Love or hate John Cena's retirement match at last weekend's Saturday Night's Main Event, there's no denying that it's made Gunther one of the most hated men in WWE.
Cena put up one heck of a fight against The Ring General, but in the closing moments of the bout, we watched as he repeatedly tried and failed to escape from Gunther's sleeper hold. Accepting his fate and the fact that his time was well and truly up, the Last Real Champion smiled and tapped out to The Ring General.
After the former World Heavyweight Champion made the man who preached "Never Give Up," well, give up, he faced a hostile crowd both at the PLE and during Monday's RAW.
Appearing on The Ringer Wrestling Show, Gunther was asked to share his thoughts on the match and how it ended. "I was satisfied with everything, to be honest," he said. "First of all, I think it’s a very big achievement to take people on a ride like that with a Sleeper Hold. I think that’s a very big achievement."
Asked for his take on Cena's accepting smile, Gunther noted, "That’s the message he wanted to send, and that’s his right, and that’s what he wanted to, the message he wanted to send to his fans. That’s fine. It doesn’t change the outcome if he’s smiling or not."
The Austrian WWE Superstar is gaining a reputation for ending careers, as he also retired WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg earlier this year. If recent rumours are to be believed, up next for The Ring General is Brock Lesnar when he hands up his fight gloves at next year's SummerSlam.
Cena recently sat down with Cody Rhodes for his first post-retirement interview. During that, the Last Real Champion shared his take on why he smiled and the message he was attempting to convey to his sizeable fanbase.
"I envision something beautiful. Saturday far exceeded whatever was in my heart and soul," Cena started. "I know I’m out there one last time. I’m out there, and they hate the guy I’m working with. They universally cheer me. That is f**king rare."
"For the last five minutes, everything I preach about story, drama, and having a conversation with the audience...the ones I love are in the front row, I know my colleagues are watching on the monitor in the back."
"We’re just in a sleeper hold, but we’re having that conversation with the audience. As I essentially take my last breath and have struggled," he continued. "You think of somebody, the natural causes scenario, or however we picture loss in our life, all of us have been through it. They struggle and struggle, but they hang on just long enough to make sure to say goodbye to everyone that is meaningful in their lives."
For Cena, tapping out after smiling was meant to signify that he was at peace with his fate and had completed his WWE journey.
"That whole day was so many meaningful and vulnerable conversations. Then, you realize, I’ve connected with everybody I love. Physically, I feel great. I think it’s time to take that last breath," Cena explained. "I hate to keep going back to obituaries, but that was, 'This person died peacefully.'"
You can listen to the full interview with Gunther in the player below.