WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event was headlined by John Cena’s retirement match, but that was not the original plan for the December 13 special.
The event took place at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, with John Cena losing his final match to Gunther. Much of the rest of the card featured exhibition-style bouts between main roster and NXT talent.
The show opened with a Champion vs Champion match between Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and NXT Champion Oba Femi. However, according to Dave Meltzer, that bout was initially scheduled to close the show.
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer said early plans had Rhodes vs Femi listed as the main event, a decision he suggested would have been a mistake given the significance of Cena’s retirement.
“There was a match order in place where Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi was listed last. That would have been a huge mistake.”
The match ultimately opened the broadcast instead and ended without a definitive result after interference from Drew McIntyre. Following the outcome, Oba Femi has since set his sights on Rhodes, positioning himself for further involvement with the main roster star.
Dave Metlzer’s Star Ratings For John Cena’s Retirement Event
Dave Meltzer also released his star ratings for the December 13 Saturday Night’s Main Event, with the show garnering an average rating of ***3/4 stars from Meltzer across its four matches.
Only one match got close to the coveted five-star rating, while the rest got either low to high-three-star ratings.
