John Cena Sr. praises son’s final WWE opponent despite previous contrasting comments

Earlier this month, on the Dec. 13, 2025, edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event, WWE legend John Cena faced off against Gunther in his last match.

Despite a strong start to the bout, Cena ultimately tapped out and gave up against Gunther’s rear-naked choke. With a few weeks gone since Cena’s retirement, his father, John Cena Sr., has shared his thoughts on it.

Ahead of Cena’s last match, his father made headlines when he expressed his displeasure over Gunther as his son’s last opponent. Cena Sr. specifically wanted to see names such as Kurt Angle, JBL, Chris Jericho, or other such veterans in that particular spot.

However, once the match was over, Cena Sr. ended up loving it and recently heaped praise on the “Ring General” while speaking to Undisputed.

“That match was excellent. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Gunther. He and John wrestled a great match together. They had people on the edge of their seats that entire match.”

Further speaking in the interview, Cena Sr. also complimented his son’s second-last opponent, the youngster Dominik Mysterio. Mysterio defeated Cena to win back the Intercontinental Championship at Survivor Series: WarGames 2025.

“Dom is spectacular,” Cena Sr. said. “People like him hold a lot of promise for the future of pro wrestling.”

John Cena Sr. comments on his son’s controversial last WWE match finish

In the same interview, John Cena Sr. also opened up about his thoughts on the 17-time World Champion’s controversial final match ending. While Triple H has a different perspective on retirement matches, Cena Sr. believes his son did not have to lose on his way out.

“I’m not one of those guys who thinks you have to go down when you go out,” Cena Sr. said. “When you look at the faces of people at the end of that match, with grown men and women in tears, I think we could have achieved the same result with a different finish.”

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