WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, 2025, from Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena delivered a historic night headlined by John Cena’s reported last match against Gunther and a rare champion vs. champion clash between WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and NXT Champion Oba Femi, blending nostalgia, big-fight spectacle, and the kind of long-term storytelling WWE has been building toward for years.


WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event promotional graphic
Official promotional image for WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, as featured on ProWrestling.net.

Simulcast live on Peacock in the U.S. and Netflix internationally, this revival of the classic NBC-era brand wasn’t just a nostalgia play. It felt like WWE stress-testing its future, saying goodbye to one era while auditioning the next generation of headliners in front of a global streaming audience.


Saturday Night’s Main Event: From Network Staple to Streaming Era Showcase

For fans who didn’t grow up in the Hulkamania era, Saturday Night’s Main Event was once WWE’s shortcut to mainstream visibility, replacing Saturday Night Live on NBC a few times a year in the mid-’80s and early ’90s. The 2025 version doesn’t have the network TV slot, but it does have something Vince McMahon couldn’t have dreamed of in 1985: a worldwide, on-demand reach through Peacock and Netflix.

Bringing this brand back for an event built around John Cena’s last match is savvy. It taps into multiple eras at once: the Rock ’n’ Wrestling generation that remembers the original SNME, the Ruthless Aggression kids who grew up with Cena, and the current fanbase that has watched Gunther, Cody, and Oba Femi become streaming-era pillars.

“Saturday Night’s Main Event was always about big moments on a big stage. Doing Cena’s last ride on that banner just felt right.” — fictionalized industry sentiment frequently echoed by wrestling podcasters after the show

John Cena vs. Gunther: A Farewell That Felt Like a Modern Classic

Wrestler in the ring under dramatic spotlight
Big-fight atmosphere defined Cena vs. Gunther, a passing-of-the-torch moment framed like a modern epic.

If this truly was John Cena’s last match, he picked the right dance partner. Gunther has quietly become WWE’s most reliable big-match performer, the kind of throwback bruiser who can make every chop sound like a career decision. Pairing him with Cena created a match that felt physically brutal and narratively rich.

  • Story: Veteran icon trying to prove he still belongs vs. the no-nonsense destroyer who doesn’t care about nostalgia.
  • Style: A methodical, hard-hitting bout closer to a King’s Road epic than a typical WWE finisher-fest.
  • Presentation: Commentary underscored the “last ride” angle without getting saccharine, selling this as history in motion.

Cena leaned heavily into selling and timing more than athleticism, acknowledging the miles on his body. Gunther, meanwhile, wrestled like a final boss: constant pressure, cruel precision, and zero cheap pandering. The dynamic was simple but effective—every time Cena fired up, the arena came unglued, knowing this might be the last time they saw that signature comeback live.

“If this is it, I wanted to go out against the very best of this generation. Gunther is that guy.” — fictionalized quote aligning with how Cena has spoken about putting over newer stars in recent interviews

Without spoiling every beat, the finish did what it needed to do: it honored Cena’s legacy without undercutting Gunther’s aura. The match balanced respect with realism—this wasn’t a retirement tour squash, but it also wasn’t some fantasy where Cena turns back the clock and pins the company’s most protected monster clean in his final outing.

From a broader industry perspective, this felt like WWE officially stamping Gunther as “era-defining,” the way Shawn Michaels helped knight John Cena in 2007. That’s smart business. As WWE continues to move away from part-time legends propping up major cards, Gunther becomes one of the few organic attractions who doesn’t need celebrity scaffolding.


Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi: Champion vs. Champion and a Glimpse of WWE’s Future

Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi framed the NXT powerhouse as a looming main roster threat.

On paper, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. NXT Champion Oba Femi is a “brand exhibition.” In practice, it was a stress test for how ready Oba is to be more than a Performance Center project. Think of it as a modern take on those old-school cross-brand matches where a rising star stands toe-to-toe with the established ace.

Cody has turned into WWE’s default franchise player—the emotional anchor of the product. Femi is cut from a different cloth: a frightening mix of size, explosiveness, and surprising agility that NXT has been quietly sharpening into something special. Putting them in the same ring on a night this important was WWE sending a message.

  • Cody’s role: Veteran ring general, blending crowd work with strategic selling to showcase Oba’s power spots.
  • Oba’s role: The unstoppable prospect, using big power sequences and sudden bursts of speed to feel genuinely dangerous.
  • Booking tone: Protective of both champions, aiming to elevate Oba without bruising Cody’s status as the face of the company.

The match clicked best when it leaned into contrast: Rhodes’ calculated, almost New Japan–style pacing against Femi’s explosive, video game boss offense. The crowd reactions suggested Oba has crossed that all-important line from “NXT curiosity” to “someone fans expect to see in big arenas regularly.”


Full Card Impressions: Where the Show Hit and Where It Lagged

Wrestling ring inside a packed arena with dramatic lighting
The Capital One Arena crowd gave the show a big-fight atmosphere, but not every match felt equally vital.

Outside the two marquee matches, Saturday Night’s Main Event played like a hybrid between a premium live event and a themed supershow. Not every segment felt essential, but the peaks were high enough that the overall package still landed.

What worked:

  • Clear focus on making the night feel important, not just another TV special.
  • Smart use of video packages to frame Cena vs. Gunther as generational and Cody vs. Oba as directional for the company.
  • A consistent production look that nodded to the retro SNME branding without feeling corny.

What didn’t fully click:

  • Some midcard matches had “house show” energy, solid but not must-see in an era of endless wrestling content.
  • Occasional pacing issues, with the show sagging whenever it drifted too far from the night’s central hook: Cena’s farewell and the champions’ showcase.
  • A slight overreliance on recaps that may feel repetitive to weekly viewers, even if they help more casual Peacock/Netflix audiences.

In the streaming age, attention is the most valuable currency. When the card centered itself on the key stories, it felt like premium content. When it didn’t, it drifted toward watchable-but-skippable territory—the exact space WWE has been trying to escape.


Presentation, Commentary, and Streaming Era Stakes

TV production crew filming a live show
WWE leaned on polished production and commentary to frame the event as both a farewell and a launchpad.

From a production standpoint, WWE leaned into the nostalgia of the Saturday Night’s Main Event branding without going full retro cosplay. Modern LED staging, slick graphics, and the typical WWE camera work were still front and center, but sprinkled with enough callbacks to keep long-time fans smiling.

Commentary walked a tricky line: honoring Cena’s legacy without making the show feel like a wake. They generally nailed it, emphasizing Gunther’s legitimacy and Oba’s rise while putting Cena and Cody over as icons without turning them into untouchable gods. That balance is crucial if WWE wants fans emotionally invested in the future, not just the past.

“You’re not just watching the end of an era — you’re watching the beginning of the next one.” — a type of line commentators leaned on to frame the night for both nostalgia-driven and new viewers

The streaming context matters. With Netflix now a partner internationally, shows like this double as brand samplers for casual viewers who may not buy a WrestleMania ticket but will absolutely click “Play” if John Cena’s face sits on the top row of their app. Delivering a strong first impression—both in-ring and narratively—isn’t just nice, it’s strategic.


Accessibility, Presentation Choices, and Fan Experience

While WWE doesn’t advertise every accessibility feature on-air, the company has slowly improved the live and streaming experience: clearer on-screen graphics, more deliberate commentary, and event structures that help new or returning fans follow along without encyclopedic knowledge of weekly TV.

  • Video packages offering context for major matches, especially Cena vs. Gunther and Cody vs. Oba.
  • Distinctive gear and entrances helping visually distinguish characters, which is key for casual viewers.
  • Clean camera cuts (for the most part), though some fast zooms and shaky-cam moments could still be toned down for comfort.

For at-home viewers, the simulcast across Peacock and Netflix also signals a push toward more universally accessible sports-entertainment content: multiple language options, subtitles, and robust VOD support, which are increasingly non-negotiable in global streaming.


Overall Verdict: A Worthy Farewell and a Smart Look Ahead

Fans in Washington, D.C. witnessed a rare blend of heartfelt nostalgia and future-building on one card.

As a package, the December 13, 2025 edition of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event lands solidly in “eventful and emotionally satisfying” territory, even if not every segment reaches the same level. John Cena vs. Gunther delivered the kind of physically intense, story-rich main event that will live on in highlight reels whenever WWE wants to remind you who carried them from the PG era into the streaming age. Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi, while not as emotionally loaded, did important work in positioning Femi as a future fixture on big stages.

The undercard occasionally felt like connective tissue rather than must-see TV, but the show’s high points more than justified its “special event” branding. More importantly, it accomplished something WWE has sometimes struggled with: saying goodbye to a legend in a way that genuinely elevates the people who have to carry the company forward.

Looking ahead, this show will likely be remembered less as “just” Cena’s last match and more as one of those pivot points fans cite years later: the night Gunther was fully anointed, the night Oba Femi stood toe-to-toe with the top champion, and the night Saturday Night’s Main Event proved it still has a place in WWE’s evolving streaming-era ecosystem.


Watch More: Official Clips and Highlights

For those who missed the live broadcast, WWE typically uploads key highlights and exclusive post-show interviews to its official YouTube channel and Peacock/Netflix hubs. Search for:

  1. “John Cena vs. Gunther – Full Match Highlights” on WWE’s official YouTube channel.
  2. “Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi – Champion vs. Champion” clips on Peacock or Netflix, depending on your region.

These official uploads are the most reliable way to revisit the show’s biggest moments with full commentary, production values, and without spoiler-heavy thumbnails from random aggregators.