5 Ups & 8 Downs From John Cena's WWE Retirement Tour
DOWNS…
8. Great In Theory, But…
Finding the right person for John Cena to face in his last match was always going to be a tall order.
Cena handpicking his opponent would have worked, but it would have invited a chorus of “Why him and not him?” A GM or Triple H choosing the person would have felt artificial. A tournament theoretically solved that issue…
…until they actually revealed the brackets for the Last Time Is Now Tournament.
WWE billed that the 16 men selected were chosen at random, but come on, that wasn’t just a random group, it was a dull, uninteresting lot. The “surprise entrants” were two career mid-carders (while in WWE). None of Cena’s epic rivals were part of the tournament. The matches by and large were instantly forgettable.
Even when they had a chance to do something interesting, they failed. Je’Von Evans could have been a dark horse, advancing to the quarter- or semifinals before falling to Gunther. Instead, he lost in the first round in what was an underwhelming match, especially in comparison to Gunther’s other matches.
Sheamus was unable to continue in the tournament, necessitating a replacement. That spot went to the Miz, who lost in the first round. And surprise, he lost again.
The tournament had the potential to create a handful of memorable moments for television, and outside of Gunther’s contributions, it really was a dud.