John Cena has explained the ending of his last match.
The Cenation Leader's retirement match with Gunther was built around whether or not the Ring General will be able to submit his opponent. The final minutes of the bout saw Cena struggling to get away from the sleeper hold as the former NXT star locked it in again and again. In the end, John decided that he'd done enough, and the WWE legend smiled before finally ending his career with a soft tap out.
The 17-time world champion explained the meaning behind the whole sequence while appearing on Cody Rhodes' podcast. John Cena mentioned that everyone he loved was in the front row for the match, and he knew that his colleagues were watching backstage. To him, the ending was about saying goodbye in the same way someone on his deathbed does:
"As I essentially take my last breath, I have struggled. If you think of somebody, the natural causes scenario or however we picture loss in our life, all of us have been through it. They struggle. They hang on just long enough to make sure to say goodbye to everybody that’s been meaningful in their lives."
Going Peacefully: John Cena
John Cena discussed how the whole day was very emotional with all the people who meant something in his life interacting with him. The ending signified that he was able to let his career go peacefully after saying thank you:
"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. And knowing that like, man, we are in a good place. We’re going to be great going forward. The bottom of the t-shirt says ‘I gave everything, thank you for everything.’ And in that one moment, that was that. Going peacefully.”
The 17-time world champion ended his 26-year-long career with over 2300 matches. Latest reports suggest that WWE is working on a new documentary about his retirement. You can check out more about it here.