Reviews

The John Report: WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event 12/13/25 Review (John Cena’s Final Match)

By John Canton • Published Dec 13, 2025 21:25 EST
WWE Saturday Nights Main Event December 13

The last time is now for John Cena as a WWE superstar at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

This is the 5th Saturday Night’s Main Event show of the year and the 6th since the SNME shows returned late last year. It is on Peacock for those of you in the US, and it’s on WWE’s YouTube channel for free because that’s where they put it for us non-US fans, like me in Canada. It has an 8 p.m. ET start time.

Earlier today, I wrote a 2,500-word article about John Cena that I would love for you to check out if you haven’t read it yet. Long story short, I have been a Cena supporter from day one, and while I may not be in tears for his retirement like some hardcore fans, I will miss him as a WWE superstar when he’s gone. I also absolutely understand why he wants to move on because I’m a few years younger than him, and sometimes your body just doesn’t work the way it used to.

On a personal note, a close friend named Ed Eastin Jr. passed away at 43 years old this past Monday night in Phoenix. We knew eachother for nearly 20 years, we became friends because of his love of pro wrestling, and he supported TJRWrestling as much as anybody. His death was a sudden, tragic thing, and he leaves behind a great teenage son named James, whom Ed loved dearly. Ed’s family has set up a GoFundMe to help James and others with the aftermath of Ed’s sudden passing. I know it’s the holiday season and life is expensive, but if you can help with a donation in any way, it would mean a lot to Ed’s loved ones. Thank you so much. I wish you all well during this holiday season, and thank you for your continuous support.

The WWE SNME shows don’t usually have a Countdown pre-show, but this one did on WWE’s YouTube channel. I had it on for a bit, but I don’t review those. The end of the Countdown show had WWE’s Lilian Garcia singing the American national anthem. Let’s get to it.

WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event
From Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Saturday, December 13, 2025

There were crowd shots and they showed people doing John Cena hand gestures. They showed some WWE Hall of Famers in the building like Shawn Michaels talking to Johnny Gargano, Trish Stratus, Kurt Angle, and Mark Henry. They showed actor Jon Bernthal and rapper Metro Boomin’ at ringside with an old school Cena US Title.

A video package aired with WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, narrating a video about John Cena as WWE’s Greatest of All Time, aka GOAT. The link will open in a new window if you want to check it out.

There was pre-show walking shown of the wrestlers competing on the show, including John Cena’s opponent, Gunther.

Joe Tessitore and 2026 WWE Hall of Famer Stephanie McMahon spoke about the show in the back part of the arena. They hyped up the show and said how it’s fitting that John Cena would want to showcase younger talent on his final night as a WWE superstar. Stephanie did Triple H’s, “Are you ready?” bit to end it. The fans cheered.

The Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes made his entrance for the opening match. It was a packed building in Washington, D.C., with a small entrance area and aisle so they could pack more fans in there. Cody got a huge ovation and the fans sang along with his “Kingdom” song.

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett were on commentary to welcome us to the show. Lilian Garcia was the ring announcer.

Oba Femi made his entrance as the WWE NXT Champion. Femi is a 2-time NXT Champion and is just 27 years old. Femi has only been wrestling for about three years. I’m so impressed by this guy. I realize a lot of people who don’t watch NXT may not know much about Femi, but trust me when I tell you this guy is a future main eventer of WWE. Femi is a face like Cody is.

Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi

They are both champions, but this is not a title match. The powerhouse Femi was in control early with a backbreaker. Femi sent Cody hard into the turnbuckle. Femi tossed Cody across the ring. Cody went for a lifting move, but Femi was too big and gave him a body slam. Femi punched Cody in the ribs. Femi gave Cody another backbreaker while making it look easy. Femi lifted Cody, who landed on his feet and Femi went charging into the ring post because Cody moved. Cody hit a running forearm followed by the powerslam that Cody loves to use. Cody jumped off the ropes with a Cody Cutter for a two count. Cody jumped off the ropes again, but Femi caught him. Cody sent Femi out of the ring, Cody tried to hit a dive, and Femi hit an elbow smash to the face. Femi charged, Cody pulled down the ropes and Femi bumped to the floor. Cody hit a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Femi was back up with a spinebuster for a two count. Cody left the ring and Femi nailed him with a running uppercut onto the commentary table. Back in the ring, Femi hit another huge spinebuster for a two count. Cody was bleeding on the right ear. Femi went for a move, Cody got out of the way and Cody hit a Cody Cutter off the top rope. The fans reacted to something in the crowd and there’s Drew McIntyre going into the ring to punch repeatedly. That’s it for the match at 9:10. Cody Rhodes wins by DQ because he was attacked.

Winner by disqualification: Cody Rhodes

Analysis: ***1/4 That was really good and then it just ended with a whimper because of Drew McIntyre getting involved. I’m not that surprised since Drew has had issues with Cody for a long time and it’s a heelish thing to do to ruin a match like that. Femi showed that not only is he the future, but he’s also the present. Cody getting bloody in the match by accident also made Femi look like a badass that hurt the WWE Champion. I would have loved Femi to win this match, but I guess they felt like it was better to not have a winner and have Drew ruin the match.

After the match, Drew McInaytre punched Cody several times. Femi got in Drew’s face and yelled at him about ruining the match. Drew told Femi this didn’t involve him. Femi shoved Drew on his ass. Cody jumped off the ropes and hit a Cody Cutter. Femi hit a Chokeslam and Drew left the ring. Cody handed Femi his title and Cody raised his hand. Femi raised Cody’s hand after it.

Analysis: I think that could be a preview of Oba Femi joining the main roster sooner rather than later and potentially feuding with Drew McIntyre. They could certainly set it up in the Royal Rumble, and perhaps it can lead to a WrestleMania match, or something along those lines. I certainly wouldn’t mind that.

They showed John Cena’s locker room as he prepared for his match.

A video aired with messages from celebrities like the Today Show crew, Tyrese Haliburton, Jordana Brewster, Eli Manning, Snoop Dogg, Peyton Manning

There was a commercial for the next Saturday Night’s Main Event in Montreal on January 24th and SmackDown on January 23rd as well. Love shows in my country of Canada.

A graphic appeared on screen saying “Commercial Break in Progress” for us on YouTube.

A video aired with more messages from WWE superstars like Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Bayley, Rey Mysterio, Charlotte Flair, Jey Uso, Stephanie McMahon, and an emotional CM Punk in tears saying he is following Cena’s lead and he thanked him.

There were some John Cena stats shown on screen They could have included even more there, but it’s still impressive.

They showed Tyrese Haliburton of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, actor Jon Bernthal and actor Chuck Zito at ringside.

Bayley made her entrance, joined by Lyra Valkyria. Bayley hugged WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus (my favorite) at ringside and Eve Torres at ringside. Sol Ruca from NXT was next, joined by her buddy Zaria. Sol is a 26-year-old former NXT Women’s North American Champion, and she’s only been wrestling for about three years. Sol is an incredible athlete with one of the best finishing moves in WWE. I like Sol a lot, and she has a bright future, as much as any woman in NXT.

Sol Ruca (w/Zaria) vs. Bayley (w/Lyra Valkyria)

There was some impressive handstand walking from Ruca and then she did a headscissors takedown to show off her athleticism. Ruca avoided a move by Bayley, leading to an X-Factor into the mat. They battled by the apron, Ruca avoided a move and Ruca kicked Bayley while she was on the floor. Bayley avoided a moonsault by Ruca and hit a forearm to take control. Ruca tripped up Bayley, leading to a superkick. Ruca tossed Bayley out of the ring. Ruca hit a cartwheel and backflipped over the top onto Bayley on the floor. That was incredible and not easy to do, but it looked amazing. Back in the ring, Ruca went for a springboard splash, Bayley moved and Bayley came back with a clothesline. Bayley hit a sunset flip into the turnbuckle for a two count. Bayley hit a knee smash. Bayley went for a knee attack, Ruca avoided it and Ruca hit two elbow smashes. Ruca hit a release German Suplex. Ruca went to the middle turnbuckle, she kicked Bayley and Ruca used the ropes to hit a cartwheel DDT for a two count. That was great. Ruca went for a springboard attack, but Bayley caught her and hit Bayley to Belly for a two count. Bayley jumped off the ropes, followed by an elbow drop for a two count. Ruca got a backslide pin attempt for two. Bayley went for the Roseplant, but Ruca put her hand down to get out of it and Ruca hit a knee smash for two. Bayley avoided the Soul Snatcher near the ropes and Bayley hit the Roseplant for a two count by the ropes because Sol got her foot on the bottom rope during the pin attempt. Bayley hit a belly-to-back suplex. Bayley went up top, she went for an elbow drop and Ruca got the knees up. Ruca covered for a two count. Ruca bounced off the turnbuckle and hit a Soul Snatcher, but there was no pin attempt because Bayley was on the apron. Bayley went for a pin attempt, then Ruca countered it and sat on top of Bayley while holding the legs for the pinfall win at 9:25.

Winner by pinfall: Sol Ruca

Analysis: ***1/4 It was an entertaining match with Bayley bumping her ass off to sell for Sol Ruca and that helped make Ruca look like she belongs in there, which she does. What I mean is, Ruca was able to do a lot of big moves throughout the match. They basically told the story of Ruca going for big moves, hitting some of them, missing on others and when she missed, Bayley was able to get some nearfalls. Ruca winning with the Soul Snatcher would have been cool, but I don’t mind how they did the finish with Ruca countering a pin attempt and sitting on top to win. Well done.

Sol Ruca celebrated with Zaria as the announcers put it over as a huge win by Ruca. After the match, a frustrated Bayley shook hands with Sol Ruca. The four women held their hands up and did a John Cena-like salute after the match.

Analysis: I think Sol Ruca belongs on the main roster in 2026 and perhaps they could use this win to set up a feud with Bayley if she were to go heel next year. Ruca is a natural babyface who is so easy to like.

There were more video messages from WWE superstars talking about John Cena. The messages were from Sheamus, Rob Van Dam, Corey Graves, Becky Lynch, Michael Hayes, Tom “Stew” Stewart the camera guy telling John not to “f**k it up,” Michael Cole and Cody Rhodes thanking Cena for the house.

A commercial aired for the WWE 2K25 video game with the John Cena Farewell Tour Edition add-ons to the game.

A graphic appeared on screen saying “Commercial Break in Progress” for us on YouTube.

There was a commercial for the Royal Rumble on January 31st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Undertaker appeared for a video message thanking John Cena for his legacy in WWE. The Rock’s social media was shown thanking John Cena for his incredible career. Undertaker and Rock congratulated Cena.

They showed WWE Hall of Famers Michelle McCool, Mark Henry, Kurt Angle, Eve Torres (not a Hall of Famer but maybe one day), Trish Stratus, Rob Van Dam, and the great Sami Zayn with his young son. That’s cool.

Michael Cole spoke on camera, thanking other announcers he called John Cena matches with: Tazz, John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves, Jim Ross, and Jerry “The King” Lawler. Well said.

The hosts Joe Tessitore and Stephanie McMahon talked about the show so far. They spoke about how they were impressed by Oba Femi and Sol Ruca. Stephanie told John Cena that “we can see you” for the final time tonight.

It’s time to get bouncy, and NXT’s Je’Von Evans and TNA’s X-Division Champion Leon Slater made their entrance. They are both just 21 years old, so they weren’t even born when John Cena debuted in WWE 23 years ago. Evans is amazing and a future NXT Champion, while Slater is from England, who has been very impressive in TNA over the last year. Their opponents are the World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Dragon Lee, who have had several great matches as a team in the last few months. Styles got a big reaction from the crowd, as usual.

AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater

This is not for the WWE World Tag Team Titles. Evans and Slater were on fire right away. After Styles was sent out of the ring, Evans hit a dive over the top onto Styles. Slater sent Lee out of the ring and dove over the turnbuckle onto Lee on the floor. Back in the ring, Slater hit a cross body block on Lee, Evans got the tag and Evans hit a Frog Splash on Lee for a two count. What a start! Slater hit a splash on Lee against the turnbuckle. Lee was able to break free and bring in Styles, who hit a clothesline and forearm on Evans. Styles hit a jumping clothesline, followed by a slam onto the knee. Styles hit a sitout slam into the mat. Evan punched Styles to block a move. Evans went for a springboard moonsault, but Styles moved and tackled Evans into the barricade. Lee hit a flying hurricanrana on Slater, who he sent into Styles and Evans superkicked Styles to stop a move. Evans sent Lee into the ring post. Back in the ring, Evans went up top and hit an OG Cutter on Styles. Slater went up top and hit a Swanton 450 on Styles for a two count because Lee kicked Evans onto the pin to break it up. That Swanton 450 looked brutal because I think his knees may have hit Styles in the ribs. The fans were chanting, “This is awesome” for them. Evans and Lee exchanged kicks. Lee hit an elbow smash on Evans, who was knocked out of the ring. Lee hit a somersault dive over the top onto Evans on the floor. Slater avoided a Styles Clash by Styles, but Styles hit a forearm while on the apron. Styles went for a Phenomenal Forearm and Styles slipped on the top rope, so Slater got a two count. I don’t think that was a planned slip by Styles, but I don’t know for sure. Slater went up top, jumped off, Styles blocked it with a Powerbomb. Styles hit a Styles Clash for the win after about 7 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee

Analysis: ***1/2 That was a match full of action. I would have loved to see them get more time, but they made the most of the time they were given. If this went over 10 minutes then it would have been over four stars, but it didn’t get enough time. The fans were into it because they were chanting, “This is awesome” three minutes into the match, so that showed how the fast paced action worked well. The team of Evans and Slater did get a couple of nearfalls in the match, but it made sense for the champions Styles and Lee to retain. It looked like Styles was going to win with the Phenomenal Forearm and it looked like a legit slip to me. I’m not one of those people who make a big deal out of a “botch” or whatever you want to call it. That’s not an easy thing to do, so shit happens sometimes. Styles rocks. They improvised after that and got through it.

After the match, the four wrestlers stood together and did the John Cena salute to the camera.

They showed social media posts by sports teams paying tribute to John Cena by showing images of Cena wearing various sports jerseys.

There were more messages from WWE superstars talking about John Cena like Kane, R-Truth, The Miz, Big E, The New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, Alexa Bliss, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre, and Sami Zayn. They thanked and congratulated Cena.

A graphic appeared on screen saying “Commercial Break in Progress” for us on YouTube.

The John Cena video messages continued rom celebrities like Tom Brady, Jimmy Kimmel, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Jalen Brunson, Lil Yachty, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jelly Roll.

They showed Metro Boomin and retired Navy Seal Master Chief Edward Byers at ringside. There were also fan signs shown.

The hosts Joe Tessitore and Stephanie McMahon talked about the main event between John Cena and Gunther. Stephanie said that the match was going to be awesome…but she was cut off by The Miz in his ring gear in the ring.

The Miz did a promo about how he was a main character in John Cena’s history. Miz said instead of focusing on the future stars, you should look at The Miz’s history as a guy who beat John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania in the same gear he is wearing right now. R-Truth cut off Miz and said that Miz messed with Nick Aldis’ balls in the tournament. Miz opened the plastic ball and it said Joe Hendry. The Miz said his name, so Joe Hendry appeared of course. The fans were singing along with Joe’s song. Miz tried to attack, but Hendry was ready for him and Hendry hit a fallaway slam. Miz sold that fallaway slam for about 30 seconds, as Hendry and Truth posed for the camera. Hendry and Truth gave Miz a Ten Knuckle Shuffle. Hendry hit the Standing Ovation on Miz and Truth counted the pin to give Hendry the unofficial win. Hendry and Truth did Hendry’s hand waving for the crowd, who joined along.

Analysis: A fun moment that only took a few minutes. It was a way to include The Miz and R-Truth, while putting over Joe Hendry as an NXT guy that humiliated Miz. The fans loved it. I don’t mind it because it worked.

A graphic on screen said that the attendance was 19,232 people in the crowd. That’s big. Joe Tess and Stephanie McMahon cued up a video package.

There was a John Cena video package featuring WWE stars that was shared by WWE on social media in recent days. Awesome video showing Cena highlights with the WWE superstars featured throughout the video. It was awesome.