John Cena’s retirement match ended with Gunther scoring what he believes is the most meaningful victory of his entire professional wrestling career.

At last weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, Gunther defeated Cena in the final match of Cena’s legendary run. The bout capped off a retirement tour that began back in January and ended with Cena submitting after Gunther locked in a sleeper hold.

Speaking after the match on TMZ Inside the Ring’s podcast, Gunther reflected on the significance of the moment and said it is a win he will be able to talk about for the rest of his life. He explained that the atmosphere backstage made the night feel even bigger than WrestleMania for many involved.

“It was definitely the biggest or the most meaningful win, maybe, of my career or the win with the biggest reaction afterwards. That I can definitely say,” Gunther said. “It’s hard to compare to anything else because John Cena has been such a legendary figure in WWE and the wrestling world in general. It’s really hard to compare. Like the whole day, I could tell people were really tense and very serious about everything. It almost felt like more important than WrestleMania to a lot of people backstage, if I can compare it to that. I mean, I knew what I was going to do anyway. So the clock was ticking. It almost felt like a time bomb to explode at the end of the day. And, yeah, well, it did. Thankfully to my advantage.”

The finish to Gunther vs Cena proved controversial, with many fans hoping Cena would end his career with one final victory. Addressing those reactions while staying in character, Gunther offered a blunt response.

“Stop crying. Life goes on,” he said.

The victory over Cena added to a remarkable year for Gunther, as 2025 also saw him defeat Goldberg in what was billed as Goldberg’s own retirement match.

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