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John Cena bid goodbye to his WWE career on the December 13, 2025, edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event by tapping out to Gunther. The Never Seen 17, going against his motto of ‘Never Give Up,’ stunned almost all the fans. Now, Grand Slam Champion Jeff Hardy has expressed his thoughts on Cena finally giving up.
In an interview with MuscleManMalcolm, Jeff Hardy noted that The Leader of Cenation had given his soul to WWE from day one. Hardy added that the view of John Cena’s smile before tapping out is something that would stay permanently lodged in his memory.
“He committed and dedicated so much of his human existence to WWE, and it's so inspiring. I'll never forget that view of the sleeper hold, and the smirk, and then the tap. I'm like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. That last year, he was having some killer matches, letting it all hang out, like my dad used to say. Hitting all these crazy moves, getting the code red. I was just loving every moment of it.”Spoiler on Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes - Check Here!
While almost every wrestler loses their retirement match and elevates their opponent, the WWE Universe was shocked to see Cena lose by giving up. Following his defeat, the record-setting 17-time WWE Champion took a bow before the spectators in Washington, DC, removed his shoes and bands, saluted the crowd one final time, and left the arena.
Matt Hardy believes John Cena left on his own terms
Aside from Jeff Hardy, his brother, Matt Hardy, was also present during the interview with MuscleManMalcolm. The TNA Tag Team Champion said he was happy to see John Cena go out on his own terms. He reminisced about his time with The Franchise Player and called him the hardest worker in the company.
“I was happy John got to go on his own terms. I like John. I worked with him very early in his career, right after he was on the road. We had a blast when I was doing Matt Hardy Version 1, Sensei of Mattitude. He was the Doctor of Thuganomics, so we had a good time. We traveled together a little bit. Really happy for him, man. He really is a GOAT there because no one was more loyal to WWE. No one worked harder than John Cena did, and props, man. I'm happy he got to go on his own terms to do his work.”In alignment with Matt Hardy’s remark, Cena told Cody Rhodes on his What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast that he went out the way he wanted to and explained why he smiled before tapping out. It would be interesting to see how Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect will do as an ambassador for WWE after the end of his in-ring career.
Please credit the YouTube channel of MuscleManMalcolm and give an H/T to Sportskeeda if you use any quotes from this article.
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Edited by Neda Ali
English (US)