Overview
- Sheamus was defeated by Shinsuke Nakamura in his opening-round match, ending the veteran’s bid to be Cena’s final opponent.
- Raw general manager Adam Pearce announced the first two tournament pairings: Rusev vs. Damian Priest and Nakamura vs. Sheamus.
- John Cena’s last match is set for December 13 at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C., with Peacock carrying the live stream.
- Cena’s announcement signaled a 16-man field drawing from Raw, SmackDown and NXT, with potential entrants highlighted such as GUNTHER, Dominik Mysterio, Penta, Bronson Reed and Carmelo Hayes.
- Industry chatter points to GUNTHER as a leading possibility, while former WWE star Maven Huffman publicly backed Bron Breakker as a compelling choice, framing both as speculation.