Ariel Helwani strongly criticized how WWE booked John Cena’s final match and the overall handling of the last year of Cena’s career.
The MMA journalist said he was disappointed that WWE ended John Cena’s legendary run with a submission loss. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Helwani made it clear that fans did not want to see Cena go out that way.
He said, “The fan boys will be like ‘No, this is what you have to do, this is what John wanted, this is exactly what he wanted, he wanted to give back to the business.’ And to that I say BS. I say hogwash to that. I say that’s nonsense because that is an ideology from a business that no longer exists. That’s 1970s, 1980s wrestling.”
He pointed out that Cena lost several high-profile matches which made the final result even more frustrating. “That’s not WWE Unreal territory, that’s not the era that we’re living in now. Who wanted to see John Cena lose time and again in the last few months? Got his ass whooped by Brock Lesnar, lost to Dominik Mysterio, loses to Gunther.”
“And not only does he lose in his retirement match, the guy who told us for 20+ years never to give up, not only does he lose, he loses via submission.” He added, “No, I reject this. This is not what those people wanted. This is not what anyone who was a fan of his wanted.”
Helwani finished by saying WWE should have gone in a completely different direction. “The match should have never been Cena vs. Gunther to begin with, and the result should have never been Cena losing, and it sure as hell never should have been him tapping.” [H/T: f4wonline]
Read More: AEW Talent Blasts Finish Of John Cena’s Final Match
