Wrestling Stars Pour Out Heartfelt Goodbyes To John Cena After Emotional WWE Retirement
John Cena’s in-ring career finally wrapped up on December 13, 2025, at Saturday Night’s Main Event from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., closing a 20+ year run that pretty much defined modern WWE.
The match itself was brutal and emotional from bell to bell. Cena hit all his signature stuff like shoulder tackles, Five Knuckle Shuffle, and multiple Attitude Adjustments, trying everything to put the Ring General away.
Gunther answered with vicious chops, power bombs. In the end, he put Cena in a sleeper hold that slowly drained the WWE legend, until the 17-time World Champ finally tapped out while smiling, signaling he was genuinely at peace with the end.
Following the match, Gunther left under heavy heat, even needing security as angry fans yelled at him. But Cena stayed in the ring, soaking in a long, loud ovation. WWE then ran a tribute video.
WWE, AEW And TNA Stars Thank John Cena
After the show ended, many names from across the wrestling world lined up on social media to bid Cena farewell by tweeting #ThankYouCena on X/Twitter. Check out some of the farewell tweets below.
#ThankYouCena 🥹 pic.twitter.com/VKM0RRNCSP
— Jade Cargill (@Jade_Cargill) December 14, 2025
Thank you @JohnCena 💙#thankyoucenapic.twitter.com/YKtVPytaeM
— Amanda (@MandaLHuber) December 14, 2025
#ThankYouCena#SNME@WWEpic.twitter.com/AQJLcBAjAW
— MariaKanellisBennett (@MariaLKanellis) December 13, 2025
Just a couple of Punishers! Pleasure meeting the awesome @jonnybernthal. Such a cool dude. #ThePunisher#ThankYouCenapic.twitter.com/nkcYjAJmtM
— Damian Priest (@ArcherOfInfamy) December 14, 2025
#ThankYouCena 🙏🏾🤞🏾 pic.twitter.com/byITDIQDVz
— Carmelo Hayes (@Carmelo_WWE) December 14, 2025
A tap-out by a man who massively respects the time-honored traditions of pro wrestling. #ThankYouCena#SNME
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) December 14, 2025
HUSTLE. LOYALTY. RESPECT… i could say so much.. but i will leave it at #THANKYOUCENA#SNME 🐐 pic.twitter.com/kXkkoLkrTM
— karmen petrovic 🗡 (@karmen_wwe) December 14, 2025
— Austin Gunn (@theaustingunn) December 14, 2025
After John Cena’s final match against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event, WWE updated his profile on WWE.com. They moved him from the active roster to the Alumni section, officially labeling him as a retired in-ring performer.
Also, after the night ended, Triple H revealed that Saturday Night’s Main Event at Capital One Arena was not only the highest-grossing WWE arena show in history, but also the highest-grossing event ever held in that building, beating out concerts and major sports.
Check out this review article if you missed the Saturday Night’s Main Event show.