John Cena Loses His Final WWE Match in Humiliating Fashion as Legend Officially Retires from the Ring
John Cena, the most decorated wrestler in WWE history, has officially tapped out of the sport. He capped off a year-long retirement tour with a final appearance for the company at Saturday Night's Main Event in front of more than 19,000 fans at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. The 17-time champion lost his final match to Gunther, tapping out for the fourth time in his career and the first time in 21 years. Cena attempted multiple signature moves—including the Five Knuckle Shuffle and the Attitude Adjustment—but ultimately could not withstand several sleeper holds from the Ring General. After breaking the hold multiple times, Cena looked dead into the camera, gave a slight smile and tapped out. It was the first time he tapped out of a match since 2004, doing so against Kurt Angle.
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Cena's Final Bow in Washington Ends with a Tapout to Gunther
Cena's final bow in Washington ended with a tapout to Gunther. The 17-time champion faced Gunther at Capital One Arena and tapped out to Gunther's sleeper holds after failing to land his signature moves—the Five Knuckle Shuffle and the Attitude Adjustment. After breaking the hold multiple times, Cena looked dead into the camera, gave a slight smile, and tapped out. This marked the first time Cena tapped out of a match since 2004, when he did so against Kurt Angle.
Belts, Booing and a Final Goodbye: Punk and Rhodes Present Cena with Belts as Fans Vent Their Frustration
After Gunther left the ring, the rest of the WWE locker room poured out to bid Cena farewell. World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes entered the ring and handed Cena their belts to wear one final time. Fans in the Nation's Capitol were not happy — booing Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, who is the chief content officer of WWE, as he walked out. Levesque drew chants of 'bulls**t' and 'You f***ed up' from the overwhelmingly pro-Cena crowd. A montage of clips began playing, with multiple wrestlers from throughout Cena's career being featured. An older clip of former WWE boss Vince McMahon was included.
Final Bow, Flowers and a Century of Memories
Cena then took off his shoes and his sweatbands, leaving them in the center of the ring before taking his bows and walking off. After high-fiving fans as he approached the entrance way, he took one final bow and spoke into the camera one final time. 'It's been a pleasure serving you all these years, thank you,' Cena said - before exiting the arena as the cameras faded to black. After the loss, the WWE locker room gave him his flowers. Universal WWE Champion Cody Rhodes (L) and WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk (R) gave Cena their belts. Cena saluted the crowd, offered a parting thank you and then left the stage for one final time. This is the second retirement match that Gunther has spoiled in 2025. Earlier this year, he defeated Bill Goldberg in his last bout. The loss caps off a roller coaster of a 2025 for Cena - where the iconic wrestler turned heel for the first time in his career at Elimination Chamber in March. He'd go on to defeat Rhodes for the Undisputed title at WrestleMania - breaking the record for the most world titles of any wrestler in history. Rhodes would take back the belt at SummerSlam and Cena's final title came by defeating Dominik Mysterio in his hometown of Boston.
