The decades-long tradition of putting someone over on your way out has been questioned in recent years.
Kurt Angle’s loss to Baron Corbin in his final match at WrestleMania 35 (2019) was met with criticism from fans who felt Angle deserved a more worthy opponent to conclude his career.
Sting, teaming with Darby Allin, defeated the Young Bucks at AEW Revolution 2024, which put an end to a career that spanned four decades and remained undefeated in his AEW run, which started in 2021. Fans felt Sting deserved this last feel-good moment, having earned the goodwill of fans during his career.
Fans and pundits are clamouring for John Cena to stand tall in his last dance against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
That would be a mistake, as while Gunther does not have much to gain by beating Cena, his status within the company would be severely damaged by a defeat.
WWE has done a great job at presenting Gunther as an invincible force since his debut within the company, when he joined NXT UK in 2019.
After joining the main roster in 2022, Gunther remained undefeated until WrestleMania XL (2024), where he lost against Sami Zayn, ending his reign as the longest-reigning Intercontinental champion ever. Not only did his reign give us some of the best main roster WWE matches in years, such as his match against Sheamus in Clash at the Castle, as well as his triple threat match with Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at Wrestlemania 39, but it also established him as an invincible heel. He has since lost thrice, to Cody Rhodes in a Saudi show, to Jey Uso (WrestleMania 41) and to CM Punk (Summerslam 2025).
With four losses in the main roster, three of which occurred in less than a year, the novelty of Gunther losing is gone. More importantly, we must look at the opponents he lost to. Gunther losing to Punk and Rhodes points towards Gunther becoming a jobber to the stars.
In the past year, WWE’s main event scene has been stacked with nostalgia acts and part-timers, a far cry from when Seth Rollins defended his World Heavyweight belt against the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and Finn Bálor. There has been a glass ceiling for people who haven’t debuted in the company in the aughties.
It would have made sense to have Cena win his last match had he faced those NXT talents he so seems to love. Trick Williams and Oba Femi might have benefited from such an encounter. After all, John Cena famously debuted against Kurt Angle in an impressive losing effort. That’s the kind of poetry George Lucas craves.
But to Gunther, a loss would only prove that the WWE main event scene has closed its gates to those not named CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and, for one last time, John Cena.
