Thank you, John Cena

John Cena, the greatest of all time, the 17-time world champion, has retired from professional wrestling.

His final match took place last night at Saturday Night’s Main Event and, somewhat poetically, John Cena tapped out for the first time in over 20 years, falling to a defeat at the hands of Gunther. The result itself isn’t necessarily too controversial, given that most wrestlers want to go out on their back, but the manner in which he lost has certainly led to some criticism.

For now, though, we just want to focus on John Cena himself. This man has carried the WWE brand on his back for the better part of two decades and now, he has ridden off into the sunset after a remarkable send-off from the fans in Washington D.C. and those watching around the world.

He said he was going to retire after his retirement tour, which lasted one whole year, and John Cena stuck to his word. There were no surprises, and when looking back on it, perhaps that was the right way to go. Sure, you can question some of the booking decisions that have been made on his retirement run over the last year, but that debate is probably for another day.

John Cena – thanks for the house

John Cena is the kind of guy who so clearly deserves to be on the Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling, and yet, he has never really been one to complain when things have gone south for him, either in the ring or backstage. Others who have been in a position of power like his have often taken it upon themselves to get annoyed about their spot on the card or certain booking decisions, but not John.

The video package that finished the show was beautiful, the tributes were great, and Cena himself seems pretty happy with how it all played out. Now, it comes down to whether or not WWE will be able to rebuild the momentum that they are clearly going to lose in the wake of this exit, especially with the Road to WrestleMania being right around the corner.

Thank you, John, from wrestling fans all over the world. We can see you.