Seth Rollins defends John Cena’s WWE farewell loss, gears up for NFL broadcast on Netflix

WWE fans are inactive successful mourning aft John Cena, who preached to "Never Give Up," gave up successful his last match.

Cena, 48, went up against Gunther astatine Saturday Night's Main Event earlier this period for his last clip successful the ringing aft a farewell circuit that began erstwhile helium announced his in-ring status successful the summertime of 2024.

Cena tapped out, and WWE's main contented serviceman was booed upon coming retired to congratulate Cena connected a legendary career. He was besides deed with chants of "you f---ed up," referencing his evident determination to person Cena lose.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM 

John Cena and Seth Rollins look disconnected during Night Of Champions astatine Kingdom Arena connected June 28, 2025, successful Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Joe Maher/WWE via Getty Images)

However, WWE superstar Seth Rollins hinted that Cena had nary occupation with the expected decision, particularly considering that legends usually suffer their past lucifer to walk the torch.

"If John Cena had conscionable won the match, you wouldn't beryllium asking immoderate questions astir it. We’re not adjacent having the conversation. No 1 would beryllium saying the sanction Gunther. None of this would beryllium going on. At the extremity of the day, it's ever astir what's next, and John understood that amended than anybody," Rollins told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview. "He understood that it was ne'er astir what you're doing successful the moment, it's astir what's coming next. And you person to hole for the future. 

"The concern rolls on. The shows support coming. The assemblage changes. The instrumentality powers through. So my feeling is I saw John grin earlier helium tapped out, and I deliberation helium knew precisely what helium was doing."

Much of Cena's farewell circuit was seen unrecorded connected Netflix, arsenic the WWE and the streaming work reached a woody to broadcast "Monday Night Raw" opening this past January — the Netflix debut besides happened to beryllium Hulk Hogan's past WWE appearance.

Seth Rollins enters the arena during "Monday Night Raw" astatine RAC Arena connected Oct. 13, 2025, successful Perth, Australia. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)

WWE'S JE'VON EVANS TALKS PURSUIT OF PRO WRESTLING PASSION, IGNORING CRITICS AND JOHN CENA HONOR

But it was yet different mode for Netflix to pat into sports and entertainment, arsenic it has done with boxing, the NFL, and, starting adjacent year, Major League Baseball.

Rollins, a Chicago Bears fan, volition beryllium down the mic for Christmas Day's Detroit Lions-Minnesota Vikings crippled connected Netflix.

"I’ll beryllium clad and looking bully and saying Merry Christmas to the satellite connected Netflix portion talking astir football, and I'll effort to scoot backmost location and walk the evening with my girls," Rollins said.

Rollins has appeared connected "Good Morning Football" and adjacent hosted "The Rich Eisen Show" arsenic portion of his "Ruse of the Century."

"I've got a important magnitude of broadcasting background," Rollins joked. "It's been a chill twelvemonth for maine to beryllium capable to beryllium down and speech shot with immoderate radical who truly cognize a happening oregon 2 astir football. So I'm looking guardant to taking my skills to the large signifier connected Netflix connected Christmas Day and hopefully I tin support up with the boys and girls who cognize much than I do." 

With Cena’s chaotic twelvemonth that went from look to bottommost backmost to face, it seemed similar if anyone were to triumph their last lucifer successful WWE, it would beryllium Cena, considering his farewell circuit dubbed him the "last existent champion."

But if Cena wouldn't bash it, Rollins can't ideate anyone will.

John Cena makes his entranceway during Crown Jewel astatine RAC Arena connected October 11, 2025 successful Perth, Australia. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"What you whitethorn not get ever again is this Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant-type retirement. I deliberation that's the thing, is erstwhile it's done, nary 1 other is gonna bash it, and John was the cleanable idiosyncratic to say, due to the fact that he's John, ‘I'm going to discontinue astatine the extremity of adjacent year, I'm gonna bash a afloat calendar, and past I'm done, and that's it.’ And he's ne'er coming back," Rollins said. 

"You know, you spot each these guys, they spell done these retirements, and past they travel backmost and person 16 antithetic unretirement matches and re-retirement matches, whatever. He's not going to bash that. John, I committedness you volition ne'er wrestle different lucifer successful his career, and I deliberation you volition not get to spot different apical endowment bash what John has done. I don't cognize if immoderate endowment would privation to. You know, John's the benignant of feline that's like, ‘I wanted to spell to each these places that I've been for 20-plus years and springiness the fans 1 much accidental to interact with maine and to spot maine perform.’ And truthful I don't cognize that we'll ever get that again. And it was a precise peculiar year. It'll beryllium precise bittersweet to spot what the WWE looks similar with nary John Cena for the foreseeable future."

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter