Gunther has retired two WWE wrestlers as of January 2026. Bill Goldberg and John Cena are the two fighters to have been retired by Gunther with several others in his crosshairs in the coming months.
Goldberg’s loss came by technical submission in July 2025. In December of the same year, Gunther defeated via submission Cena in his final bout before retirement.
In a sleeper hold, Cena tapped out in a moment that will long live in WWE history. Gunther had already built himself up for Cena’s fight and prepared fans heartbreak.
He said, “It’s going to be a great day where everybody’s going to tune in and show up and bring all the love for John Cena. But at the end, they’re going to get their hearts broken. So I’m looking forward to that.”
Cena’s Reaction
Some of Cena’s fans were displeased when he tapped out of his final match. Gunther had no problem rubbing salt in the wounds, but Cena, previously one of the highest paid WWE wrestlers, wasn’t bothered by the perception.
Speaking in New Orleans, Cena said, “Thank you for being vocal enough to express how you felt because every moment can be a teachable moment. My job is to try to put together a story that I think you all will enjoy.
“When there’s critical opinion out there, I’m all ears. I don’t ignore the critics, I’m thankful for them for DC and every match I had before that."
He continued, "I guess kind of parallel to my career, I think it was a perfect end because a whole lot of people thought it sucked, and a whole lot of people thought it was special.
“And that’s kind of been my story for 23 years. So I thought it was perfect.”
Respect for Goldberg
After a gruelling fight with Goldberg, Gunther was very respectful of the WWE Hall of Famer’s career and the challenge he posed in his final matchup.
Speaking to Sam Roberts and Megan Morant, Gunther said, “Him as a person, as a character, as a brand in this business… he’s a Hall of Famer already but a Mount Rushmore character, Mount Rushmore personality in this business, and that’s what made him just special is he never needed to be a good technical wrestler, he never needed to have a lot of finesse.
“Everything he did — and it’s almost a little bit similar to what I do — he’s very straight to the point, he’s very straightforward. So that guy was not easy to handle for anybody he ever stepped in the ring with.”
Gunther added, “He came back for the right reasons. To fight for what’s near and dear to him. Obviously, it was for the World Heavyweight Championship but I would say, going into that, you could tell it was about something way more personal than a championship so, I gotta pay my respect to him.”
AJ Styles
Known as the ‘career killer’ after ending Cena’s time in WWE, Gunther wasn’t exactly modest about his achievements. His comments weren’t interpreted favourably by AJ Styles, who believed Gunther was diminishing Cena’s legacy.
Following a controversial fight on 12th January 2026, Styles challenged Gunther to a rematch. Gunther put a condition that it would only go ahead if he put his career on the line – Styles accepted, setting up another potential career-ending win for Gunther.
Fan opinion of Gunther took a hit after his first match with Styles. Their rematch at Royal Rumble is bound to be divisive, particularly if it leads to the end of Styles’ time in WWE.
