How Long Had Gunther Vs. John Cena Been Planned?

John Cena’s in-ring career in professional wrestling is finally over as he wrestled Gunther on last night’s Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C., bowing out on his historic career in WWE. Gunther earned the right to face Cena in his last match after winning the ‘Last Time Is Now’ tournament, outlasting LA Knight in the finals. More has been learned on WWE’s plans ahead of this show. 

It has been revealed by Fightful Select that the plan for Gunther being Cena’s final ever opponent has been in the works for some time, stretching back to before SummerSlam. The report states that this was the internal direction ‘going back months’, even before he was injured prior to dropping the World Heavyweight Title to CM Punk. Despite his injury, WWE’s plans for Cena were still centered around The Ring General, as was heavily reported for months leading up to Saturday Night’s Main Event. It was reported during the last month that some in WWE were not overly thrilled with the choice of Cena's opponent.

In the main event of the evening, John Cena tapped out for the first time in over 20 years to go out on his back, unable to escape Gunther’s relentless sleeper hold.