these years, thank you,” Cena said.
Gunther, a two-time World Heavyweight champion, also defeated Bill Goldberg in his retirement match this summer and vowed to make Cena tap out in his final match.
He is likely in line for a big push by the company after ending Cena’s career. Gunther has never been the Undisputed WWE champion.
The “Ring General” told The Post in an interview earlier this week that it’s this type of opportunity against Cena that can help him break through to the next tier in the company and become one of its faces.
“It’s natural. I think I could,” he said. “In ring I know I’m there, if not better. I think the rest will naturally follow.”
The loss puts a bow on one of the greatest wrestling careers ever, and Cena’s year-long retirement tour that included 36 appearances, 15 matches and a mixed bag of moments.
Cena turned heel for the first time in 20 years in a stunning moment at Elimination Chamber, defeated Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE championship for his record 17th world title at WrestleMania.
But despite all the hype around the heel turn everything from that point was broadly considered disappointing, including the WrestleMania win, with logic holes galore and Cena eventually had to turn back face for the final months of his run.
The Peacemaker star has been the face and the guy on top of WWE for more than 20 years, a period defined by the company finding immense financial security and frustrating many long-term fans with a multitude of decisions.
Cena’s late 2000s/early 2010s run as face champion saw ratings slowly erode from the turn of the century peak with a backlash to PG-rated programming and a refusal to create new stars.
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