So for starters, 2 things:
- I personally thought the match ended great, it was poetry, which I expect out of Cena. His storytelling is always fantastic.
- BUT, I totally understand why people are upset - its not the way they wanted to see the GOAT go out.
With that being said, I'd like to share my perspective that may open up peoples opinions to the show.
From what I am mostly seeing, people were ready to accept that Cena would lose, no one had a problem with that since they know Cena is the type of guy to want to look up at the lights on his way out. But perhaps passing out or a pin would be better?
I don't agree. Both are anticlimatic endings that tell no story, and don't give us a pop that an otherwise win would. So you are left with 2 choices, either Cena wins, or he taps.
You can argue for Cena winning to be the right call, BUT I have to say, one of the things I love John for is taking risks and telling a unique story. The super Cena win is almost too easy and generic for his final match that I wouldnt have expected him to be okay with that. So he gave us poetry instead.
So I think its important to understand HOW he tapped out. He wasn't in distress, about to break from the pain, and in panic tapped. That would have sucked.
Instead, he tried to be super Cena, tried to give everyone what they wanted, realized he just doesnt have it anymore, acknowledges that its time to call it quits, accepts it, smiles at the camera and taps. I think thats awesome, and so John Cena. The inability to complete the super cena sequence is the signal that its over. IMO, perfect.
That was the story of this whole retirement run, he said it time and time again. His body can't keep up, he's not the man he used to be. Come December, I am done. There was no way it made sense for him to beat one of the best in the company on his way out.
Here's the thing, I think theres a way people could have walked out with this a little happier.
John should have grabbed the mic and given a retirement speech. The night ending on a loss is one thing. But you gotta bring the sad crowd back up. You have to find a way to get the music to play one last time as you walk out. If Cena grabbed the mic, he could have opened with some context to make the tap out feel better, given an emotional message to thank the fans, have them laugh, cheer. Then end it with a send off to play the song one more time.
If that happened, I feel the taste in the mouths of most fans would be less sour. But instead, it was an awkward ending since they didn't break the silence of the loss.
Anyway, this is just my opinion. I enjoyed what was put together, but understand why you may not. And that is totally fine.
Show, don't tell.
This sounds like a cartoon villain monologuing. Explaining every little thing they did so the kids watching will understand. That cheapens the story entirely.
The sendoff was perfect. He passed the torch, left his boots in the ring, was given a symbolic reminder from the champions that they believe him to be the ultimate WWE champion, the whole roster comes down to thank him, play a video, he leaves with a smile and the thanks of a generation.
I couldn’t agree more. It was perfect, poetic, and a masterclass in telling a story in the ring.
The “hate” everyone has right now is mostly just a defense mechanism to cover the deep sadness that their childhood hero is gone. It will pass guys. I don’t mean this to sound condescending - if you’re feeling those deep emotions then it’s exactly what they were trying to do and it worked beautifully.
As for Gunther. He’s elevated to a level few others will ever reach. The sweet sweet payoff of having an up and coming baby face go over on Gunther and avenge Cena’s loss is going to rocket that wrestler to a new level.
Great if so. But I just think people want the superficial version I described because that's how they'd script it, ig? Very on the nose, very comic book villain'esque. Instead they got something that wasn't oversimplifed. I'm not saying this was oscar-worthy storytelling, just storytelling done very well by wrestling standards.
If it generates nuclear heat on Gunther and makes HHH the "Mr. Mcmahon"-level heel, all the better. But I fully expect people to conflate the character with the individual playing the character and get rather vile on social and wherever else.
I agree 1000%. By wrestling standards I do think it’s Oscar worthy. For as much as they talk about telling stories in the ring, it’s rare to get this kind of raw emotion. As good as Cody winning over Roman, albeit very different emotions