The end of John Cena’s career is a month away, and the reality of it is just starting to settle in for many wrestling fans around the world.
Cena is set to wrestle his last match in Washington, D.C. at Saturday Night’s Main Event against the winner of the 16-man ‘Last Time Is Now’ Tournament. It’s a massive opportunity for whoever is able to claim the prize.
Former SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya understands what this can do for a superstar and spoke with Busted Open Podcast host Dave LaGreca to discuss who she’s rooting for to win the tournament.
Natalya reveals her pick to win
While speaking about what John Cena means to pro wrestling, the conversation with LaGreca veered into discussing the tournament winner and the impact it might have. Natalya, a third-generation superstar, explained that she’s hearing a lot of positive momentum from fans who want Mysterio to defeat Cena in his last match.
“I mean, I’m seeing so many people wanting it to be Dominick…I’m pulling for Dom. The more I think about it the more I’m like Dom would be the wildcard an it would this like first-ever moment. I think it would be insane.”
Natalya
Dominik Mysterio | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Mysterio has not been announced as a competitor in Cena’s tournament, but SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis is revealing four more participants on tonight’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
Defeating Cena in his last match would cap off a prosperous year for the current AAA Mega Champion and WWE Intercontinental Champion.
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Cena helped WWE out of bad times
Natalya spoke glowingly about Cena’s career and how unfortunate it is to see him walk away from the business as an in-ring competitor. To emphasize what he means to pro wrestling, she detailed how Cena’s early run as a main event superstar helped WWE through times of chaos and turmoil.
“Think about when he really started to rise in WWE. The company was going through a very difficult, tragic time…John really helped WWE in such a massive way because he was really able to bring such a positive energy to the company and really shift the focus onto something new and fresh and different and create a positive diversion.”
Natalya on Cena helping WWE
Natalya referenced how Cena’s rise as a main event superstar during the aftermath of the Chris Benoit tragedies mightily helped WWE. Cena was in the middle of a 200-day world championship reign at the time of the tragedies.
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