John Cena Gives His Reasoning for Tapping out with a Smile Against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event

John Cena has finally explained the real reason behind letting out a smile before tapping out to Gunther in his final WWE match.

John Cena Gives His Reasoning for Tapping out with a Smile Against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event

Gunther with John Cena locked in the sleeper hold [via- WWE]

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John Cena fought tooth and nail with Gunther to get out of the sleeper hold in his final WWE match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. However, despite throwing the kitchen sink at ‘The Ring General’, Cena eventually tapped out. But not without a smile on his face. Why did he do so?

The retired wrestler has broken the silence on it for the first time since his swansong. Appearing as a guest on Cody Rhodes‘ What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, the ‘Last Real Champion’ affirmed that the closing stretch of his bout with Gunther epitomized the concept of conversing with the live audience.

If one goes back to that sequence that had the outgoing veteran locked in the clutches of the erstwhile Walter, they’d realize that the entire arena was rallying for Cena not to give up to the submission.

And that whole day was so many unbelievably vulnerable, meaningful conversations. And then you realize, I’ve connected with everybody I love. Physically, I feel great. I think it’s time to take that last breath. And that’s that. I hate to keep going back morbidly to obituaries, but like… this person died peacefully.

John Cena via What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast

‘The Cenation Leader’ tried explaining his struggle in the ring metaphorically. As he said it, everyone tries to hold on just long enough to express gratitude for every being that’s been important in their lives in some capacity.

The 17-time world champion had pretty much done it all earlier in the day with the people he would’ve liked to thank for playing key roles in shaping his wrestling career.

Once that realization kicked in and Cena knew he was over it emotionally, it was time to take that last breath, as he described. ‘Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect’ outlined the saying that was emblazoned on his T-shirt, “I gave everything; thank you for everything.”

While Cena’s justification for tapping out to Gunther shouldn’t be that hard to comprehend, his fans, which basically means the entire pro wrestling fraternity, would need more time to get over that ending.

John Cena puts over Gunther amid relentless fan backlash toward the latter

The majority of wrestling fans have been trashing Gunther ever since he retired John Cena this past weekend on December 13. The online backlash translated into nuclear in-arena reactions. The former Imperium leader was welcomed with a cascade of boos on Raw this past Monday.

The Austrian heavyweight doubled down on the negative response and asserted that the 17-time world champion tapped out like a “little bit*h.”

Gunther and John Cena at SNME
Gunther and John Cena at SNME (via WWE)

The former NXT UK Champion continued his vengeful arc in an interview with TMZ, where the Vienna-born wrestler asked the miffed fanbase to stop crying, as life doesn’t stop but simply goes on. He also called out the fans for being hypocritical in terms of their treatment of John Cena, where they were cheering their hearts out for a man they couldn’t stand 10-15 years ago, even when he was a babyface.

Despite all the bashing directed his way, Cena has nothing but respect for the opponent who made him give up at Saturday Night’s Main Event. ‘The Franchise Player’ told Cody Rhodes on his podcast that respect is a core value, and the fan perception of ‘The Ring General’ wouldn’t deter Cena from giving his last-ever WWE foe his due flowers.

The 48-year-old highlighted the hard-hitting style of Gunther, which definitely left its mark on Cena’s chest. The Peacemaker actor asserted that he has the utmost respect for the Austrian. Cena’s father was one of many who didn’t like the way his son’s career ended. John Cena Sr. wasn’t pleased with the ending, leaving thousands of attendees red-faced with disgust.

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