Bill Simmons wasn’t in attendance to see John Cena wrestle his final match.
But if he had been, he wouldn’t have been among those booing Paul “Triple H” Levesque for having the wrestler whose motto is “Never Give Up” end his career by tapping out.
On the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer founder discussed the controversial finish to the last match of Cena’s career, which took place during this past weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event show on Peacock. And unlike many, Simmons actually liked seeing the 17-time WWE champion end his career by submitting after being trapped in a sleeper hold by his opponent, Gunther.
“That John Cena thing. I liked it. Most people didn’t like it,” Simmons told ‘Cousin’ Sal Iacono. ” I thought it was a good zag. I thought it was The Sopranos ending of of WWE Farewells. Like 10 years from now, I think it’ll be good.”
Cousin Sal proceeded to question whether anyone will even know who Gunther is a decade from now. Simmons retorted that “The Ring General” is now a “huge heel” while continuing his defense of the polarizing finish.
“I liked it. Cena was symbolically saying, ‘I’m literally tapping out. That’s it for me,'” the ex-ESPN columnist said.
While opinions about pro wrestling creative are obviously subjective, Simmons’ stance is hardly the consensus among fans. That much was made clear in the immediate aftermath of the match, in which fans in attendance at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. booed Levesque, the WWE chief content officer who is in charge of the company’s creative.
Although there is a longstanding tradition of pro wrestling legends losing the final matches of their careers, that trend has shifted in recent years. Plus, many fans (both in attendance and online) weren’t as upset about Cena losing so much as they were about him tapping out, as doing so is antithetical to the character he’s spent the last 20 years playing.
In many ways, Simmons is right; the reaction wasn’t all that dissimilar the final scene of The Sopranos. Now we’ll just have to wait another decade to see how it ages.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.