Raw Recap - Thank You John Cena | Final Match reactions and more: Saturday Night’s Main Event Recap

32:58So he used his own balls. You know what I'm saying? So it was good. He's the GM. But Miz did something inappropriate with him. That's right. And he had to be called... And you know what? That's the point, right? John Cena has held himself with such character to allow somebody who's done something inappropriate with Nick Aldis' balls on John Cena's last show? You couldn't allow that. On TV. On TV. He did it on TV. People saw him do it. Yeah, you're right. You know what I'm saying? Like, bro, he got no dignity, like, bro, you got no morals or nothing. Right. It's kind of crazy. Everybody saw him do it, and you were the only one to call him out.

33:27Nick had his balls in his hand because he was talking to me. That's right. I remember that. And you tried to point his balls out to him multiple times. I was watching every single week. But it's like you can't point at anybody's balls. You know what I'm saying? No, you have to know them. Right. Those are the rules about pointing at someone's boss. You should know them. I mean, if you're going to be that forward. Well, his boss was already spoken for. That's right. Yeah. That's right. He had the names already on him. Miz just switched them. See? He switched the names, right? You know what I'm saying?

33:55Yeah. And then he made the card no sin. He said his name and he appeared. Joe Hendry. With that smile. You love that smile. I love the smile. It's a million dollar smile, dog. Yeah, I agree with you. Yeah, you can buy or sell anything with that smile, right? Yeah. It's a million dollars. You can sell some new balls with that smile. That's right. Right? I was ready to buy some. You can sell any kind of balls. American, British, whatever we are. You know what I'm saying? Scottish. Scottish balls. I haven't seen Scottish balls. You've never seen? Can you put a note in them? Of course you can. Oh, okay.

34:25They're made the same way. Are they clean? Depends. Depends on who you ask. That's true. Depends on where you get them from, too. That's right. That's 100 % right. And were they used? Right. You got to be careful. I don't want balls that's been used a lot. No. No, I wouldn't either. What are we talking about? The game. We're talking about Joe Hendry coming out tonight. Right. We don't need to talk about balls. His name was in the balls. I don't think you heard me. I'm just trying to talk about wrestling. It's wrestling. That's what we're talking about. It was a tournament going on. Yeah, I understand that.

35:02It was a tournament going on, right? And Nick had these balls inside. You know what I'm saying? Inside this big old thing, right? Right. It was Nick's ball. And he was spinning the balls. Yeah, I watched the product. Yeah, I saw this. Spinning the balls. Get one out and handle the balls. He would grab them and open them up. You ever seen the crack ball? Yeah. He was cracking balls. Yeah. He was cracking balls. He cracked the ball open. Right. While he cracked the ball open, he was holding them. Right. And Miz came in. Yeah. I'm talking to Nick. And Miz, that's when he had his chance to be inappropriate.

35:29You don't take something when nobody ain't looking, right? Right. You don't switch out somebody's balls when they're not looking. Oh, man, come on. That's horrible. Well, I was happy to see Joe Hendrick at this opportunity tonight. Huh? It is. Yes, it is. I was really happy to see Joe Hendry get his opportunity tonight, you know? He should have. Yeah. Those were his balls. That's right. His name was in the ball, right? And you knew that from the beginning. I knew it from the beginning. Well, I didn't know it was him, but. I knew it wasn't Miz. That's right. That's right. I knew it wasn't Miz. All that talk about he has big balls?

35:56No. You know why? Because Miz has small balls. You know why? Very small. Only three letters, M-I-Z. You don't need a big ball to put a note like that. You don't. It's a small note. That's why the balls are small. balls in there. You can put Miz in that one. Right, right. Whereas Joe Hendry, much longer, no bigger balls. Big balls. So do you think Miz got what he deserved tonight from Joe Hendry? Absolutely. And what about, I mean, this friendship, I mean, you guys look like a, like a, like a, like a almost like a buddy cop Christmas card. Christmas card at the end of that thing. Smiling. Yeah, right.

36:32White man can't jump. That's what I was thinking. You did? I was like, is that Leslie Snipes? Then you want me to say it, right?

36:44We're all cinephiles here, right? Yeah, we all. So, I mean, on top of everything that you did as part of this Cena retirement tour, like we just said, you were here tonight on the last night as part of it as well. Is there a favorite moment that you were included in? Because this is a year, by the way. I mean, this is Cena's year. Yeah. But it has been a wild one for you as well. Fair to say? It is. Very fair to say. Yes. Is there a moment that you've had this year with John Cena associated around the John Cena retirement that you go, yeah, that one really stands out?

37:28I can't pick one.

37:33Moments, man. I think if you pick one solid moment, you're taking away from the other ones that meant this is equally. Sure. We've had so many good moments, man, for this year. They ended on a great note for him and for me. Yeah. Almost like it was our year. Yeah. Especially because you spaced out all your moments. Them Cinnaboy. Them Cinnaboy, you know what I'm saying? I'm like, yeah, I am Ron Cena. You know what I'm saying? When did that all come about? When did you realize number, I mean, he started as your childhood hero. Which, by the way, people think. Everybody's brother is their hero. You see, I didn't know that.

38:16I didn't. He's your older brother. Do you mean you get a number of 23 and me? Because that's what I talk to. And they told you? They told me. You're Ron Cena. DNA. I got pictures with me and his dad. I mean, our daddy. Your daddy? We got different moms. Sure. Yeah. Sure, that'll happen. That's why you see our tweet, I said, my brother from a different mother. Right, yes. Yeah, that's for real. Same father, though. Same father. Okay. A lot of times people don't. Yeah, yeah. If you squint sideways, you can see the resemblance, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. We're twins. It was a couple minutes earlier.

38:48Yeah, I mean, you're talking about the. It had to be only a few minutes. A few minutes. It was two. Two minutes. He came out, then you came out? Yes. Wow. Shocking. Except from different mothers. Yeah, but still two minutes apart. But you, both women were, without getting too graphic, both women were giving birth simultaneously. Simultaneously, dog. That's nuts. It is, dog. That's fate. It's a miracle. It is a miracle just because of the way, I mean, just the conception. It's life, man. I guess it is life. It's life. It's life, dude. It's life, dog. Right. We're here. And we're here. And we're here now, you know what I'm saying?

39:21That's right. All these years later. Right. You guys come together and look at this beautiful ball. We're at the same place, you know what I'm saying? It's like it was meant to be. It was meant to be. Yeah, I mean, part of this retirement tour has been all the John Cena t-shirts that came out, a different t-shirt in every city. I'm sure you at the beginning of this year did not realize that you would also get a t-shirt based on the John Cena retirement tour. I mean, it was the most blatant theft since. I mean, you took the Judgment Day's t-shirts. And then you said, well, I'm done with that. This is true.

39:54I'm done taking the Judgment Day's t-shirts. Who else is moving? Who else is moving merch? Maybe I'll take some John Cena action over here. Are you calling me a troll? No. I'm calling you an entrepreneur. I am an entrepreneur. Yes, yes, yes. I am, yes. I'm just spreading the love. That's it. I'm just spreading the love. Just from the day, you know what I'm saying? They're laughing love. They needed the love. They needed a lot of love. Have you found Nick? I've never found Nick. No, I've never. That's sad. Hate to hear that. He hit me on the pager. He's called me. He paged you? He paged me. Did you call him back?

40:31Was it 911? Yeah, 911.

40:37He 911s me, dog. Yeah. But I had no number to call him back on. Oh, he just put 911. 911, it's Tom. Yeah. Nick. It was Nick. Tom's here. It's Nick. I was with Tom. Yeah. It's Nick. Is it 911? Do you have his number? No, I don't have his number. Tom and Nick are crazy, dog. Together? No. No, sure. I get that. I get that. But fans, you say bittersweet when you talk about John Cena. John Cena went out the way Gunther said he was going to go out. John Cena tapped out. This is the first time John Cena's tapped out in 20 years. John Cena tapped out in his last match. I mean, the reaction, it was almost reminiscent of looking at the audience when Brock Lesnar beat The Undertaker's streak.

41:22It was. You know, the audience could not believe. And that's it. What did you think when you realized that was it? That was how this is going to end?

41:36I applaud it.

41:40Because John would be the first one to tell you, you can't win them all.

41:48He'd be the first one to tell you, man, you got to hustle, loyalty, respect, never give up like but you can't win them all you have to know he always tell me one hill at a time and sometimes you have to know which hill to go up which hill to come down that right there was a applaud for me because it was a hell of a match it was he gave it everything he wanted to give it his last spin you know what i'm saying like he He went out the way he wanted to. He went out fighting. He told you from the beginning, we're going to go out here and handle the business. We're going to give it all we got. I was appreciative.

42:29That guy was appreciative. I was happy for that. And you could read the lips. He said that to the audience. He's like, that was all I had. And it was this beautiful moment because it was not just that was all I had in the match. This last year, I gave it all to you. I gave it all to you. Win, lose, or draw, you're getting all of me. You're getting it all. And, I mean, yeah, I feel like you're right. That is where you have to applaud it. That is where you have to go. I mean, that's perfect. It's perfect. He's human, and he's giving you the definition of what he's always stood for. Did you take a moment when you were out on the floor at all to look around the arena?

43:08Yes. What did you see? Oh, man. So many different expressions on faces. It was affecting. He was affecting and hitting people in so many different ways. Some people were crying. Some people was in shock. You could read people's faces like watching in him and mirroring him and just put that impression in their minds because they know that might be the last time they're going to ever see him. Yeah. I mean, I was saying before, but like every time he did an attitude adjustment, I was like, yeah. and then there was a part of me going oh no was that the last one was that the last one was that did i just see the last one and it was emotional yes you know what i mean because i have to get emotional i think ms said it and he was 100 right when he talked about john as not being i mean he's one of these rare cases where he's foundational he's not just that that top guy of a generation he's foundational in the sense that like every top guy since the whole locker his fingerprints are on absolutely everything that you see around.

44:18Do you, I mean, you see AJ Styles is talking about retiring. This one's talking about retiring. That one's talking about retiring. Is there anything in your head? After you see something like this, do you go, oh man, I got to plan my exit? Or do you go, we're going to ride this until the wheels fall off? I mean, I'm on deck. we on deck. I don't want to hear it. I don't mean to laugh. It doesn't make me happy. It's just lots of good phrasing. I'm on deck. AJ's on deck. I just told Punk, we all on deck. I told him all that. I told him all that. We all on deck, bro. And by the way, y 'all see that?

45:06We're on deck, yes. And you're not all getting a year by the way. You're behind me, yeah. But, oh, man. I always like to say, I steal this from the rock. I let pain and my body be my guide as far as, like, when it's time for me to go. Right now, I still feel good. I've been injured a lot because I do moves. I do things that I learned from Booker T years ago. Psychology, I want to have longevity in the business. I want to do things that I know I can do, I can get away with. But at the same time, it's entertaining. it's spectacular it's fancy and the crowd likes it so now when you get into the different aspects of it of like you got younger talent coming in and which is supposed to happen everything evolves and goes around cyclical cyclical cyclical almost like a ball like a ball remember Nick's balls Knicks balls, yeah.

46:09I went all the way around and then back to the beginning. Cyclical. Cyclical. You gave me a new one. Appreciate that. I thought you were saying you were sickly. Okay. No, not sickly. Okay, gotcha. Lux it. I'm a little cyclical.

46:27Don't mess with him, he's cyclical. I'm sorry, you got cyclical. Okay, no, but I thought about it. As you know, I just renewed my deal, man. So it's like... I heard about that. This could be the last one. Yeah. Could be. It could ain't be. Right. Yes. We all have to have that time. We all have to get off the ride at some point. Let me ask you this. In one year, Goldberg comes back. Gunther goes, no, sorry. John Cena comes back. Gunther goes, no, sorry. When you look around and the people that you talk to, whether it's punk or AJ or you, where you guys are looking around going, yeah, but no matter what our plan is, Gunther's going to ruin it at the end.

47:11He's going to put us all to sleep. He's going to put us to sleep. Yeah. I mean, that's got to be a thing now, right? Where it's like, well, we want this big thing, but Gunther's just, I mean, Gunther's the machine. He's going to go through everybody. He is, and Gunther's is, I mean, he's awesome, though. He's unbelievable.

47:28Gunther is a traditional athlete, and he studied the art. He studied his craft. And I see him as like one of the most technical wrestlers, man, of our time right now. He has a star written all over him. He has the look. He has the moves. He has the mindset, the psychology. McGuffins, all that. Yeah. I will get some revenge. For your brother? Man, come on. You got him on your list now. when I retire, it's probably who I'm going to go up. With Gunther? Yeah. You're going to beat him? It's Fatback Greaser. Yes, it is. Yeah. Yes. As a matter of fact, it is. Yes. Good for you. Good for you. Man, I mean, I don't know.

48:21I feel like, but you're right, right, in the psychology of it all, in the fact that, like, the presentation of Gunther, because, like, in all the time that you've been here, with John and you've seen John. I mean, I remember when you had to be the bad guy that John Cena was going head to head with. Right. That's when you started a smoking habit. Yeah, I like that. Why'd you have to bring that up? Well, because it was bad, but I say this all to say, as a villain, which you have experience as well as a hero, Gunther coming out and not only getting booed by the entire arena, But I mean, I was sitting there in awe of like realizing that those five moves of doom, everybody gave John Cena a hassle about.

49:13I mean, he they were chanting Super Cena. Yeah. They were going crazy for the five moves of doom. It was like this whole thing. I think Gunther is a big part of that. but I think it's also this overwhelming appreciation and acknowledgement of John Cena, where it's almost like us as fans going, man, I know we gave you a hard time. I'm sorry about that. We love this. We love you. You're taking a beating for us. Yes. Yeah, the realization. You're going through this. Gunther's the guy, yeah. For us. Yes. For our enjoyment, our entertainment. It's emotional. It gets you right here in your gut. But when you sit back and you realize and you get to really capsize and think of everything in a situation like you just said, if you don't feel something, you're not human.

50:00Yeah. Right? I think you and Broski brought this up on the radio. It was like those were the five moves of doom that everybody used to chant you can't wrestle for. And at the end of the day, that's what everybody wanted to see tonight. That's what we want to see. And it goes back to what you were talking about with Booker. about what it's like. This is the psychology behind it is this is what is going to get people excited. It's going to make people react. These are the moves. And look who we saw tonight. Yeah. That's what people wanted to see. Well, Truth, man, I appreciate you giving us some of your time.

50:30Oh, thank you. You're the best. Thanks, Truth. Talking to us right after. I mean, listen to you. Performing music on the pre-show. Yeah, I do something for him. Yeah. Getting in there with Miz and Joe Hendry on the show show and then with us here on the post-show podcast. You had to get the balls right though. She didn't understand. I think we spent a lot of time talking about balls. Maybe I don't have balls. No, I don't. You don't? No, she wasn't in the tournament. Oh, that's right. She wasn't in the tournament. We're not in the tournament? No. Not even as one of the mystery? No. Shocking, I know.

51:01She doesn't have any balls at all. She doesn't understand. She doesn't understand the fragility of them. No. No. At all. Fragility? Fragility. It's like when you're cyclical. I was going to say sick of the whole team. That too. Truth, thank you so much, man. Thank you. We always laugh when we're around. We can't. We always, right? Yeah.

51:28Man, R-Truth was incredible. The best. I am so glad that we had R-Truth in here. You know what R-Truth did? He brought the juice. He did. R-Truth brought the juice. He always does. In a big, big way. And I mean, I'm telling you, I mean, this guy, I see you got the Cody Rhodes lemonade. Yes, I got I got a I got to get some of this juice. I wasn't juicing enough earlier. No, no, no, no, no. Well, you were just taking it all in at first. How's that? How's that Cody lemonade? Juicy, baby. This is fantastic. I mean, Minute Maid. It's true, though. I mean, I get I get emotionally drained when we talk about everything going on with John Cena.

52:05So, you know, and that makes you very, very thirsty. so to come back here with a delicious refreshing beverage and we got the blue raspberry we got the fruit punch we got the lemonade we got the pink lemonade we got everything that we need so thank you to R-Truth for bringing the juice and thank you also because Minute Maid allows you to bring the juice so Megan Sam I've got to tell you that John Cena's final match was not the only match on this show when John Cena designed this show, he said that it was kind of the only thing that he had kind of his creative hands on was the design of Saturday Night's Main Event to the point that he's even done interviews talking about other stuff that has happened on this retirement tour that he's like, no, I don't know.

52:53I just, they let me know what we're doing and I go, okay, let's go do that. But he said the one exception that he made was that Saturday Night's Main Event was originally designed to be a full-on, you know, John Cena show. And he said, wait a minute, what if we did exhibition matches between stars from NXT and some of the biggest superstars on the main roster? Which was, I mean, huge and also. Again, putting more fingerprints on the future superstars in WWE. So on brand in the sense that, yeah, I think that there was a lot of stuff that happened tonight that people will look back on and go like, yeah, kind of the beginning of that for that person.

53:31Was John Cena's final match. That's right. That's 100 % right. I mean. When the world watched the Soul Snatcher for the first time altogether. That's what I was going to ask you about. I mean, that's a moment. And not only did they watch it, they were forced to take notice of it because Sol Ruka, I mean, caught Bayley with that perfect Soul Snatcher. And then one, two, three. Sol Ruka beat Bayley. And I don't think a lot of people saw that coming. I didn't. Right. It was almost like, is that? Oh, that's it? She did it? She did it? Where's the – clean? Soul Ruka just beat Bayley? And that's it.

54:09I mean, and that is how – And they're replaying the Soul Snatcher and you go, whoa. Because you're right. There are – I'm sure there are a lot of people that were watching this show that hadn't seen the Soul Snatcher before. That's right. You know? And that is the type of move where the second that you see it, you go, oh, my. It stops you in your tracks. Yeah. Yeah. I remember – You hit pause on the TV and you rewind. Yeah. I don't even think she was on NXT television full time the first time I saw it. And I was like, there she is. You know what I mean? Like, okay, that's it. She was on level up.

54:39Right. We're going all the way with this one. That's incredible. And to see her kind of just get better and better and better and better. Given the growth she's had this year with Zaria by her side. Yes. And really to stand in the ring with a superstar that's one of the four horsewomen in Bayley. and to belong and have nobody in the audience doubting that she should be there. No, and to own the moment. A little drink ski. And to own that moment and to have it be hers. And I thought that all the stars from NXT were just so aware of this is the platform that I'm on. I deserve to be on this platform.

55:21And, like, I'm here to show the world what I can do. And I think that Sol Ruka did that tonight. You were surprised when she beat Bayley? Yes. Very surprised. I mean, I thought she had an incredible match. I thought Bayley put on an incredible match as well. She's the best. I just didn't see Soul walking away with the dub. And I think that that was a part of it with the whole sort of NXT thing was that, you know, you look at this and you're like, man, this is going to be cool. But I don't. Is main roster talent going to lose to NXT talent? it we saw it with Sol Ruka because then the conversation goes well does that mean Sol Ruka is coming up where is Sol Ruka gonna be where does she fit in where does she fit in another main roster I don't think anybody would complain if Sol Ruka were on the main roster no not at all you know what I mean but I think too uh also I mean she has a partner in Zarya that I'd love to see her do big things with in NXT as well I would love to see him do big things in NXT I would also love to see as the women's tag team division is heating up like crazy right now.

56:27Stacked. Especially on Monday Night Raw. You see Lash Legend last night? Of course I saw Lash Legend last night. Come on. Forget about it. But what would happen if Sol Ruka and Zarya just showed up? What would happen if Sol Ruka and Zarya just were like, hey, we'd like to take a stab at this as well. That would certainly disrupt the tag team picture. And people would go like, yeah, this is all a result of that appearance on John Cena's Yeah, yeah, have a little drink seat for yourself. Of John Cena's. I was stuttering there. I need a little. Final match. Yeah, you got to bring the juice a little better than that.

56:57I think there were a lot of people looking towards Obafemi versus Cody Rhodes. Yes. And wondering how it was going to go. I saw people having a lot. There was a lot of discussion about this match. Yeah. Who should win? Who should lose? Should, you know, about the amount of offense each person should have. I mean, people were looking at this match on a granular level. yes and i also think it was one of those matches too where where uh not only are you going to get the world to see oba but right on friday night smackdown when oba stood in the ring with cody roads he matched that intensity he made you believe right and you said wow oba belongs yes yes and oba coming out tonight and like sitting out there and hearing people equal we want uh let's go cody let's go oba let's go cody let's go oba it was so amazing to see it was like the audience said was was telling us we're ready for oba and we're ready for oba right now and look i don't think anybody's happy with a disqualification finish it can't be you know i know i because it left us wanting so much more it leaves you wanting more it it makes it so that You're almost like, okay, well, I thought, you know, the point of this exhibition match was to find out who's better.

58:19At the same time, what was the full result of that disqualification? Drew McIntyre being involved. What was the full result of that? Tonight we saw Obafemi put his hands on Cody Rhodes a lot. And then we saw Obafemi put his hands on Drew McIntyre, which that is a net positive for Obafemi. When he knocked Drew McIntyre down on the ground and Drew McIntyre just looked up staring at him like, what is this force that I have never experienced before? That was an introduction to Oba Femi. I mean, it was really, really well done. And right after Oba Femi's match with Cody Rhodes, we ran back, we got off the floor of the arena and we ran back into our gorgeous and delicious Minute Maid podcast studio.

59:09and we said, we got to get Obafemi. We got to get Obafemi in the room. And the ruler marched right in, holding the NXT championship. And you'll see, from the ring into this room, this is our conversation with Obafemi. Losing to last week's leftovers.

59:30Time to bring the juice.

59:35When every day feels like Monday, bring the juice. Minute made.

59:42I mean, literally, fresh out of the ring, off facing the WWE champion, Cody Rhodes, the ruler. Oba Femi is here. Oba, when you are in the ring, in front of fans that have been watching Cody Rhodes, that have packed this building in Washington, D.C., so that they can see John Cena's final match, and you're in there with the WWE champion and you hear, let's go Cody, let's go Oba. What are you thinking? It just goes to show how much work I've put into this. I'm undeniable at this point. The body of work in NXT spoke for itself tonight and the match paid dividends, the crowd reacted to me like I've been here for decades, like I've been here for a very long time.

1:00:34It didn't feel like I didn't belong. It didn't feel like I was out of place. The walk speaks for itself. Well, Oba, we're standing out on the floor, Sam and I, and Cody Rhodes' music hits first, which to me, I was a bit surprised. I thought it would be your music hitting first, and then Cody Rhodes, as the WWE champion, he would enter second. Was there any part of you when you were standing back in Gorilla that thought, oh, I hope they do the hope? I knew they were going to. I knew they were going to. I came out on Friday night at SmackDown yesterday, And they responded. I heard the Oba feminists in the crowd chanting my name, doing the who.

1:01:12So no surprise there. No surprise that Cody comes out first. You have to make the people wait for what they really want to see. The ruler is what they came to see. They've seen Cody Rhodes a thousand times. This is special. And it felt special. It felt special out there. You've had a lot of big matches in NXT. But right now in current WWE, I believe you could easily make the argument that Cody is the big match wrestler. Was there any difference to you in realizing that you were in there with Cody Rhodes, somebody that has main evented four WrestleManias in a row? You definitely feel it. you know being in there like I've coming up for my next year I've you know I've wrestled the least intimidating the most intimidating the most seasoned the least seasoned and out of everybody there just the way Cody operates in that ring you can tell he's one of the most seasoned the most experienced and the most dangerous guys we have on the roster then again this is also the ruler the destroyer I'm also very dangerous in my own right and arguably more dangerous than Cody himself.

1:02:28So there's definitely a difference, but I'm still up there with him. It's also to me very interesting that you heard from so many people tonight that were talking about, I mean, they're paying a lot of reverence to John Cena, talking about tonight's being John Cena's night and having the honor of getting to compete on this card that John Cena put together. But for you, while you didn't show any disrespect, I feel like you still continue to carry yourself in a way the same way you talk about the people out there that were waiting to see you where this is your night as every other night that you compete in the ring is your night is that accurate is that how you were considering this that's definitely accurate but like i do respect john i don't want yes uh the way i'm carrying myself to come across as you know me not caring about john or me not really paying reverence to him like i respect everything he's done.

1:03:22He defined my childhood. He was on my screen for 19 years before I left Nigeria and came to the States. He was on my screen the entire way. So I respect John. You know, I love his work. I admire John. He's the man. But what was poetic about all this, and I've said this multiple times over the course of this weekend, is that his end is my beginning. And that's something special right there. You strike me as someone just so hungry to improve and so hungry for more and so hungry for these opportunities like the one that you had tonight against Cody Rhodes. But is there a part of you that reflects on that kid growing up in Nigeria who was the biggest wrestling fan, who watched John Cena on his screen for 19 years and think, wow, I'm doing it?

1:04:15I think about him sometimes. Not all the time. I'm always, you know, forward ever, backward never. That's always my mentality. I always put one foot in front of the other. And I don't necessarily look towards the end of the tunnel because that in it of itself can be distracting sometimes. But I never look back. But sometimes, sometimes you hit some milestones and you catch yourself in that moment because you're always asking, it's like, when is my moment going to come? And then you get so caught up in fishing for that moment that it passes you by when it's there. and I've had very, so many successful moments in my WWE career and sometimes when I catch myself in those moments, I think about that young boy.

1:04:57Is this one of those moments tonight? Yes, this would be, I mean, if I didn't do this interview, probably not, but like you asking that question has definitely, you know, made me remember and think back. Young Obafemi would definitely be proud of this moment. You talk about moments. There's a moment in the match where you could feel the audience kind of on this ride with you. And that was that, I mean, massive forearm that went right over the commentary table. It was like, it was incredible to watch when you nailed it. I mean, did you feel that energy? Did you take a breath to go, oh, I have him?

1:05:37Oh, yeah. You know, the momentum swings back and forth during a match. I mean, in most cases, when Obafemi wrestles, the momentum goes one way. But, you know, we're talking about the number one guy in the WWE right now. So Obafemi versus Cody Rhodes, momentum swinging back and forth. But you can always tell when there's a significant moment in the match, when the momentum swings heavily in your direction. And me plowing him through that table was one of those moments. And I had to capitalize. And I definitely felt that in that moment. It didn't win. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but it was definitely a big moment.

1:06:12Well, talking about the ending of the match, I mean, I think a lot of the fans were disappointed that it ended in the disqualification. Drew McIntyre coming in. You put your hands on Drew McIntyre. There was almost this moment where Drew looked up at you kind of shocked. Just at the shove. At that display of power. Was that you taking your moment that was potentially robbed from you in the sense that you didn't have this finish over Cody Rhodes? Was that frustration with Drew McIntyre himself? It's nothing personal between me and Drew right now, but he definitely robbed the fans. He robbed me of my moment too.

1:06:49And me shoving him was me sending a message because I've said the future is here. And that message is not just applicable to Cody Roots. It's for every single 40-year-old veteran on this roster. The future is here. The future is now. And the now is me. I think that's exactly what John Cena had in mind when he said he wanted this retirement not to be about it being over, but to be about what's next. Every interview that he's done, he's talked about the fact that he should be forgotten. And I think that you coming in are sitting there going, yeah, and that should be replaced by Oba Femi. I agree.

1:07:36Oh, but we appreciate you giving us this time right after that match. I mean, do you feel on your way out? Do you feel like this is a milestone? I can only imagine, right? Because, I mean, people who listen to this podcast, people who listen to Not Sam, they all, you coming to the main roster is a topic of conversation that is frequent and consistent. And I feel like giving people this taste is going to amp that conversation up by about 10 ,000. Do you feel like you have reached a point now where, like you said, undeniable is the word that you'd describe yourself as? Do you feel like you've shown the audience that may not have been aware before Saturday night's main event why it's, I didn't want to say your time is now based on where we're at, but your time is now.

1:08:30I mean, yes. I mean, they've seen it for themselves. I mean, I don't need to. I feel like the work speaks for itself. I don't need to talk too much anymore because I just went toe-to-toe with Cody Rhodes, and I belonged. That's all I'm going to say. That's where I'm going to leave it. Toe-to-toe with the best in the company, and I was right there with him the entire time. Did Triple H say anything to you on your way out? He said we're going to make magic. Wow. And I agree. because, you know, it doesn't get more complete than Obafemi. Everything you need, the strength, the size, you give him a mic, magic.

1:09:11We will make magic. I appreciate it, Oba. Thank you for giving us this time right after an event like this on a night like tonight. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Thank you.

1:09:25Shout out to Obafemi. That was just amazing. I know there were a lot of Obafemi fans. that were going like, this is the moment. I want to see what they do with him. And like the fact that not only did we get to see something pretty spectacular from him, but we found out that the boss wants to make magic with over. How about that? When you asked him what Triple H said, I was like, oh, please tell me. Please tell us. Give us the scoop. Don't keep that to yourself. We're going to make magic. I mean, and I believe it. I believe it. I believe every bit of it. You know, I think, well, you'd have to be blind to not see what's there.

1:10:06But I think Triple H sees what's there. I think that when you talk about the future, right, and how deep this is, you know, because it comes up all the time that so many of today's biggest stars have been around for a long time. However, that makes sense. Like, if you can still go at the level that the people around here can go at, then you're going to get better as you go. And it's also not just getting there. It's staying there. Exactly. Exactly. And getting better and getting better. And also. It's not like, oh, I made it. I'm done. Time to go. I'm done. Right. No. Right. And I also think that the, like, wrestling stars are becoming bigger than they ever were.

1:10:50Like, it's becoming a normal thing that somebody becomes a giant star in the WWE and then goes mainstream. Like, you know, this model. John Cena, The Rock, Batista. Like, it's like, oh, that can be you can. And we're seeing now that, like, we've got a main event scene where the biggest movie in the country is Zootopia and Roman Reigns and CM Punk are in it. Yep. We're coming up to John Cena's final match. But at the same time, we're seeing footage from this Street Fighter movie that's coming out. And Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are in it. Which, by the way, that was some crazy footage. Amazing.

1:11:27Amazing. But I think that, like, the definition of a start is just getting bigger and bigger to the point where maybe we haven't exactly seen it before. It's not one in, one out. That's right. That's right. But if you look just at tonight and you realize, like, all I can think of is, like, okay, you got Sol Ruka and Zaria who are going to be able to just be these massive stars in the women's division. Without question. I saw this match. This tag team match. with Leon Slater and Javon Evans. Talk about stars. If you don't look at Leon Slater and Javon Evans and realize that not only are they next up, but they're going to redefine the level of relatability that they have, the level of connection that they have with the audience, they're going to completely redefine what a giant star in wrestling looks like, and they should.

1:12:25They're 23. Or whatever they are. They're in their early 20s. They represent this whole different generation. And I think even though AJ Styles and Dragon Lee were victorious, they fully recognize this is where it's going. It was wild even seeing Leon Slater on this level as well because Javon Evans is someone that we've followed in NXT since Level Up. Leon Slater comes over from TNA. He's been working with Javon Evans on NXT for a short amount of time. And every time you see him, you go, yep, that's it. And think about the amount of people who hadn't seen him on TNA or who hadn't seen him on NXT.

1:13:06And tonight they turn their TV on to watch John Cena's last match. Right. And they see this tag team. I mean, imagine you're 10 years old and you see Javon Evans and Leon Slater. Do you know what you're going to get? So much fun. You know what you're going to get to do? You're going to get to follow them for 15, 20 years. You're going to go into adulthood, and this is who you're going to be looking at. Obafemi is a young man. Sol Ruka is young. People are going to remember where they were when they first saw these superstars. The talent that's there, kids that are watching them now are going to go into adulthood with, oh, that's my guy.

1:13:42And they're going to grow with that talent the same way that somebody like me did. Like I know exactly who my guy was when I was a kid. And then, and then, oh, now they're same way John Cena was that for so many people. Do you know how many kids are going to be walking around tomorrow going? Who? Again, are you talking about me? Because I am definitely walking everywhere like this from now on. You always do. I do. I try to sneak it in. You know what I mean? It looks so cool when he does it. I can only imagine it's cool when I do it too. It's not. the realization well that's a by the way that's an opinion thing that's not a fact-based statement you know just because you don't you're not like that arbiter of cool but my opinions matter to some that's true that's true it seems like it matters to you right now well it hurts but the idea that like i mean imagine this obafemi versus braun breaker you see what i'm saying like And it's not even like, it's like, who knows?

1:14:44That's a rivalry that could be 10 years from now. And they're still talking. You know, it's just there's so much in front of us that it really is interesting. Because to me, like I was saying earlier, I think, I watched that John Cena match. and I go, it's so rare in wrestling that you tell this story of a character and you have the beginning and the middle and the end. And that's what you had. John Cena is probably, as far as a character in wrestling goes, the most complete story that anybody's ever seen. And everybody knows it. The beginning is Kurt and Ruthless Aggression. the middle is Super Cena and the end was tonight.

1:15:35But on a bigger picture, if you zoom out, if you put on the macro lens and get rid of the micro, John Cena's story is a small part of a bigger story of something called professional wrestling. And at the same time that we end that story, there is so much that is beginning and so much that can be there for another 10, 15, 20 years. And I think that that was what John Cena wanted this to be. And I think it was effective. Staring at the blank page before. Love that song. I didn't think you were going to go with, like, who was that? Natasha Bedingfield. Natasha Bedingfield. I didn't think that that was going to happen.

1:16:18And the rest is still unwritten. Yeah. No, I'm just saying, like, the crossover between, you know, recap listeners, WWE fans, Natasha Bedingfield. I don't know. Small portion. I think so. I think the Venn diagram is thin. You know, but that's going back. But maybe we reach somebody. That's going back to the, like, more of the, like, little balls that R-Truth was talking about earlier, but, but. You had to get balls in there one more time, Sam. But, I mean, to the people that it hit, it hit hard, so congrats on that. Thank you. Megan, what has the, other than R-Truth mentioning Nick Aldis' British balls, what, from the tournament, what What do you feel going out on this night?

1:16:59It's poetic. I didn't like the way I felt standing on the floor. I didn't. It was sad. I wanted the good guy to win. But when I really reflect back on Sina's retirement tour and I think about the superstars that were showcased tonight, I do get really excited. I was bummed out sitting in here talking to you about the end. I thought it was because you were here with me. Part of it. Okay. But I was also bummed up talking about the end. When we talk about Sol Ruka, when we talk about Leon Slater, when we talk about Javon Evans, when we talk about Gunter, when we talk about the future of professional wrestling, I get so excited.

1:17:39It's an exciting thing, and I'm so interested to see what Monday night looks like. Monday Night Raw is going to be a doozy. We will be here to recap it all. Make sure you're subscribed across all audio feeds. Make sure you're subscribed to the YouTube channel and leaving comments and leaving likes. This has been the Saturday Night's Main Event. John Cena's final match. Recap. A WWE and Fanatic's original production presented by Minute Maid.