The clock is ticking on John Cena's time in WWE. The "Last Time is Now" Tournament is underway, with the first names moving through to the next round after the November 10 episode of WWE Raw. Speculation is that GUNTHER will be the one to win the tournament and eventually retire Cena. However, there's a school of thought that the honor should go to Oba Femi as a way to cement his place as one of the next faces of WWE.
This is an interesting debate because it raises the question of one of the top stars potentially stepping to the side for an upcoming name. At this point in his career, GUNTHER is a made man. The "Ring General" is a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he's the longest-reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion in history, and also the longest-reigning WWE NXT United Kingdom Champion. He has five title reigns to date that lasted more than 300 days. All this and he's only 38 years old!
Who should retire John Cena? #WWE
— Daily DDT (@FanSidedDDT) November 12, 2025
On the other side of the conversation is Oba Femi. Femi has but a fraction of Gunther's experience, and is 11 years younger than the previously named champion. But he's already cemented himself as a force in the eyes of the WWE Universe. This comes on the heels of his 273 days as WWE NXT North American Champion and his 263-day run as WWE NXT Champion.
The "Last Time is Now" Tournament is set up in the right way to build stars for the future. John Cena pushed to have NXT talent featured on the December 13 episode of WWE Saturday Night's Main Event. Plus, the tournament has surprse entrants scheduled for the bracket. Femi should be one of those men and storm his way through the entire tournament. That is, until he faces GUNTHER in the final.
Pitching the idea of Femi to defeat Gunther would set off a storm of complaints but think about it. WWE hasn't had the opportunity to create an immediate star in such an impactful way in such a long time. If Femi picked up that win, then went on to defeat John Cena, he'd be an immediate star for the company. Gunther doesn't need this moment. In fact, Femi winning could be the start of a long-term feud between the two.
Fans should expect John Cena to lose on his way out of the business. Who he loses to is a huge question, worthy of debate. Gunther is the front-runner to get that win, but if WWE wanted to inject a new face into the main event, Oba Femi is right there to grab the win.