Cena Salutes Gunther After Brutal Finn Balor Attack

John Cena made a surprise appearance on WWE NXT on Wednesday night, and before he even reached the ring, he delivered a moment that has the wrestling world talking.

As Cena walked backstage at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, he passed a portrait of Gunther on the wall.

He stopped. He tipped his hat.

And he moved on.

The gesture was small but unmistakable.

It was a sign of respect for the man who beat Cena in his final WWE match in December 2025.

Gunther retired John Cena.

That alone places him in a rare category.

But the moment carried extra weight because of the conversation happening around Gunther right now.

Since retiring Cena and later ending AJ Styles' in-ring career, Gunther has lost several championship matches and found himself in a rivalry with Danhausen.

Some fans and analysts have started asking whether WWE is mishandling him.

Cena addressed that criticism directly during a recent appearance on Busted Open Radio.

He said: "I know there's sentiment out there that like, 'Man, they're wasting Gunther!' Maybe currently they are. But I don't see the view from the penthouse. I'm not in those meetings where they're just looking at the whiteboard, connecting the dots. Maybe they're just cooling him off. Maybe they're putting him away from TV. I don't know."

Cena continued: "What I am gonna do is I'm not gonna challenge the opinion of, 'Aye, I'm not gonna give this for this guy and you're gonna forget him.' This is the work that I need to do for today, and we're gonna make him look the best we can, and I'm gonna give him as much steam as I can, and what you do with it afterwards, that ain't my call."

The quote reveals that Cena is aware of the criticism and, in his own careful way, acknowledges it might have merit.

He did not defend WWE's booking.

He did not attack it either.

He simply said he is doing his part to make Gunther look strong, and what happens after is out of his hands.

That is a notable statement from a 17-time world champion who has spent most of his career as a company loyalist.

JBL, a WWE Hall of Famer, has also weighed in on Gunther's current role.

Appearing on Something to Wrestle with John Layfield, JBL said: "Gunther. I think Gunther would be the guy. I think Gunther is a really good heel and I think he understands being a heel."

JBL went further: "He's a great heel. I mean, use him. I don't understand. He's retiring all these guys and maybe he retired himself. Maybe he worked himself into a shoot."

The Hall of Famer praised Gunther's European wrestling background and called him "world class."

Meanwhile, Cena's NXT appearance had a second purpose.

He announced that Zilla Fatu, the son of the late Umaga, would be the newest entrant in the upcoming John Cena Classic.

Cena spoke emotionally about his long relationship with the Anoa'i wrestling dynasty, mentioning Rikishi, The Rock, and Roman Reigns.

He talked about what Umaga meant to him personally.

Fatu struggled to hold back tears as Cena spoke.

He accepted the invitation and hugged Cena in the ring.

Fatu joins Cody Rhodes as the second confirmed participant in the tournament.

The John Cena Classic is scheduled for December 14 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

The event will feature competitors from Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, with fans voting to determine the winner.

Cena is also scheduled to appear on the November 13 edition of SmackDown in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.