WWE’s 16-person “Last Time Is Now” tournament is complete: Gunther won the bracket and became John Cena’s final opponent. The list below is a retrospective ideal field—not the official entrants or a claim that WWE chose the wrong winner. It asks which 16 wrestlers would have made the tournament especially meaningful, credible and broad across WWE’s roster.
What the tournament was—and what this list is
WWE announced the tournament as a way to determine Cena’s final opponent, drawing on Raw, SmackDown, NXT and talent from beyond WWE’s signed roster. Its official bracket records a completed competition, not the hypothetical field proposed here. WWE’s announcement and official bracket establish that format and outcome.
The choices below prioritize four things: a meaningful connection to Cena’s career, the credibility to headline a final match, representation across WWE’s brands, and a chance to elevate emerging talent. No single roster can maximize all four equally; the aim is a balanced field whose matches each offer a distinct reason to watch.
The 16-wrestler ideal field
1. Randy Orton
Orton is the clearest historical rival to include. His long-running competition with Cena gives a tournament match immediate context, and his established main-event stature would make a deep run believable. Their shared history would also make a hypothetical final-round meeting feel earned rather than merely star-studded.
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2. AJ Styles
Styles represents one of Cena’s defining later-career rivalries. Their matches gave Cena a fresh opponent and placed Styles opposite one of WWE’s biggest names; including him would recognize that chapter without requiring him to win the tournament.
3. CM Punk
Punk brings a distinct kind of history: a rivalry that shaped a major period in WWE and gave Cena an unusually personal, high-stakes foil. A tournament bout between them would carry narrative weight before either wrestler reached the final.
4. Cody Rhodes
Rhodes has been part of Cena’s recent WWE landscape and has the stature to make a match feel consequential. He also represents the current top tier, linking Cena’s long career to the generation leading the company now.
Rank #2
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5. Brock Lesnar
Lesnar would add a physically imposing, established opponent whose presence changes the feel of any bracket. His inclusion would make the path to the final less predictable and give the field a credible high-impact threat.
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Zayn offers a different style and a strong connection to WWE’s present-day audience. He could provide a technically varied match while giving a respected upper-card performer a meaningful place in Cena’s farewell tournament.
7. Logan Paul
Paul is a prominent crossover name and a natural source of contrast in a field of established wrestlers. His participation would bring a different kind of public profile to the bracket, while a tournament match against Cena would test his credibility in a singles setting with unusually high stakes.
Rank #3
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8. Dominik Mysterio
Mysterio represents a younger generation and has developed a recognizable persona of his own. A match with Cena could frame the contrast between a celebrated veteran and a rising antagonist without relying solely on nostalgia.
9. Jey Uso
Uso brings strong crowd connection and a distinct identity as a singles performer. His presence would help ensure the field reflected the current roster’s breadth rather than becoming a list made up only of Cena’s past rivals and established champions.
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Knight combines a clear character, audience appeal and the feel of a credible contender. In a farewell tournament, he could make a compelling opponent at any stage: familiar enough to carry a major match, but not so tied to Cena’s past that the bracket became a reunion tour.
Rank #4
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11. Gunther
Gunther belongs in an ideal field because his disciplined, hard-hitting style presents a credible final-match challenge. In reality, WWE’s bracket named him the winner, and WWE’s account of the final says he overcame Je’Von Evans, Carmelo Hayes, Solo Sikoa and LA Knight on his route to Cena. That outcome makes him an especially apt choice for a hypothetical field as well.
12. Finn Bálor
Bálor would add a technically versatile, experienced competitor and representation from another corner of WWE’s roster. He is a useful bracket choice because he can plausibly work with both established headliners and younger entrants.
13. Penta
Penta would bring an immediately distinctive in-ring style and broaden the tournament’s range of wrestling backgrounds. A match with Cena would be less about shared history and more about the contrast in approach—a useful counterweight to the rivalry-driven entries.
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14. Carmelo Hayes
Hayes is a strong choice for the emerging-talent portion of the bracket: skilled, ambitious and capable of benefiting from a high-profile tournament match even without reaching the final. His inclusion would make the event feel like an opportunity for the next generation, not only a retrospective.
15. Je’Von Evans
Evans would give the field a genuine spotlight opportunity for a young NXT performer. His place would underline the cross-brand purpose WWE attached to the tournament and let an emerging wrestler share the stage with top names.
16. Zack Ryder (Matt Cardona)
A surprise entrant from outside WWE’s signed roster would preserve one of the actual tournament’s more distinctive ideas. WWE’s official bracket says Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler were surprise entrants despite neither being signed at the time. Ryder’s return would add a recognizable connection to WWE’s past while keeping an outside-talent slot in the field.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why this field balances history with a future-facing bracket
WWE’s actual field already mixed established names and younger talent, and its bracket included two surprise entrants. This proposed roster keeps that variety but gives Cena’s most significant rivals more room, while reserving places for rising performers and a return from outside WWE’s signed roster. WWE’s retrospective of Cena’s final year names Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, Logan Paul, R-Truth and Dominik Mysterio among his opponents; that history helps define the landscape, but it does not make any one wrestler an objectively necessary entrant.
The bracket’s real result should remain separate from the fantasy booking: Gunther won and faced Cena in the final match. WWE had announced that match for Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, 2025, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.; the date has passed. The completed event page identifies Gunther as Cena’s final opponent.
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