With Cena’s last match just weeks away, WWE has officially begun the journey of determining his opponent. Per Cena’s wishes, WWE is running the “Last Time is Now” Tournament, crammed with 16 talents from “WWE Raw,” “WWE SmackDown,” “WWE NXT,” and potentially some talent who don’t even work for the corporate. Thus far, the likes of Damian Priest, Rusev, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Sheamus are confirmed for the tournament.
When assessing the probabilities for Cena’s last opponent, Rikishi noted that the decision-making process behind it should transcend the idea of friendship. If Rikishi were in Cena’s position, he’d consider facing off with certainly one of WWE’s biggest names.
“… I might should go after among the GOATs,” Rikishi said. “Now, the one thing that individuals probably never seen and would like to see, they seen it back within the day, but at this point, I believe The Final Boss and John Cena. That right there, I can fall asleep then. Whether it was a stinkeroo or whatever, at the top of the day, they are going to say, ‘Whoa, John Cena’s last match was against The Rock.’ If you say The Rock, oh, there it’s. But when it’s John Cena had his last match with Edge, does he carry so much more weight than [The Rock]? That is just me. Not knocking Edge. Edge is an excellent guy. He’s been family for a minute, but I’m just spitting out business on the market.”
While he respects the work of former WWE Champion Adam “Edge” Copeland, Rikishi recognizes that Copeland is currently contractually certain to AEW, which puts up a significant hurdle in considering him as an option for Cena’s last match. As such, Rikishi questions whether that route would even be value entertaining.
“At the top of the day, if it don’t make dollars, it don’t make sense, then we ain’t booking it,” he said. Cena’s final match will happen at WWE Saturday Night’s Predominant Event on December 13.
If you happen to use any of the quotes in this text, please credit “Off The Top” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.