WWE Rattled By Negative Respond To John Cena's Last Match vs. Gunther (WWE News)

Wrestling Observer chief Dave Meltzer (via @WrestlePurists on X) has claimed that Triple H was "blindsided" by the negative reaction he received last weekend at Saturday Night's Main Event. Fans in Washington booed 'The Game' heavily as he embraced a retiring John Cena mid-ring following the latter's submission defeat to wrestling machine Gunther.

Meltzer believes that WWE top brass would've expected fans to be distraught over Cena's defeat in what's been pitched as his last match ever, but they didn't see heat coming Hunter's way for it. Triple H did palm off jeers during the post-show wrap up, but Dave reckons that was "a defence mechanism" from him.

The WWE boss laughed when boos rained down as he hugged Cena. This marks a definite shift in general fan perception of him. The honeymoon period that existed when Trips took over from Vince McMahon seems to be over; there has been criticism of the product he puts on television (particularly on the SmackDown side) in 2025, and many remain unsatisfied by how Cena's retirement run played out.

Of course, it's fairly easy for Hunter/anyone else in wrestling to explain away heat as something they intended to elicit. Workers have been doing that for generations, so it's nothing new. Meltzer, however, doesn't believe for a second that Triple H wanted that negative spotlight to go on him more than Gunther during Saturday's retirement bash.

Opinion: WWE Unreal Played A Part In This

WWE Unreal aired on Netflix in July, and the 5-part documentary series has defo split opinion amongst fans, industry critics and even those inside the promotion alike. On paper, it existed to peel the curtain back and show how the organisation operates at ground level, both creatively and in terms of TV production.

This is just one writer's opinion, but the series might've contributed to that heat Hunter received at SNME. It placed him directly in the firing line when WWE fans feel dissatisfied by what they're seeing on Raw, SmackDown, NXT, PLE or TV specials like Saturday Night's Main Event.

It was certainly shocking when Trips revealed on Unreal that John Cena was the last one to know about...John Cena's heel turn at Elimination Chamber in March. Even rapper Travis Scott, who has since fallen foul of officials and probably won't be back, was clued in before Cena.

Something about that didn't sit right with many reviewing the show. Obviously, despite being presented as 100% authentic, elements of Unreal would've been carefully constructed and dramatised, but surely Cena (if anyone) should've been the first to hear about such a bold creative scheme.

The documentary series kinda pushed Hunter into the position of 'somebody to be verbally shot at'. In other words, he's the person people point a finger of blame at when things go wrong or they're unhappy with WWE's direction.

Further, there has been a bit of social media eye-rolling about Triple H's apparent need to thrust himself into the spotlight by narrating video packages, introducing Cena's last weekly TV showing and more.