WWE Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13 won't just feature John Cena's final match, but will also, at the "Leader of the Cenation's" request, be a showcase for "WWE NXT" talent in exhibition matches against main roster stars. Cena recently sat down with Bill Simmons on his podcast to further explain his decision to have the stars of tomorrow compete on the final stop of his retirement tour.
The 17-time champion explained that WWE creative told him they wanted to do a tribute-type show, and he said, despite never booking himself, he called Paul "Triple H" Levesque with a different idea. Cena said he knew that if they did a tribute show, it would either be "too much or too little." He said the video packages trickled in throughout the night would be fine, in addition to his match, but he had the idea for the undercard.
"Beforehand, on a night I know people are going to be tuning in, we're going to have it sold out, it's going to be definitely a ticket you want to have in your hand, and that last piece of relevant energy I can get an audience member to tune in to," Cena explained. "Show the future of your business. Have top name WWE superstars, CM Punk, Charlotte Flair, you put it together how you want, have them have non-canon exhibition matches with the future of the business. Bring kids up from 'NXT.' Get them in a building with real noise. Real energy. Let them get under the bright lights."
Cena had been reportedly been adamant that younger talent, including those in "NXT," be featured during his retirement tour. Je'Von Evans was one of the competitors in the "Last Time is Now" tournament to determine Cena's final opponent, and the former Intercontinental Champion also announced the competitors in the men's and women's Iron Survivor matches for Deadline. He told Simmons he wanted to get them involved at Saturday Night's Main Event, and get them in that element to possibly inspire them further when it comes to their WWE careers.
"Maybe, just maybe, [they'll be like] 'I want to be here," Cena said. "They get to wrestle people with experience, and wisdom, and in not canon, un-canon, exhibition matches where nothing's on the line, it's just... a chance to hear the music of your favorite superstars against someone you have no idea."
The former "Doctor of Thuganomics" revealed that he has not idea what WWE's plan is, but he's certain that's how he wants to go out. He said he wants audience members tuning in to see the young talent and want to watch more of them. As of this writing, WWE has yet to announce the exhibition matches for the event next Saturday.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Bill Simmons and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
