WWE Saturday Night's Main Event 12/13/2025: Draws & Duds

This Saturday, one of the most acclaimed wrestlers of all time officially hangs up his boots, as John Cena calls it a career after one last match at Capitol One Arena in Washington, DC. His opponent at "Saturday Night's Main Event" is former World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER; meanwhile, the undercard will be filled out by three matches featuring stars of the main roster taking on stars from "WWE NXT" in non-title exhibition matches, an idea pitched by Cena himself.

It's rare to see a modern WWE PLE (or even a classic PPV) with no gold on the line whatsoever, but that doesn't mean there aren't matches that compel the WINC staff! And of course, there are also matches that do ... somewhat the opposite of that. What are our hype levels like heading into John Cena's last match? Here's our biggest draw and our biggest dud for the 12/13/25 edition of "WWE Saturday Night's Main Event!"

Heading into this past weekend's "WWE NXT" Deadline, Cody Rhodes said he wanted to embrace the spirit of John Cena and give an opportunity to the future at Saturday Night's Main Event, setting up a non-title bout with whomever walked out of Deadline as the NXT Champion.

This writer had that pegged for a draw the moment it was confirmed for this weekend, given that there is no world or dimension where the WWE Champion taking on the NXT Champion should't be considered a draw. But then Oba Femi went into Deadline and beat Ricky Saints for the title, ensuring that it will be "The Ruler" versus the "American Nightmare" for the first time ever, and whoa, what a match. 

Femi has a very legitimate claim to the "Next Big Thing" tagline, carrying himself like a star both between the bells and with a microphone in-hand. He hits the sweet spot of being a physically large man with explosive speed, the size adding to his momentum rather than slowing him down, and to say he is going in the ring with a very giving and sell-hardy Cody Rhodes is to describe the perfect match. That's without even considering the possibility that Femi wins the match, laying foundations for an eventual move up to the main roster – which, at this point, he is more than ready for. 

Win or lose, this stands to be a spotlight for Femi like no other. It's an opportunity to work with the established Quarterback of the company at the same event John Cena will be retiring. And there's surely no way it doesn't wind up a really good match.

Written by Max Everett

If the abundance of "NXT" talent featured on John Cena's dedicated "Saturday Night's Main Event" card and his 8-hour appearance at Lodestone 2025 say anything, it's that Cena's original intentions for final WWE stint were to uplift the in-ring performers of tomorrow. So why is he facing GUNTHER as his final opponent?

No, seriously, why? I get that GUNTHER is a relatively newer talent, but he is not the person that needs the special Cena rub. GUNTHER is a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in company history. He was the face of "NXT UK —" to the point where people were mourning the possibility of him not transferring over to American "NXT" and the main roster — and he is one of the most dominant performers to grace a WWE ring. He's not the type of wrestler I imagine Cena had in mind when he was fashioning his retirement tour.

Okay, let's imagine you're not the biggest fan of some up-and-comer beating Cena. Let's say you were one of the people waiting for a historic figure to end Cena's historic career. Randy Orton, perhaps? Maybe you were waiting for an Adam Copeland return to WWE. A few of you might even have taken "The Final Boss," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. GUNTHER is a disappointing outcome here too! GUNTHER and Cena have next to no history together, and since we can guess that GUNTHER is going over on Cena come December 13, it is truly a disjointed ending to a literally legendary career.

GUNTHER is a very capable performer — one of the best in WWE. However, when he is neither new enough to benefit from a Cena moment, nor old enough to have a trip down memory lane with, him as Cena's final opponent is a veritable Dud. You can't come up with a worse final opponent.

Written by Angeline Phu