Gunther Needed Extra Security to Leave Arena After Beating John Cena

The ending to John Cena‘s final WWE match was so controversial that his opponent needed extra security just to leave the arena safely.

More than 19,000 fans packed into the Capital One Arena in Washington DC as the 17-time world champion stepped into the ring for the last time to face Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

However, what had been a celebratory atmosphere for much of Saturday evening turned sour when Cena rounded out his career by tapping out to ‘The Ring General’. For a Superstar who forged his reputation on a mantra of ‘Never give up’, fans were furious that their hero had been booked to lose in such a fashion on his final night in the ring.

Prior to the final moments of Saturday’s contest, Cena hadn’t tapped out in a WWE ring for more than 20 years. Boos immediately began to rain down on the ring as soon as the result was made official. Chief Content Officer, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, came in for plenty of abuse as he made his way down to the ring after the match to congratulate Cena on his legendary career.

It might be customary in professional wrestling for stars to lose in their final appearance in the ring, but fans didn’t want to see John bow out in such a one-sided manner. Ultimately, the crowd settled down for long enough to allow Cena to make a dignified exit from the ring, leaving his trademark towel and sneakers in the centre of the squared circle as he made his way backstage.

Gunther Escorted Out of the Arena After Beating John Cena

As both fans and Superstars made their way out of the arena, though, tensions began to ramp back up again, with the line between storyline and reality becoming dangerously blurred.

The Austrian required a heavy security presence simply to make it back to his bus as fans bombarded the heel with chants of “f*** you Gunther”. The situation became increasingly tense as more and more fans began to realise that the 38-year-old was in such close proximity.

Cena isn’t the first big name that Gunther has retired this year, with the former World Heavyweight Champion choking out Goldberg in the WCW legend’s retirement match back in July. However, even if ‘The Ring General’ is set to make a new gimmick out of retiring icons, the finish of Saturday’s match is likely to go down in history as one of the most controversial ever.

Had John lost by pinfall or by passing out in the sleeper hold, fans still wouldn’t have been happy, but the act of Cena giving up outright riled fans in a way that few other booking decisions have done for years.