Thoughts on Gunther’s Win in Cena’s Last Match
HHH made the right decision though. They’ve finally created a proper villain in Gunther. Gunther is the most important heel in WWE, in a stacked roster that is somehow short of proper heels.
December 23, 2025
Cena’s last match went as expected. Gunther ascended to the tournament final, defeating LA Knight, and then telegraphed exactly how he would beat John Cena in his final match. Gunther promised to make Cena tap out, which is exactly what he did. Gunther came into Cena’s last match as a (-250) favorite, meaning the smart money thought Cena would uphold tradition and lose his last match. The crowd reaction and subsequent anger indicates genuine surprise and shock that Super Cena would go out with a loss in his final match. There has been a large contingent of the internet wrestling community who believes Cena should have won on his way out. HHH made the right decision. Gunther is the most important heel in the social media era, in a stacked WWE roster that is somehow short of proper heels.
Gunther: A Star is Born
I am a big, big Gunther fan. According to the Bret Hart framework to evaluate wrestlers (in-ring wrestling ability, promo ability, and look) Gunther excels in all three. He is a throwback to old school heels that the fans genuinely hate and want to see beat. With his foreign Austrian accent, he could slip into a promo about being the Übermensch heel. Gunther already has multiple world championships and beat Goldberg in his retirement match earlier this year. There’s a reason he’s been booked so strong. In the social media era, Gunther is the only true heel. Watching heels and faces get frozen yogurt together on Instagram has largely broken the illusion that these people hate each other. This has diminished other wrestlers who might otherwise be the top villains in pro wrestling. The rise of cool "tweeners" before social media has also contributed significantly to the erosion of true heels. The tweeners are supposed to be heels, but often have adult fans cheering them on in an ironic way. Gunther has largely escaped this dynamic and is mostly getting boos. In the social media era, Gunther is the only top-card heel whose character survives unbroken across television, social media, and booking.
If I were the head booker, I'd place severe restrictions on social media usage among the talent. This is tricky, I know. In an era with Logan Paul and ishowspeed, WWE knows they need young influencers with huge followings. The downside of social media is obvious though. Social media, through long podcast interviews, shoot interviews with retired wrestlers, and Instagram posts of contemporary wrestlers hanging out with their opponents, has largely broken kayfabe. Gunther has kept true to kayfabe and not indulged in breaking the fourth wall. Gunther uses his social media to troll wrestling fans and to build more heel heat. This should be the template going forward.
Match Review
Tradition states you go out on your back in your last match. Cena is ever the traditionalist. The idea to losing in your last match is to give a boost to a younger guy on your way out, as a way of paying it forward and giving back to the business. Cena did everything possible to make Gunther look like a monster.
The match itself was really well done, with a high work rate, and one of the highlights of 2025. (Cena’s last run had some memorable matches. His Summerslam match against Cody Rhodes and Crown Jewel match against AJ Styles get honorable mention, but this is arguably the best match of Cena's last year.) Cena hit three attitude adjustments, including one on the Spanish announcer’s table and an avalanche attitude adjustment off the second rope. Having Gunther kick out of multiple finishers was another way Cena helped with upcoming Gunther’s monster heel run. Gunther put him in a sleeper hold and Cena tapped out! The crowd was in tears, adults and children alike. Two nights later on RAW Gunther is getting boo'd out the building. Glorious.
The immense fan backlash is the point. We’re supposed to hate the heel for beating our hero. Now we desperately want to see Gunther beat, but it’s not clear who will beat him. This is exactly where WWE wants to be. Any criticism of HHH as a bad booker is nonsense. HHH was the top heel of the previous era and knows what it takes to draw heat.
A few thoughts: Expect Gunther to be booked strong for at least the next year. Barring injury or the emergence of another top heel, Gunther should be on a long winning streak.
- You have to spot Gunther a few points for the Royal Rumble. He’s currently at +1400 when the line should be well below +1000. This is assuming he’s in the main Rumble match and not in one of the main title matches.
- Gunther will be an overwhelming favorite if and when he faces AJ Styles. Gunther is being booked to be the career killer of guys over 40, similar to Randy Orton’s Legend Killer moniker. AJ Styles is the next one up, but Rey Mysterio Jr. is another potential legend for Gunther to retire.
- For Cena's last match, Belt.BET hosted bets on whether President Donald Trump would attend Cena’s last match. Trump has appeared at numerous Wrestlemanias and has former WWE CEO Linda McMahon in his Cabinet as US Education Secretary. Here were the odds:
Trump shows up on screen: (+150)
Trump is in the arena: (+300)
Trump is in the ring: (+567)
Trump ended up attending the Army Navy game, so this bet resolved to "NO."
