Washington DC [US], December 14 (ANI): The global professional wrestling fraternity, including current and former WWE superstars, legends and fans, paid glowing tributes to John Cena as the iconic wrestler officially brought the curtain down on his illustrious in-ring career spanning more than two decades.

Cena, a record-breaking 17-time world champion, competed in his final professional wrestling match at Saturday Night's Main Event (SNME) on Sunday, where he suffered a submission loss to World Heavyweight Champion Gunther. The bout marked the end of one of the most decorated careers in WWE history.

Following the match, current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, who had a Champion versus Champion bout against WWE NXT Champion Oba Femi on SNME, delivered a heartfelt speech highlighting Cena's enduring impact on professional wrestling.

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WWE also posted a heartwarming video package featuring Cena's parents talking about his legacy as a wrestler and person, and fellow wrestlers The Miz, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, WWE CCO and former wrestler Triple H, wrestling icon The Undertaker, and Becky Lynch reflecting on his work ethic and contributions to the sport.

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Before the match, WWE icon and Hollywood actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson posted a tribute on X, praising Cena's humility and character.

'John, you epitomize one of my favorite quotes, 'it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice'. Congratulations on your historic and extraordinary @wwe career, my friend. Have fun, tear it down, and as always, 'thank you for the house'

Ex-WWE champion Mick Foley, also known as 'The Hardcore Legend' for his brutal, highly intense, no-holds-barred wrestling matches, also posted on Instagram, saying that it was an honour watching Cena in action one last time.

'I SAW JOHN CENA....It was an honour,' posted Foley on Instagram.

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Two-time women's champion Rhea Ripley posted on X, 'Thank you @JohnCena'

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Former WWE wrestler Matt Hardy, one-half of the iconic tag team 'The Hardy Boyz' with his brother Jeff Hardy, also posted on X, 'A tap-out by a man who massively respects the time-honored traditions of pro wrestling. #ThankYouCena #SNME.'

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Coming to the match, after Gunther made his entrance, Cena was welcomed to a massive ovation from the crowd, singing his theme song 'My Time Is Now'. After meeting his long-time rivals/friends Kurt Angle (his first ever WWE opponent), RVD, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Mark Henry present at the ringside, the match started.

Gunther started the match by taking down Cena with an uppercut and some knife-edge chops, but it was not very long before Cena unleashed his series of signature moves. However, a peak Gunther ended Cena's signature sequence with a German suplex and unleashed a powerful powerbomb and a series of clotheslines.

Cena delivered his signature offence again, even his finishing move 'Atitude Adjustment' and putting Gunther in a sleeper submission hold seconds after the Austrian attempted it, but Gunther quickly took the upper hand again as action spilt outside the ring. In a brute display of power, Cena once again turned the tide by putting Gunther through an announce table with another 'Atitude Adjustment'.

Cena tried to pin Gunther, but after a nearfall, he followed up with a top rope leg rope. However, Cena wasted too much time talking and was once again taken down by Gunther with some offence, including a brutal boot to his head. Cena wasn't the one to give up, living up to his mantra, giving his all as he launched him for an avalanche AA off the second rope. But to no avail, as Gunther kicked out.

Gunther got some offence in the form of a powerbomb and a frog splash, but Cena powered out. But once Gunther put the sleeper hold on Cena again, there was no escaping for a desperate Cena, who showed brief signs of life with another AA, with Gunther kicking out and unleashing his sleeper hold again, with Cena finally tapping out and losing. In his final match, Cena was forced to 'Give Up'.

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After the match, as Cena soaked in the adulation of fans, current WWE champion Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, made their way with a large group of WWE talent, including CCO Triple H, Cena's long-time rival, Shawn Michaels, The Miz, AJ Styles, Damien Priest, Carmelo Haynes, etc.

Rhodes and Punk put their respective world championship belts on Cena's shoulders as a mark of respect, letting him raise them one last time to mark his immortalised dominance as a 17-time world champion, as the fans and wrestlers gave him a massive round of applause. Cena left his shoes, wrist bands in the ring, heading back after this one last match of his career.

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Having already won the World Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Championship in his three-year run in WWE's main roster and retiring another wrestling titan, Goldberg this year, Gunther has registered his name in history books as a man to have defeated Cena in his final match. The Austrian wrestler booked his clash with Cena by defeating LA Knight in the finals of the 'Last Time is Now' tournament, which took place to determine Cena's final opponent.

Cena puts an end to a Hall of Fame-worthy career, including 17 world-title reigns, including 14 of them as WWE champion and three of them as the World Heavyweight Champion. Besides his decade-long dominance in the main event scene, Cena has also gathered considerable success in the mid-card scene, having won the WWE United States title five times and the WWE Intercontinental Championship once.

He also has two reigns each as WWE Tag Team Champion (one each with The Miz and David Otunga) and World Tag Team Champion (one each with Shawn Michaels and Batista).

Having won both major championships at main-event, both mid-card titles and some tag-team gold over his career, Cena is in a rare list of wrestlers to have completed a career Grand Slam in WWE. Completing a WWE Grand Slam requires a wrestler to capture either of the two major world titles, both mid-card titles and any tag-team belt as a criterion.

He is also a two-time Royal Rumble match winner, a one-time 'Money in the Bank' briefcase winner and has been involved in the main event clash at the marquee event 'Wrestlemania' multiple times.

After this match with Gunther, Cena's run as an active in-ring competitor comes to an end after two decades. His retirement tour this year saw plenty of thrills and milestones.

Leading up to Wrestlemania 41, Cena, who had for the majority of his career been a heroic figure who lived by the words of 'Hustle, Loyalty, Respect' and 'Never Give Up', took a darker and dirtier route to capture the record-breaking 17th world title at WM41 in April, with interference from Grammy-nominated rapper Travis Scott.

In months to follow, Cena would go on to have match-ups with his older rivals Randy Orton, R-Truth and CM Punk before turning back to his fair, positive ways as a wrestler, leading upto 'Summerslam' in August, where he dropped the title back to Cody in a passing-of-the-torch moment. Some intense bouts against Logan Paul, Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, Logan and Sami Zayn followed untill Cena defeated Dominik Mysterio on 'RAW' at his hometown of Boston in November to capture the Intercontinental title and a career grand slam. He lost the title back to Dominik at 'Survivor Series: Wargames' in November. (ANI)