WWE and the entire professional wrestling fans still cannot digest the fact that the legendary John Cena had his final match last weekend. The December 13 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event was built around the leader of the Cenation, only for the former 17-time champion to lose to Gunther. The creative head, Triple H, aka Paul Levesque, has been called out for his booking of the matchup. Ariel Helwani is the latest among the bunch to do so.

Triple H was booed at the end of SNME last weekend at the Capitol One Arena. He’d later address the charges, claiming that there is a “time-honored tradition” in professional wrestling where certain things are bound to take place. And that’s where Gunther came in to grab the win over John Cena. However, Ariel Helwani believes that tradition is outdated.

Ariel Helwani feels the entire thing was a mistake

John Cena’s WWE career slowed down after 2017, given that he had started his Hollywood career. But nobody can deny the fact that he had been living and breathing WWE for over 23 years. He’s perhaps the biggest superstar to transcend professional wrestling and sports entertainment in the 21st century. Cena’s long-term commitment to the promotion called for a better send-off, according to Ariel Helwani, which Triple H failed to do in the name of tradition.

“No one wanted to see John Cena go out like that. And to suggest it’s a time-honored tradition for him to “do the job” is such a thing of the past. We live in a different era,” the veteran journalist wrote in a post on X.

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Also, the whole 2025 farewell tour did not live up to the mark either because Helwani, just like other people, believed that the WWE could have done better. While MMA figures like Chael Sonnen took aim at John Cena after his final match, Helwani came out in support of the former 17-time WWE champion, claiming that Triple H could have done more with Cena’s final year of wrestling.

“Cena deserved better. The farewell tour had so much potential. In the end, it feels like fans were left wanting more. I think it was a mistake,” the veteran journalist added.

Despite the backlash from the wrestling community regarding John Cena’s loss, Triple H reiterated the fact that nobody wanted to give back to the business more than the former champion. Here’s what Paul Levesque had to say.

The Other Perspective

Triple H explained after last weekend’s PLE that the clock keeps ticking and new stars will replace the old ones. So, what he’s done with his booking is ensuring that the wrestling business keeps moving on and bringing in newer faces. And while Cena retired from active competition, there is a chance that he’ll become an ambassador for the company soon.

“What you saw tonight, to me was the dawning of a new era. This whole thing goes full circle. You see the end of the John Cena era, and the beginning of a whole new wave in this business that will carry everything over into the future,” Triple H stated on the SNME Post-Show. “John Cena’s passion for WWE didn’t end tonight. John Cena’s in-ring career ended tonight.”

Well, there are plenty of opinions about the way John Cena’s career ended. Which side are you on? Did you like the way the match ended, or would you have wanted to see Cena beat Gunther? Let us know in the comments below.