Last night, John Cena officially ended his historic WWE career with a loss to Gunther. After decades of telling everyone never to give up, the greatest of all time did just that after getting repeatedly ensnared in a sleeper hold. The fans in attendance and many on social media were not happy campers about the not-so-fairytale ending. In between several standing ovations for Cena himself, WWE fans loudly booed head booker Triple H over the creative decision, but the 17 time World Champion was always going to end his career that way.
The wrestling business is about creating momentum. You can build it through great promos or cool intros, but the fastest way to do it is by literally taking it from other people. Winning a match in wrestling is a signal to the audience that you are ascending. It’s a vote of confidence from the decision-makers that you are going to be a bigger part of the story, fighting more important opponents and getting more screentime. It tells everyone watching that they should pay attention to you.
