The scene of John Cena tapping out to GUNTHER’s sleeper hold at WWE Saturday Night’s Predominant Event continues to be a polarizing one as some fans see it as a symbolic gesture, while others are simply enraged. Within the eyes of The Miz, it was the right strategy to end the illustrious profession of Cena, who now leaves pro wrestling because the record-holding 17-time world champion for WWE.
“It’s exactly what must have happened for this final John Cena match,” The Miz said on the SNME post-show, making it clear that he was speaking as his real-self, slightly than his WWE persona. “… The precise guy got the decision. GUNTHER got the decision and he succeeded. You may boo him, nevertheless it is well deserved. I even have been within the ring with him; they’ve not. I do know that guy is prepared for this pressure. He’s able to be the individual that took out John Cena, that made John Cena hand over. Now, Monday Night Raw, I am unable to wait [to see what happens next].”
Expanding upon the Cena vs. GUNTHER finish, Miz noted that he wouldn’t have been thrilled within the event that Cena defeated “The Ring General” as a substitute. Why? GUNTHER is taken into account to be the longer term of WWE — something Cena went out of his strategy to highlight at Saturday Night’s Predominant Event.
“You have a look at GUNTHER, he’s the longer term, whether you prefer it or not,” Miz said. “Individuals are like, ‘But he’s in his upper 30s’. This guy is in his prime. I even have wrestled him. I even have been within the ring with GUNTHER. I know the way lethal, how damaging he might be. And I also know that what guy made me a babyface once I wrestled him? GUNTHER.”
As Miz alluded to, he has long been one in every of WWE’s most hated characters. At WWE Survivor Series 2023, though, most fans found themselves rooting for him as he challenged GUNTHER, albeit unsuccessfully, for the Intercontinental Championship.
The Miz Details Deeper Layers Of Cena-GUNTHER Finish
In deeper assessing the GUNTHER-Cena match, The Miz identified that the sleeper hold is generally, and paradoxically, slept on as a finisher. Amidst WWE Saturday Night’s Predominant Event on December 13, nevertheless, most fans and pundits seemed highly tuned into it as a result of GUNTHER’s intensity and its implications on Cena’s famous slogan of “Never Give Up.”
“When GUNTHER puts on a sleeper, you suspect. Anything that GUNTHER does, you suspect,” Miz said. “He’s the precise individual that John Cena must have [wrestled] for this reason [series of boos].
“Take into consideration John Cena’s profession for only one second,” Miz continued. “Who did he all the time exit against? The most important, baddest heel, the guy that’s getting booed out of the constructing. That’s who super Cena went against, and normally, he would beat them. Then [the fans] can be like ‘Oh, John Cena, he beats everybody. I cannot stand it, super Cena.’ Now what happens? John Cena did the best thing. He tapped out, he gave as much as GUNTHER.”
Following his loss to GUNTHER, Cena is now officially retired from in-ring competition, with this status being further solidified by WWE moving him to the alumni section of its website. The Miz preceded Cena’s final match in a segment involving himself, R-Truth, and Joe Hendry that resulted within the latter two hitting Five Knuckle Shuffles while “The A-Lister” lay in defeat.
In case you use any of the quotes in this text, please credit WWE with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.