NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
WWE fans are still in mourning after John Cena, who preached “Never Give Up,” quit during his last match.
Cena, 48, faced Gunther on Saturday Night’s Main Event earlier this month for his final time in the ring following a farewell tour that began when he announced his in-ring retirement in the summer of 2024.
Cena walked out and the WWE Chief Content Officer was booed as he came out to congratulate Cena on his legendary career. He was also hit with chants of “you’re screwed,” referring to his apparent decision to make Cena lose.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
John Cena and Seth Rollins compete at Night Of Champions at Kingdom Arena on June 28, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Joe Maher/WWE via Getty Images)
However, WWE Superstar Seth Rollins implied that Cena had no problem with the alleged decision, especially since legends usually lose their final match to pass the torch.
“If John Cena had just won the match, you wouldn’t ask any questions about it. We’re not even having a conversation. Nobody would say Gunther’s name. None of this would happen. At the end of the day, it’s always about what’s next, and John understood that better than anyone,” Rollins told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview. “He understood that it’s never about what you do in the moment, it’s about what comes next. And you have to prepare for the future.
“Business keeps on. The shows keep on coming. The audience changes. The machine works. So my feeling is I saw John smile before he walked away, and I think he knew exactly what he was doing.”
Much of Cena’s farewell tour was seen live on Netflix, as WWE and the streaming service struck a deal to air “Monday Night Raw” starting last January – the Netflix debut was also Hulk Hogan’s final appearance in WWE.
Seth Rollins enters the arena during “Monday Night Raw” at RAC Arena on October 13, 2025, in Perth, Australia. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE’S JE’VON EVANS TALKS ABOUT PURSUING PRO WRESTLING PASSION, IGNORING JOHN CENA’S CRITICISMS AND HONOR
But it was yet another way for Netflix to exploit sports and entertainment, as it has done with boxing, the NFL and, starting next year, Major League Baseball.
Rollins, a Chicago Bears fan, will be behind the mic for the Detroit Lions-Minnesota Vikings Christmas Day game on Netflix.
“I’ll be dressed up and pretty and say Merry Christmas to the world on Netflix while talking about football, and I’ll try to go home and spend the evening with my girls,” Rollins said.
Rollins appeared on “Good Morning Football” and even hosted “The Rich Eisen Show” as part of his “Ruse of the Century.”
“I have a strong broadcasting background,” Rollins joked. “It’s been a cool year for me to be able to sit down and talk about football with people who really know about football. So I’m looking forward to putting my skills on the big stage on Netflix on Christmas Day and hopefully being able to keep up with the boys and girls who know more than me.”
With Cena’s wild year going head-to-head, it seemed like if anyone was going to win their final match in WWE, it would be Cena, considering his farewell tour had dubbed him the “last true champion.”
But if Cena didn’t do it, Rollins can’t imagine anyone doing it.
John Cena makes his entrance during Crown Jewel at the RAC Arena on October 11, 2025 in Perth, Australia. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
“What you may never have again is that Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant-type retirement. I think that’s the problem is that once it’s done, no one else is going to do it, and John was the perfect person to say, because he’s John, ‘I’m going to retire at the end of next year, I’m going to do a full schedule, and then I’m done, and that’s it.’ And he’s never coming back,” Rollins said.
“You know, you see all these guys, they go through these retirements, and then they come back and have 16 different no-retirement matches and re-retirement matches, whatever. He’s not going to do that. John, I promise you you’ll never play another match in his career, and I don’t think you’ll see another great talent do what John did. I don’t know if any talent would want to do it. You know, John is the type of guy who says, ‘I wanted to go to all these places I’ve been for over 20 years and giving fans another opportunity to interact with me and see me perform And so I don’t know if we’ll ever have that again And it’s been a very special year to see what WWE looks like without John Cena in the near future.
