Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s live coverage for WWE Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13, 2025, coming to you live from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. at a special start time of 8 PM ET!
After spending just over 25 years in the wrestling business, John Cena will be competing in his final ever wrestling match as he collides with GUNTHER in what will mark their inaugural in-ring meeting. GUNTHER scored victories against "NXT" star Je'Von Evans, Carmelo Hayes, Solo Sikoa, and LA Knight in the First Round, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals respectively in The Last Time Is Now Tournament to secure his spot in tonight's match and the right to call himself Cena's final opponent.
Speaking of Evans, he will be competing in a match of his own tonight as he joins forces with reigning TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater to take on current World Tag Team Champions Dragon Lee and AJ Styles. While Evans has competed in a handful of matches on "WWE Raw" and "WWE SmackDown", this will mark the first time that Slater has competed in a match on the main roster.
As herself and Lyra Valkyria continue to chase after the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, Bayley will be returning to singles competition as she squares off with "NXT" star Sol Ruca. While this will mark Bayley's first match since she and the aforementioned Valkyria came up short to Asuka and Kairi Sane on the November 3 episode of "Raw", Ruca will surely be looking to prove herself after she was unable to win the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge at Deadline to secure a shot at Jacy Jayne's NXT Women's Championship at "NXT" New Year's Evil.
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will be competing in his first match since taking part in the 2025 Men's WarGames Match at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29 as he goes head-to-head with reigning NXT Champion Oba Femi in a Champion vs. Champion Match. Not only did Femi dethrone Ricky Saints as NXT Champion at "NXT" Deadline, but he also earned the right to face Rhodes in tonight's match as per the stipulation of the December 6 contest.
Following the infamous Montreal Screwjob, Bret Hart made the jump from WWE to WCW and a lot of fans expected him to be one of WCW's top stars, but that wasn't the case. "The Hitman" would ultimately have his career ended in WCW, capping off a two year run that is widely regarded as the most disappointing stint of his career. Current AEW star Jeff Jarrett is an old friend of Hart and talked about his run in WCW on a recent episode of his "My World" podcast, stating that he knew things weren't going well for him, and that Hart didn't care as much as he used to.
"I knew things weren't going right for him creatively on so many deals,"Β Jarrett said, who recalled Hart not being into the idea of another New World Order reboot after the faction had been oversaturated at the time. "I knew that he wasn't going to be taking many flatbacks, so his heart wasn't in itβI could probably rephrase that. His heart wasn't into it. He was injured, he was on the mend coming back, but not a lot of passion into it."
After suffering a concussion at WCW Starrcade 1999 during a match with Goldberg, Hart would only wrestle a handful of matches before being sidelined permanently, and aside from some sporadic appearances in 2000, Hart would be cut from the company while he concussed and retired from wrestling completely by the end of the year. Jarrett knew cost-cutting measures were going on in WCW at the time, but he and the rest of the locker room never thought they would release "The Hitman."
"Bret being released and all that, it went so far under the radar of most folks, it happened without a lot of us even knowing,"Β Jarrett said. "His bell was rung, he had a concussion, but you know what? He'll work through that, he'll back...I don't think I really everβit never processed...You know what? Even the summer of no worries, if you would have asked me is Bret still getting paid? I would have said yes."
Please credit "My World" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/TΒ to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
John Cena stares jokingly at his iconic WWE World Heavyweight Spinner Championship. - WWE
In eight hours, the ultimate symbol of hope and heroism for viewers of all ages around the world, the Superman of professional wrestling, the quintessentialΒ peacemaker, the former 17-time World Champion and history-maker, John Cena, along with the spirit of his mantra "Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect," will make its final in-ring appearance after a hard-fought 23-year career. And while many are taking the time today to reflect on the foundation that "The Greatest of All Time" built, the champ himself would rather focus on the man who won "The Last Time Is Now" Tournament, GUNTHER, before reminiscing on all the wisdom he's shared and will leave behind in the ring after tonight's showcase.
"My eyes are focused on tomorrow night, Saturday Night's Main Event," "The Last Real Champion" told Pat McAfee. "We got a hell of a program. I'm honored to share the ring with someone who considers the mat a sacred place, whose moniker given to him is 'The Ring General' because he commands the best out of his opponents. I know it's not going to be a walkthrough. Probably going to be some strikes. You'll hear some from the mezzanine section way up there. I'm really excited to have such a hungry competitor and such a build match, which has tons of anticipation."
While tonight's show will be centered on his in-ring farewell, Cena refuses to see it as an "all about me" moment. Instead, he's proud to share the card with several stars just starting their meteoric careers, with hopes that his spirit will vicariously carry on through them.
"I'm also excited that we get to glimpse at the future of the business. You know, Je'Von Evans, Oba Femi, Leon Slater, Sol Ruca, all gonna be on the card against main event WWE current Superstars. This is a program with a bunch of eyes on it that's going to allow me to bow out," he added. "But I'm going to earn my way out because GUNTHER ain't going to go down lightly. And at the same time, it's going to provide an opportunity for the future of the business...So, I'll look in the rear view on Sunday."
Starting Sunday, the Cenation Leader will gear up for the second chapter of his career as a WWE ambassador. While it remains unconfirmed as of this report, Cena's legacy could reach a new level, as reports suggest that the former "Prototype" may join the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame Class.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Pat McAfee Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Cargill was asked about her debut during a recent appearance on the "Going Ringside" radio show, where she pulled back the curtain on whether she or Shaq were nervous. "I remember actually before going on stage I asked him if he was nervous, and he was like 'I'm Shaquille O'Neal. I can go out there and I can trip and I'll make something out of it. It's what I do, I entertain. That's what I do.' I took that and I was like 'You know what? People are here to see you and they're here to see Cody, but they're going to remember me. This is about me.' But I took that as like, you just have to show up and show out."
While she took the idea of having no fear from her match alongside Shaq, it was more how the wrestling business would perceive Cargill that made her nervous, especially considering that the most in-ring experience she had before that episode of "Dynamite" was a four-minute practice match. "This was something that I wasn't accustomed to. It was kind of something that I wouldn't even say I was prepared to do, but I went out there and did it." Cargill rounded off by saying that while Shaq did make her feel comfortable in the ring, it was the realization that she could swim in the deepest of waters that made her the most comfortable she had ever felt in a wrestling ring.
Please credit "Going Ringside" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Across the first decade of his pro wrestling career, Bryan Danielson built a reputation as one of the best technical wrestlers in the industry, with his time in Ring of Honor making him a well-known name among fans. Though he had some experience working with WWE in the early 2000s, it wasn't until 2009 that the company signed Danielson to a full-time deal. In 2010, he debuted on the reality show version of "WWE NXT" under the name Daniel Bryan. This initial version of "NXT" had developmental stars each paired up with a main roster wrestler, and someone had the idea to pair up the technical-savvy Bryan with his complete opposite: The Miz.
Getting his start on reality TV show "The Real World" and some of its spin-offs, Mike "The Miz" Mizanin eventually appeared on the WWE reality series "Tough Enough" in 2004. This led to The Miz joining WWE, where he initially dealt with hazing from the locker room before eventually earning respect as an industry veteran. Back in 2010, however, when The Miz and Bryan were paired up on "NXT," Mizanin often excelled on the mic but had a reputation (at least among fans) for weak in-ring work.Β
Though this might have bothered some viewers, Danielson was totally onboard for the pairing, and it wound up being the beginning of a long-term working relationship.
Bryan Danielson & The Miz collaborated on ideas that WWE never used
Daniel Bryan with a short haircut wearing a red robe - WWE
During an appearance on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Danielson recalled his experience on "NXT." Though he felt the show was quite low on the list of priorities in WWE, he saw it as an excellent opportunity for exposure and, without checking with WWE officials, changed his entire look to match how he believed a "rookie" might appear.
"I tried to look as generic as possible," Danielson said. "And me and Miz were collaborating on this stuff, some ideas. Miz was great about pitching ideas to the writers and all that kind of stuff. [The story was], 'Okay, I can't learn wrestling from Miz, but he's going to teach me to be a Superstar.' And me being frustrated, like, 'That's not important. The only thing that's important is the wrestling.'"
Although both Danielson and The Miz set out with this goal in mind, and felt it would be successful on TV, it didn't gain much traction with WWE's creative department. The storyline continued, but the company never really emphasized the elements that the two wrestlers had in mind.
"None of it ever happened, so I just looked like a nerd for no reason," Danielson stated.
Instead, Danielson was quickly eliminated from "NXT" but went on to wrestle and beat The Miz on an episode of "WWE Raw" for the United States Championship. Danielson would be fired from WWE shortly thereafter before being re-hired later that year, where he continued feuding with The Miz before both men moved on to other endeavors.
Things get heated on Talking Smack
The Miz and Daniel Bryan having a confrontation on Talking Smack - WWE
In the years after, Bryan and The Miz would continue to lock up on occasion, often in tag matches or at live events. The next substantial storyline between the two didn't begin until after Bryan was forced to retire due to accumulating neck injuries.
In 2016, while he was inactive, Bryan was made co-host of "Talking Smack," a post-show that was shown on the WWE Network after episodes of "WWE SmackDown," while also serving as the onscreen General Manager of the blue brand. When The Miz appeared as a guest on "Talking Smack," he and Bryan got into a heated exchange that many were convinced was at least somewhat real. However, the only genuine aspect was the frustration that both men felt about their position in the company, and the segments allowed them to get some of that off their chests in a productive manner.
"If they weren't going to clear me, I wanted my release," Danielson said on "Insight." "We came up with the idea ... and we didn't talk with anybody about it. It was just me and him. And we had talked about β 'Hey, is it okay if I say this?' 'Hey, is it okay if I say this?' 'Yeah. Let's do it.' And then at the end, I was going to punch him, like legit punch him."
Danielson has previously revealed that he would've been fine with getting fired from the incident, but he wound up deciding not to actually punch Mizanin, instead letting The Miz get to "win" the moment. Afterwards, both men felt it went off without a hitch, and the clip spread like wildfire on the internet. However, it did not move the needle in getting WWE to clear Danielson to wrestle, but it would happen eventually.
Bryan Danielson's personal feelings on The Miz
The Miz cutting a promo directly into the camera - WWE
Though many fans bought into their onscreen interactions and believed that Danielson and Mizanin actively don't like each other, that isn't the case. During the interview, Danielson acknowledged that they get along well, though there are plenty of differences between the two.
"I always say in interviews that β 'Oh, me and Miz don't like each other,' or whatever it is, but I think I can drop the act and say I like him," Danielson said. "We created this story that's lasted ... since the time I started with WWE. ... We were always working together [but] we are very different personalities, so you can buy it."
Eventually, Danielson and The Miz did lock up again numerous times in WWE after Danielson came out of retirement in 2018. These days, Danielson has retired from full-time in-ring competition once again, and it's not clear if he'll ever wrestle another match. He does remain involved, doing commentary on "AEW Dynamite" each week.
Meanwhile, The Miz is still an active wrestler in WWE. For much of 2025, he was involved in a storyline on "SmackDown" with Carmelo Hayes before taking part in the Last Time Is Now tournament to decide John Cena's final opponent.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
John Cena at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 - WWE
As 2025 rapidly draws to a close, so does John Cena's wrestling career as his year-long retirement tour is set to conclude at the final major WWE event of the year, Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13. The show will take place at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., where a sold out crowd will see 17-time WWE Champion one last time. However, Saturday Night's Main Event isn't a one match show by any means, and with bell time just hours away, here is what the fans in the United States capital have to look forward to.
The natural place to start is match dubbed "The Last Time Is Now" as the final opponent of John Cena will be none other than "The Ring General" Gunther. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion won a 16-man tournament to earn the right to face Cena in Washington D.C., and since confirming his spot on the card, Gunther has vowed to make Cena tap out. With that said, Cena's motto throughout nearly all of his WWE career has been to never give up, and with one more round left in him, he will have a major task on his hands if he wants to finish his career on a high note.
Rhea Ripley glowers at her opponent - Elsa/Getty Images
Tomorrow, the wrestling world bids adieu to John Cena, but despite the weight atmosphere this weekend, "WWE SmackDown" stopped into the Mohegan Sun in Wilkes-Barre, PA. As always with "SmackDown," there was plenty to love and plenty to hate. As always, we won't be dealing in results. That's already been taken care of on the results page.
Instead, we'll be discussing what worked and what didn't work on the December 12 show. The blue brand has its eyes on the future, with big wins for Je'Von Evans and Lash Legend, but some are concerned that they might be letting other future stars fall by the wayside. There was a great promo from Oba Femi that kicked off the show, but there was also a pretty middling main event. Overall, it was a mixed bag of a show, which leaves us plenty to talk about.
So no more introductions, it's time to let the Wrestling Inc. staff tell you what we loved and hated from the December 12, 2025, edition of "SmackDown."
Oba Femi holds up the NXT Title - Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
I am a "WWE NXT" girlie through and through, and I think it's really cool that I get to witness the start of a talent's hopefully meteoric rise from the very beginning, and I'm glad that talent happens to be "The Ruler" Oba Femi. I was shocked at Deadline when he defeated Ricky Saints to become two-time NXT Champion and earn the shot at facing Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at Saturday Night's Main Event, but it was obviously a very excited kind of shocked. That's the match I'm most looking forward to tomorrow to be quite honest, and I didn't expect to see Femi on tonight's episode of the blue brand.
Femi is a certified star already, and this appearance in Wilkes-Barre, a relatively smaller area in Pennsylvania compared to the Pittsburgh or Philadelphia areas, helped solidify that. The fact the crowd was going along with the "Ooos!" in his entrance theme, the ones that usually ring out in the WWE Performance Center, a crowd of usually returning fans who get in for free, all familiar with "The Ruler," was pretty cool to me. If WWE brings Femi up to the main roster post-Royal Rumble, or to bring him up to help pad out the returning third hour of "SmackDown," I'm not exactly sure how they'd even begin to attempt to keep him heel. I didn't hear any boos, despite him getting in Rhodes' face.
If the face-off with the blue brand's champion wasn't enough, WWE also threw a video package about Femi in there tonight as well, giving me even more faith that he'll be handled well once he gets called up. If the main roster fans weren't familiar with Femi before, I'd certainly imagine they're at least intrigued. He showed everyone his presence is impressive alongside Rhodes, a mega star, tonight, so I really hope the interest in his in-ring work is there, as well.
While the content of the face-off wasn't much to write home about, with Femi pulling out a cliche "hustle, loyalty, respect" line, this was all more about his aura, as the kids say. Just seeing him in the ring with Rhodes reminded me how excited I am for this battle tomorrow, as I know Rhodes is going to make him look good. I loved the way WWE presented the NXT Champion tonight, especially with the extra little video package about him in there, and it was a big highlight of the episode for me.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Hated: Sol Ruca Is (Almost) Nowhere To Be Found
Bayley smiles at Sol Ruca - WWE
Je'Von Evans scored a win against The Miz to gain some momentum heading into his and Leon Slater's Saturday Night's Main Event match against AJ Styles and Dragon Lee. Oba Femi had a fun confrontation with Cody Rhodes to kick off the show ahead of their Champion vs. Champion match tomorrow night.
What about Sol Ruca before she faces Bayley in what WWE is calling the biggest match of her career, I hear you ask? Nothing more than an appearance in the audience along with Bayley sitting in another part of the arena.
WWE had a lot of different options in terms of things they could've had Ruca do on this show to gain some extra main roster exposure and get those who may not be as familiar with her behind her, whether it was a match where she emerged as the victor, similar to Evans, or some sort of promo segment. On the flip side, if WWE had wanted to do something with Bayley and had her and Lyra Valkyria booked to take on Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez in a dark match regardless, then they should've just put it on the air. It would've also provided an opportunity for Ruca to be present at ringside, get into a confrontation with Bayley afterwards, or both, seeing as there was still plenty of wiggle room to have made it happen on the show.
WWE ultimately chose a route that felt incredibly lazy and underwhelming, especially when compared to Evans and Femi. This was a major wasted opportunity, and while it was still disappointing to see, it wasn't exactly something I would call shocking, considering WWE's booking of the women's division.
Written by Olivia Quinlan
Loved: NXT talent leave an in-ring mark
Lash Legend poses - Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images
WWE has been attempting to follow in the steps of John Cena on the eve of his final wrestling match with their current push of "NXT" stars and recent main roster call-ups. I reckon they're doing a halfway decent job.
After some recently disastrous "NXT" call-ups, the performances of Lash Legend, Je'Von Evans, and Carmelo Hayes were a sight for sore eyes. That's not to say that all of "NXT" was represented well: Oba Femi and Sol Ruca, two "NXT" Superstars who are slated to go toe-to-toe with the company's biggest names, were relatively sedentary on Friday, with Ruca's two seconds in the audience being the night's biggest "NXT-"related offense. They'll get their moment at "Saturday Night's Main Event," though. Overall, "WWE SmackDown" had an excellent show from "NXT's" hottest stars.
Friday's opening match saw Tommaso Ciampa and Ilja Dragunov β two names who are, interestingly enough, also heavily tied to "NXT β" contest Dragunov's United States Championship. The match was hard-hitting and intense, but the night's real treat came following Dragunov's victory, when Hayes bolted out of the entrance ramp to save Dragunov from Ciampa and Gargano. Is a post-match save the most exciting thing in the world? No, but when Hayes cleared half of the ring to neutralize Gargano, the sight drew out the only physical reaction I had throughout the entire show. That's saying something.
Legend and Evans took some very necessary wins over established main roster talent tonight, with Legend scoring a clean(-ish) victory over five-time women's champion Alexa Bliss while Evans made short work of former world titleholder The Miz. Legend's work was far from polished β nowhere near Evan's work, anyway β but she looked absolutely dominant in her match with Bliss, and far from Nia Jax's simple henchman. Evans held his own against the seasoned Miz and put his name on the blue brand map with an incredible Top Rope Cutter in the match's final moments. Until recently, nobody thought Legend would be much of anything. Evans just lost his fourth "NXT" Championship match on Tuesday. It would have been disappointing, but somewhat expected of WWE to bury these rising stars in favor of their established main roster players. Instead, WWE gave both of these blossoming in-ring performers some much-needed wins. These wins don't come easily from WWE, especially for incoming performers. They were not wasted on Legend and Evans.
WWE created "NXT" to build their future stars. To date, so many current main eventers have come out of the program, but that is only because WWE has invested time into them on the main roster. It's time that WWE goes back to that successful formula, and puts some momentum behind "SmackDown" and "WWE Raw's" newest faces.
We are going on a full month now with no serious challengers for Jade Cargill, and with the way "SmackDown" went tonight, it's kind of starting to get old, no matter how much I like Cargill, especially as a heel. I know there are a lot of things, quite a few negative, that can be said about her in-ring ability, but as champion of the blue brand, she's got to start doing something. Since winning the title, Cargill's only faced B-Fab and Alba Fyre, and neither of those matches was for her championship. She's just been a bully backstage, but no one, outside of Michin (alongside B-Fab), has really stepped up to do anything about it. And, with the way things went for her with the Women's United States Championship, I hate to say it, but Michin isn't exactly the most believable challenger for the WWE Women's Championship.
If WWE is going to put Michin in front of her, they should really just go with it and at least attempt to make her some kind of believable, though that would require them giving her victories before she faced Cargill for the gold. What happened tonight just wasn't it for me, even if Michin did get back up and come out to the ring to go face-to-face with Cargill after she was initially taken out in the back by the champion. Maybe this is WWE's idea for a serious feud for the champion, as maybe the powers that be believe this proved Michin's tenacity or something, and we're headed toward a premium live event match, or maybe next month's Saturday Night's Main Event, even though Michin got flattened by Cargill in the ring in quick fashion. I guess Michin getting taken out before a match, rather than actually having the match they were apparently meant to have tonight, is ever-so-slightly better than her taking a loss.
I don't know if WWE is waiting for the calendar to change to 2026 to begin to establish a challenger for Cargill, or if they're waiting for Tiffany Stratton to get back, whenever that may be, or maybe all the other women who could be in contention are involved in the tag team division right now, but I am left wondering tonight if I'm the only one getting a bit tired of Cargill as a champion with nothing to do, with no real serious contenders for the gold to be seen until Bianca Belair's broken finger joint heals.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Loved: Dragunov vs. Ciampa's in-ring made me briefly forget about the dumb story
Tommaso Ciampa suplexes Ilja Dragunov - WWE
I've used this column to love Ilja Dragunov's open challenge before. Dragunov's matches are consistently the high point of "SmackDown". That was no different tonight when he finally caved and allowed Tomasso Ciampa a shot at his U.S. Championship. For NXT Black and Gold fans, we're well aware of what Ciampa can do in the ring (something he doesn't get to do much of anymore). He may have a few more years of wear and tear on his body, but he still can hang with the likes of Dragunov. At some point in the later part of the match, Dragunov's nose was busted open, and his face matched his trunks.
The match was an excellent back-and-forth, and then WWE did what they love doing: had an interference. Johnny Gargano hopped up on the apron in an attempt to distract the ref so that Candice LeRae could land a cheap shot on the champ. It backfired, though, as Dragunov rolled Ciampa up for the pin. The interference is in line with the story they've been telling with Dragunov repeatedly denying Ciampa a shot at the title. He doesn't like how he's gone about it. Of course, when he finally got the shot, Ciampa was close to beating him a couple of times. When he couldn't get the job done after a couple of attempts, Gargano and LeRae stepped in to try and help him. Gargano looked befuddled at the fact that it backfired. The story surrounding this match has been mediocre, which made me not care that the match was finally happening. Dragunov and Ciampa made me forget about the story outside the match for about 15 minute,s and I enjoyed the match itself. Then, shenanigans happened and annoyed me. I wouldn't be mad if they ran the match back with a stipulation that bans outside interference.
Written by Samantha Schipman
Hated: Not Really A Main Event
Damien Priest and Rhea Ripley celebrate after their match. - WWE
One would be inclined to say that this week's "WWE SmackDown" was another example of phoning it in for the go-home to a big show, but this has been a recurring theme specifically with the blue brand over the past however many months: there was legitimately no reason to tune into the show, and the main event was yet another predictable, boring, and actually quite choppy match.
Rhea Ripley reunited the Terror Twins alongside Damian Priest for a mixed tag team match with Zelina Vega and Aleister Black, as one could have surmised was the plan when Vega was first factored into the Priest-Black feud β a feud that started in September, over three months ago, may one add. And to be honest, while the actual storyline, if that is what it can be called, has been the most diluted of weak sauces, the match itself never stuck out as something that could have been bad.
Leave it to WWE to try, however, and the match itself was both boring and messy in the worst versions of those flavors. Obviously, it's hampered by the fact that it's a tag team match that, by design, forces both members out of the ring with a tag, thus eliminating any sense of explosiveness or spontaneity that makes tag team wrestling compelling to begin with. But then, even then, neither set of competitors really clicked with the other, or had the chance to, owing to the format.
To be clear, a mixed tag team wrestling match presented as two simultaneous singles matches running parallel to one another is always going to be limited. But even then, it wasn't a case of limitations getting in the way of a really stomping match. It was just a hastily thrown together paper-chain of spots, the seams were there for all to see, and literally no one in their right mind thought Black and Vega were walking away with the win here.
Moreover, they were effectively squashed. They didn't get much offense in that hadn't seemed to have hurt Ripley any more than it had hurt Vega. Black pulled Ripley off a pin just to stare at her before getting headbutted. It was Looney Tunes levels of sticking it to the bad guy. Neither Priest nor Ripley needed this feud. Black and Vega really didn't need a feud designed for them to lose so convincingly. Nothing actually happened on this three-month treadmill to nowhere, and there's not even a guarantee that this is the end of the feud. It should be. But that in itself is never a guarantee. After all, it shouldn't have taken this long to get here in the first place.
Triple H at WrestleMania 41 - Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Tickets or the Royal Rumble this upcoming January went on-sale earlier this week, and with the event taking place in Saudi Arabia, it was assumed many travelling North American fans wouldn't be able to make the long trip to the event. However, according to Dave Meltzer, there's not only international interest, but a record-breaking demand for tickets.
In a recent edition of the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter," Meltzer explained that before tickets went on-sale for the Royal Rumble, 750,000 people in were in line to purchase seats, which is the largest online queue in professional wrestling history. Meltzer added that the waiting room for the Royal Rumble is ten times the amount of the previous record, which was held byΒ AEW All Out Chicago in 2019, whenΒ 74,500 people were in line to buy tickets.
Possibly the reason for the demand of the Royal Rumble is the current price of General Admission tickets, which are currently listed for SAR 80, which is approximately $20 in American funds. Premium seats are priced at $133 USD, while Platinum and Diamond seats are advertised for $185 and $240 USD. The most expensive tickets available are in the VVIP section, which would cost $400 USD. Therefore, an American fan would likely spend more on travel expenses and hotel fees rather than the event itself.
"The countdown starts... and the Road to #WrestleMania begins again. Tickets for the 2026 #RoyalRumble live from Riyadh, KSA go on sale tomorrow at 7pm local / 11am ET."
The countdown starts... and the Road to #WrestleMania begins again.
Unlike most other wrestlers, John Cena plans to make his in-ring retirement a permanent one, beginning with an official sendoff at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event. Before he steps into the ring for the last time, though, Cena has provided fans with a further explanation as to why now was the correct time as well.
"I chose to retire," Cena told Tom Rinaldi in a new interview for WWE. "I made a promise to the WWE that I would not stick around when my skills can't match the product, and they can't. I'm 48. My 40-yard time has gone like [down]. I can't match up with the product now, and that's okay, because what I do isn't who I am. The realization of that has helped me come to like, no, let these guys have it now because they're really good. All I would be doing is a disservice to the consumer if I go any point beyond this."
Cena's last year as a full-time wrestler dates back to 2017, when he notably tied Ric Flair for the most world title reigns in WWE history with 16. The Cenation Leader later broke that record in 2025 when he dethroned Cody Rhodes as Undisputed WWE Champion at WWE WrestleMania 41. In between, Cena has largely focused on non-wrestling projects, such as hosting and acting,Β though he also maintained a part-time schedule with WWE. His retirement tour, stretching across all of 2025, consisted of 36 dates.
Over the past year, one of the most entertaining aspects of Becky Lynch's character on WWE television has been constantly reminding fans thatΒ Sports Illustrated named her the greatest women's wrestler of all-time, while also claiming to be the most talented female star on the roster. However, Lynch's ego has taken a hit since losing her Women's Intercontinental Championship to Maxxine Dupri, as well as failing to help her team emerge victorious in WarGames at Survivor Seres. "The Man" has remained adamant that WWE referee Jessika Carr and AJ Lee are at fault for her title loss, but on Wednesday, it seems like she finally received the validation she was looking for.
According to Lynch on X, Los Angeles Lakers CEO and Owner Jeanie Buss was supportive of her recent struggles and was fond of the "Real IC Champ" shirt she was wearing at the Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs game.
"Jeanie is the most powerful woman in the NBA (ESPN says it!) I'm the greatest of ALL TIME (Sports Illustrated says it!) Together we make one DOMINANT TAG TEAM!!! THANK YOU for validating my feelings about my current situation! (APPALLING) JUSTICE MUST PREVAIL! She also has a taste for fashion. She LOVED my shirt!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT JEANIE! β BTB"
Jeanie is the most powerful woman in the NBA (ESPN says it!) I'm the greatest of ALL TIME (Sports Illustrated says it!) Together we make one DOMINANT TAG TEAM!!! THANK YOU for validating my feelings about my current situation! (APPALLING) JUSTICE MUST PREVAIL! She also has a... pic.twitter.com/thaOV34b8G
Lynch hasn't competed in singles competition since losing toΒ Dupri on "WWE Raw" last month, having spent most of her time complaining about the match on social media and blaming others for her misfortune. That said, in addition to bringing back her vlog, Lynch was seemingly given theΒ Inaugural Internet Integrity Award, as she posed with a new trophy in a new post on social media.
WHAT A DAY! Everyone's FAVORITE WRESTLER (ME) WON something BIG! The Inaugural Internet Integrity Award!!! OF COURSE yours truly would be the first recipient of this HUGE PRIZE (VERY PRESTIGIOUS)! More details will be in my VLOG (BEST EVER). It will include my full acceptance... pic.twitter.com/w9u7tSsDCG
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