John Cena's Final WWE Opponent Revealed (WWE News)

CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles WON'T get Cena's last WWE match. This guy will!

WWE King and Queen of the Ring 2024 Gunther Triple H
WWE

Wrestling Observer head Dave Meltzer says multiple sources within WWE have confirmed that Gunther will be John Cena's final opponent come Saturday Night's Main Event on 13 December. According to reports, Triple H will announce and set up a tournament on TV with the prize being that lofty slot against 'Super Cena' as he takes his in-ring company bow for the last time.

Gunther is expected to win that tourney then retire John in Washington, DC right before the festive season.

Before then, Cena will tangle with old foe AJ Styles at Crown Jewel over in Perth, Australia this weekend. During his up and down retirement tour, John has worked with the likes of Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Brock Lesnar, Logan Paul, R-Truth and others. Fans remain split on the success of his jaunt to date, which included a controversial heel turn at Elimination Chamber in March that didn't really seem to go anywhere, but there will be some merriment about the Gunther announcement.

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He's roundly trumpeted as the kind of workhorse and modern star who should be retiring greats like Cena.

It'll be fun to find out just who else takes part in the tournament for a crack at JC. Admittedly, as some have pointed out on social media, this is a slightly odd prize to dangle in front of somebody. A few fans have opined that Cena might win the Intercontinental Title heading into December, and then drop that belt before bowing out.

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Anything is possible at this point, but it looks like the 'Ring General' is locked in creatively.

Gunther Retiring 2 Legends In 2025 Alone

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event Goldberg Gunther
WWE

This is just the latest show of faith from WWE boss Trips towards Gunther in 2025. Earlier this year, he defeated Bill Goldberg at another SNME special. Their 12 July match made the Austrian look like a million bucks, and it'd be surprising if Cena didn't go out of his way to make Gunther look like a new breed of unstoppable WWE star too.

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Gunther hasn't wrestled since dropping the World Heavyweight Title to CM Punk at SummerSlam in early August. Of course, Seth Rollins then immediately cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase to break Punk's heart and steal the belt for himself. During his downtime, Gunther has had surgery to correct some facial injuries.

Now, after already retiring WCW icon Goldberg, Gunther will return to the ring and do the same to WWE legend John Cena. After that, who knows? A stab at the WWE Title (rather than the World Heavyweight strap he's been tied to since reaching main event status over on Raw) could be in his future.

Don't rule it out.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.