Once hailed as the savior who would usher in a new era after Vince McMahon’s retirement, the goodwill for Paul Levesque as WWE Creative Head has vanished.
From the high point of WrestleMania 40, to a dismal WrestleMania 41, failed pushes for Damian Priest and LA Knight, and the botched John Cena heel turn—Suit Williams argues the moment has passed. The final verdict? Fans are openly chanting “WE WANT VINCE.”
The Redemption is gone. The Boos are real.
Read Suit Williams’ scathing analysis on the end of the honeymoon period for Triple H’s WWE at voicesofwrestling.com/2025/12/14/paul-levesques-redemption-tour-is-over/
WWE SATURDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT #42 – JOHN CENA’S FINAL MATCH
DECEMBER 13, 2025
CAPITAL ONE ARENA
WASHINGTON, DC
Watch: Peacock/Netflix (Non-US)
MEET YOUR REVIEWER
Suit Williams: You can read Suit’s long-form previews and reviews of wrestling from around the world here at Voices of Wrestling! Check out his blog, Williams Watches Wrestling, where he most recently reviewed both AEW Winter is Coming shows! Follow Suit on all social media platforms @SuitWilliams.
JOHN CENA’S FINAL MATCH
GUNTHER DEF. JOHN CENA
The closing stretch of the match was so great, with Gunther repeatedly putting Cena in the sleeper hold. The crowd chanted Don’t Give Up as Cena faded. The referee dropped Cena’s arm twice, but Cena showed life on the third. If Cena had won after this, the roof may have legitimately blown off the building. But Gunther elbowed Cena to death, then put the choke on again. Cena was beaten, and he knew it. With a look of contentment, Cena tapped out. The sound of Dvorak playing as people were shocked and teary-eyed in the crowd was a stunning visual. ***3/4
Cena came out and felt like the biggest babyface on the planet. These 19,000 people did not come to see this guy lose. The crowd chanted BULLSHIT at the finish. This was not a crowd concerned about Gunther getting heat going into 2026. They weren’t worried about Cena putting a guy over on the way out. This crowd chanted for Super Cena, literally chanting Don’t Give Up as Cena was in the sleeper hold. They wanted the moment of Cena rising above another monster of the month and standing tall, the way he has countless times before. Gunther winning and having this accolade for the rest of his career is the smarter decision. But when you teach your audience to value MOMENTS over telling actual stories, which they didn’t bother to do for this match, you get them turning on the company for doing the objectively smarter decision.
CODY RHODES DEF. OBA FEMI BY DISQUALIFICATION
The rest of the show was main roster WWE talent taking on NXT talent, with the idea being that Cena wanted to use the spotlight of his final show to highlight newer talent. This was the opener, as Cena/Gunther rightfully main evented. This was Champion vs. Champion, as Oba Femi beat Ricky Saints at NXT Deadline to win the title and earn the spot in this match. It was the biggest spot of Femi’s career, and you could see it in his eyes that he knew it. But he didn’t let it show in his work, as this was a solid exhibition with a crowd that knew and was interested in seeing Femi go.
Femi hit a running uppercut over the announce table, one that caused Cody’s ear to start profusely bleeding. Cody came back with a Cody Cutter as the match was starting to peak. So, of course, this is when Drew McIntyre ran in to jump Cody and cause the weak, cowardly disqualification. Femi pulled McIntyre off of Rhodes, not happy that he cost him this big opportunity, and Rhodes laid out McIntyre with a Cody Cutter to get his heat back. The crowd asked for a restart and didn’t get one, because fuck ‘em.
Femi’s work was fine, but he didn’t project as a dominant top guy here. The crowd knew his act, but I didn’t see the confidence that makes his gimmick work so well in NXT. Chalk it up to nerves, chalk it up to whatever you want, but he didn’t jump off the page here like I thought he could. ***1/4
SOL RUCA (W/ZARIA) DEF. BAYLEY (W/LYRA VALKYRIA)
The middle two matches on this card saw NXT high-flyers take the stage, with Ruca taking on Bayley here. Sol Ruca has a ton of physical potential, as her athleticism jumps off the page. The problem is that while she can do the things that get her the ever-important viral moments, such as her Sol Snatcher finish, the small details in her work between the big spots still need work. And in this company that values virality and big moments over the small details that make the difference between good and great, I don’t know if she’ll ever get the polish needed to reach her fullest potential.
Bayley gave Ruca a ton of shine, including letting Ruca counter her Rose Plant finish with a handstand. Bayley hit the Rose Plant, but Ruca got her feet on the ropes. Ruca hit the Sol Snatcher, which got a big pop, and got the win after Bayley tried to steal the win with an inside cradle. ***1/2
AJ STYLES & DRAGON LEE DEF. JE’VON EVANS & LEON SLATER
This is the kind of match that would be slated by many of the higher-ups in this promotion had it happened in any other promotion, as it was four flyers going out there and doing a lot of impressive dives and top rope moves. I don’t have brain worms, so I can call this stuff cool without being hypocritical about it. Slater was introduced as the TNA X Division Champion, coming out with the belt. He’s as good as signed as soon as legally allowed. Meanwhile, Evans is already in the company and has gotten pushed in NXT, although never to a title reign, to Bryan Alvarez’s chagrin.
This was a great sprint, with AJ Styles somehow being one that leapt off the page the least. Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm but slipped off the ropes. Slater went for a flying nothing, allowing Styles to catch him with a powerbomb and a Styles Clash for the win. By the way, AJ Styles and Dragon Lee are the Raw Tag Team Champions, which you wouldn’t know if you only watch the premium shows. ***3/4
