WASHINGTON, DC — Even though it was inevitable, you still had hope.
For more than 30 minutes, the crowd inside Capital One Arena was raucous. It was not only hyped for John Cena’s last match, it used every ounce of energy to pull for the WWE legend to end his career with a victory.
There were times it seemed like it might be a reality. You could feel the buzz building toward the perfect send-off. Even when it looked like things could end poorly, everyone watching reminded themselves of the words that Cena preached for decades: “never give up.”
Then the unthinkable happened: Cena gave up.
But it was always going to end this way. It ended exactly how it should have.
There’s plenty of frustration being directed at WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. Even during an emotional goodbye, the arena drowned him out with NSFW chants during the send-off and it continued into the post-show. It’s somewhat understandable, given those frustrations stem from how poorly the Cena heel run went and the fact they wanted to see their hero go out on top.
But Cena’s final match was the best form of wrestling; it was art.
The result on Dec. 13 was practically told on the first day of this farewell tour. After the Raw on Netflix premiere, Cena gave an honest preview of how his last year of wrestling would go.
“I just want to set realistic expectations for everyone,” Cena told reporters on Jan. 6. “I will give you everything I got. You got my word, I always have. I’ve always given you everything I have. I just don’t know what that looks like.”
Throughout this farewell tour, Cena has consistently followed that message. He said this was it. After 23 years of saying his time was now, his time was up – and whatever happens, happens.
At the very end, Cena still held up his end of the bargain and gave everything he had. He just didn’t have anything left.
After spending a good bit of time trying to get out of Gunther’s Sleeper Hold, and succeeding only to find himself soon back in the same position, Cena realized his situation.
Cena smiled and tapped out. In the immediate moment, it felt like a slap in the face to all those who spent years of believing in never give up and hustle, loyalty and respect. After years of promoting it, Cena’s career ended with him contradicting himself?
Far from the case. Cena didn’t give up. He just understood his time was now. Not in the same way he says it in his entrance music; in a way that understands he gave it his all, there was just nothing left.
It was time for the end.
Wrestlers are lucky to become a mega star, and even more luck is needed to get a retirement match. More often than not, they end in defeat.
Cena was always going to lose his final match – it was just a matter of how it was going to be told.
By letting Gunther tap him out, he showed that WWE still has another big star on the roster. Considering how much he’s been wanting to lift the up-and-coming talent in the tail end of this run, he wanted to prove to everyone the business will be just fine without him.
That smile at the end proved that. Cena was at peace with how his career unfolded.
“We spent like 23 years together,” Cena said in January. “This is our last time to get together and make some noise. Whatever comes to that, comes to that.”
It was an amazing run with decades of iconic moments that will be part of WWE history for as long as wrestling lives. Despite all the countless memories people will have of the legendary career, we just all hoped it would end with one more signature moment and on a high note. How could it not when it’s John Cena, the greatest of all time, the never-seen-17?
It ended up not being a fairytale ending, and that’s perfectly fine.
Cena was ready to say goodbye. It’s just, despite a whole year of knowing, none of us were ready to say it back.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.