Report: WWE 'Blindsided' By Fan Fury Over John Cena Losing His Retirement Match

WWE were reportedly "blindsided" by the negative reaction to John Cena losing his retirement match at the December 13 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.

Cena's career came to an end when he went one-on-one with Gunther, the winner of the Last Time is Now tournament. Gunther promised to make Cena tap out to end his career, and that is exactly what the 17-time world champion did on Saturday night, as Cena spent much of the final five minutes of the match in a chokehold before a wry smile came across his face and he gave up.

The fans inside Capital One Arena were furious following Cena's tap out, with WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H being loudly booed by those in attendance during the post-match celebration of Cena's career. Triple H also received chants of "You f*cked up" and "AEW" during the Saturday Night's Main Event post-show.

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that many within WWE didn't agree with the decision to have Cena lose his last match, and the company were blindsided by the negative reaction to Cena losing.

"There are many people in WWE who did not agree with that decision (John Cena losing), but the guy in charge did it. The one thing that I can say is that even though they may say something different publicly, they were blindsided by that reaction. The idea that we did it, we knew it was going to get heat, it's just the price we pay. When they're all chanting and he's going, 'Oh, I thought it would be louder', that was a defence mechanism…. I was told there was no discussion of a reaction," Meltzer said.

It has been noted that John Cena and WWE wanted him to lose his final match with the idea of "making someone on the way out." Most within WWE creative were reportedly in favour of Cena losing, while a number of wrestlers wanted the 48-year-old to win his retirement match, although they understood Gunther winning.

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