Wrestling fans were not pleased to see John Cena lose his final match to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event, and one famous fan, Pat McAfee, feels his advice could’ve helped the 17-time world champion.

Cena tapped out to Gunther’s sleeper hold, which McAfee himself experienced earlier this year during his clash with the Austrian at Backlash. Speaking on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the former WWE commentator and occasional wrestler said he texted Cena immediately after the match and wished he had warned him about the deadly submission.

“I went down the same way, and I texted John immediately afterwards. I should have given him a heads-up that this is what Gunther’s going to try to do. This happened to me from Gunther. Obviously, I should have told John, ‘Hey, he’s looking to do the [sleeper] — that’s what he’s trying to do.’ And whenever he wraps those big Austrian legs around you like a Boa constrictor, it’s going to be tough to get out,” said McAfee. “I should have given him a heads up though when he was here, and I feel like that was a missed opportunity. That was my text to Mr. Cena immediately after watching the finale. ‘I’m sorry. I should have told you that’s what he’s going to be trying to do.’ And I assume Cena watched film. He’s always going to be prepared. But him losing certainly made people not happy.”

The former football star said that he also texted Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton, who witnessed Cena’s last match and seemed to be shocked about the outcome, like millions around the world. 

“I texted him [Haliburton] a couple times ’cause he was sitting right behind Michael Cole, front row. Real Mark, he said true Mark. He gave a couple hashtags to himself in the group text, which I appreciate. He was there, and that’s not what he expected,” McAfee added. 

The negative reaction to Cena’s loss reportedly surprised many behind the scenes in WWE, who had no inkling that the decision would draw backlash from fans.

The “WWE SmackDown” before last weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event showed growth in both the key demographic rating and the overall average viewership.

The December 12, 2025, show, which was broadcast from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, saw average viewership grow by 17 percent, from 1.06 million viewers to 1.24 million, according to “Programming Insider.” The number is the highest for the show since the September 19 edition, which drew 1.34 million viewers and was the last SmackDown episode calculated using the old ratings methodology. The 18-49 key demographic ratings also rose from 0.24 to 0.26, although this number is less than the trailing four-week average of 0.27, as per “Wrestlenomics.” 

Last week’s show was a packed one, featuring a few NXT stars who were set to appear at the following day’s Saturday Night’s Main Event. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was confronted by WWE NXT Champion Oba Femi ahead of their clash, while Je’Von Evans — who was set to team with Leon Slater against AJ Styles and Dragon Lee the following night — wrestled and defeated The Miz. The show also had a segment involving The Wyatt Sicks and MFT, while the main event saw The Terror Twins, Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, get the better of Zelina Vega and Aleister Black. 

During a “SmackDown” episode this past September, AJ Lee made her highly anticipated return to WWE after a ten-year hiatus, quickly returning to the ring in a mixed-tag team match alongside her husband, CM Punk, against Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins. In an interview with Stephanie McMahon during her “What’s Your Story?” podcast, she opened up about all her post-wrestling projects. 

“I wrote my first movie…that was on the top three on Netflix for like a month,” AJ said, regarding “Blade of the 47 Ronin,”but she wasn’t just writing.

“I’m in ‘Sacramento’ with Kristen Stewart and Michael Cera…I did ‘Heels,’ which is on Netflix now….And I started a production company called Scrapyard Productions,” AJ recounted, explaining that the idea behind the name of her production company is to point to the “scrapping” she had to do in the industry to get to where she is today, specifically as a Latino.

Alongside television, AJ revealed they’ve also dabbled in anime with a legendary studio.

“We are writing a movie for Toei Animation; I think that’s all I can say,” she teased. The former WWE Divas Champion has also written a solo feature film, which could start as a comic book.

“It’s like this mental health horror story,” she said, describing the project as her ‘child.’ “Hopefully I can throw that out into the world soon.”

In closing, she explained her philosophy behind storytelling is simply showing the pockets and joy of her culture and how they’re just American, like everybody else, albeit with a different perspective.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “What’s Your Story?” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.