John Cena’s subtle salute to Gunther after his return

John Cena made a surprise appearance on the Oct. 30, 2026 edition of WWE NXT.

As he walked to the ring, he stopped in front of a portrait of Gunther hanging on the wall.

Cena tipped his hat to the portrait.

It was a silent, public gesture of respect toward the man who defeated him in his final match.

That match took place on Dec. 13, 2025.

Gunther was Cena’s last opponent and sent him into retirement.

Since then, Gunther has had a strong run in WWE.

Many observers believe he will be holding a title again soon.

But the narrative around Gunther in 2026 has been mixed.

Some fans and analysts say WWE is wasting 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. 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.”

Cena did not defend or attack WWE’s booking of Gunther.

He acknowledged the criticism and said he is not in a position to judge the long-term plan.

He made clear that his job is to make Gunther look as strong as possible in the moments they share.

The hat tip on NXT fits that approach.

Cena has shown no bitterness about losing his final match to Gunther.

He has spoken graciously about the loss multiple times.

Gunther’s recent work has included a feud with Finn Balor and Danhausen.

Finn Balor brought back The Demon on the Oct. 30 edition of WWE SmackDown.

The Demon attacked Gunther in Charleston, West Virginia.

The segment came after two months of run-ins among Balor, Gunther, and Danhausen.

None of those nights produced a singles match between Balor and Gunther.

The last singles match between them took place on the July 29, 2024 edition of Raw.

Gunther won that match with a Sleeper hold.

Gunther’s wins over the past year include John Cena’s final match and AJ Styles’ retirement match at the 2026 Royal Rumble.

Balor, Gunther, and Kevin Owens met in a No. 1 contender’s match on the Aug. 28 SmackDown.

Sami Zayn pulled Balor out of the ring during a cover after a Coup de Grace.

Zayn then attacked the referee to force a no contest.

He then hit all three men, plus CM Punk, with the WWE Championship belt.

Gunther first crossed paths with Danhausen that same night.

He walked in on a meeting between Danhausen and SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis.

On the Sept. 11 SmackDown, Aldis steered Balor toward Money in the Bank rather than a title shot.

Gunther cut in and claimed Balor had not mattered in a decade.

Balor answered with a punch to the face.

Aldis had to step in to separate them.

Punk, Gunther, and Balor met in a Money in the Bank qualifier on Sept. 25.

Balor’s Coup de Grace broke up a Sleeper that Gunther had locked on Punk.

Punk rolled over and pinned Balor.

The loss kept both Gunther and Balor out of the ladder match.

Balor went after Zayn during a promo on the Oct. 2 SmackDown.

Gunther then attacked both men near the stage.

Later in the show, Danhausen tested a new device that scans for evil.

The device found evil in Gunther.

Gunther tossed Danhausen across a hallway.

WWE booked Gunther against Danhausen for the Oct. 9 SmackDown.

The match never officially started.

Danhausen tried to stop the referee from calling for the bell.

He then cursed his opponent and took a boot to the face.

The beating continued until Balor ran in to make the save.