Saturday Night’s Main Event: The Last Time is Now Review
December 28, 2025WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event Review
Champion vs. Champion: Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi
To kick off this emotional night, we saw Cody Rhodes face off against the rising force, Oba Femi. Oba already looks like a polished main roster star, and he clearly had the D.C. crowd behind him. The irony of this being Femi’s “Ruthless Aggression” moment facing the face of the company is exactly what I love about wrestling.
It was a solid match that took a turn when Drew McIntyre interfered. Interestingly, McIntyre had a brief face-off with Femi (sign me up for that match ASAP!). After Rhodes and Femi teamed up to take McIntyre out, “The American Nightmare” gave the NXT standout his seal of approval.
Sol Ruca vs. Bayley
This was a “Styles Make Fights” type of match that I was hyped for. Ruca’s unique athleticism was on full display; my only hope is that she doesn’t fall into the trap of everything looking too “choreographed” as she grows. The back-and-forth was great, just a badass wrestling match with Ruca ultimately coming out on top. Seeing all the women on the roster salute Cena afterward was a classy touch.
AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater
The theme of the night continued: showcasing the next generation. It was great to see TNA getting a spotlight here. While Leon Slater didn’t get a massive reaction initially, he and Evans look like a fun, high-energy duo. I’ll admit, I’m slipping because I didn’t realize Slater was from England!
Styles and Dragon Lee are an odd pairing on paper, but they worked incredibly well together. This was the “aerial assault” match of the night, filled with “this is awesome” moments. That flying Rana into the Styles Clash is insane to see. Normally, this “spot-heavy” style can bug me, but tonight it felt right. It was a beautiful moment for Leon Slater to share the ring with his idol, AJ Styles.
The Last Match is Now: John Cena vs. Gunther
It still doesn’t feel real that this was John Cena’s final match. Before the main event, The Miz came out demanding to be Cena’s final opponent. R-Truth interrupted, mimicking Cena’s entrance, and drew a name out of a hat: Joe Hendry. Hendry made his appearance, defeated Miz, and gave the crowd a massive feel-good moment before the heavy emotions set in.
Watching Cena’s final entrance was tough; it was hard not to get choked up. WWE treated this like a massive PLE main event, which is something WWE has excelled at all year. The story of the match was clear: Gunther punishes Cena, but Cena perseveres. When Cena hit the AA for a two-count, the D.C. crowd was buzzing with hope.
In a poetic reversal, Cena even locked the “Ring General” in a sleeper hold, reminiscent of Jey Uso’s tactics. The fight spilled outside, where Cena AA’d Gunther through the announce table for another near-fall. The crowd chanting “Don’t Give Up” felt like a culmination of twenty years of loyalty.
However, Gunther did the unthinkable. In a moment that left the arena stunned silence, Gunther made John Cena tap out to win the match.
The finish has sparked a massive debate in the IWC. While I think the execution of the finish felt a little flat in the moment, Cena following the “time-honored tradition” of going out on your shield (and your back) was the right call. Could he have passed out like Austin at WrestleMania 13? Absolutely. But the shock of the tap-out cemented Gunther as the ultimate heel.
The locker room clearing out to surround the ring was powerful. Even then, the crowd didn’t let up on Triple H for how the match ended! When Cena left his sneakers and armbands in the ring, it finally hit me that this was actually over.
Watching Cena walk up the aisle for the last time, absorbing the love and giving his final salute, was the perfect end to an era. (Shoutout to Peacock’s bad connection that I had to rewatch the final moments the next morning!). Overall, a fantastic Saturday Night’s Main Event that hit us right in the feels and I feel it is only right to end this with Thank you, Cena it is going to be a bit odd not hearing that music and seeing that entrance again.
