TNA's Mustafa Ali On John Cena Tapping Out At WWE SNME: 'Now He Can Finally Rest'

Former WWE star Mustafa Ali has interpreted what he feels John Cena was trying to convey when he had a smile on his face while tapping out to Gunther.

Cena's smirk before gently tapping out to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event has been a subject of ridicule on social media, while many of Cena's ardent fans were also displeased to see how the match ended. TNA star Mustafa Ali also witnessed this anger among fans when he watched the match with his friends, and in an interview with Denise Salcedo, he reasoned why the 17-time world champion had such a look before tapping.

"Man, I understand the outrage. I got it," he began. "When I watched it that night, I like went out with some friends, and they're all like, 'Man, that's BS. That's BS.' And I go, 'Man, Cena's like a genius.' I'm like, 'Look at these guys. They're all mad.' I go, 'You really hate that Gunther guy?' They go, 'Yeah, man. They made him tap.' And I go, 'You're really mad about that, right?' They go, 'Yeah.' I go, 'Can't wait to see that guy get his ass kicked, huh?' They go, 'Yeah.' I go, 'That's why John Cena is a genius.' He didn't tap out like, you know — we understand that his catchphrase is 'never give up.' That's why he had the smile on his face. He's saying now I can finally rest. That was what I got from Cena tapping out, [it] was: my work here is done. It was a sense of like, now I can rest."

Ali believes that, in the end, the right decision was made, given how much heat Gunther has with WWE fans.

"It's John Cena. He knows what he's doing, you know, and now Gunther is like white hot. People despise this man, you know. So, I thought it was well played."

Many other wrestlers have also backed Cena's loss, including CM Punk, who called the finish "beautiful" and criticized the online hate it has generated.