John Cena’s wrestling career may be over, but he made sure to showcase who’s up next

John Cena has retired from professional wrestling. After more than 20 years as a WWE superstar, the record-holding, 17-time world champion called it quits by tapping out to Gunther in his final match. While a lot has been made about the controversial finish to the bout and the end of Cena’s career (Mr. “Never give up” seemed to do just that), the decision was ultimately his to make. And it’s clear he wanted to leave by showcasing who’s up next.

A consummate entertainer, Cena used his retirement show, Saturday Night’s Main Event, to feature wrestlers from WWE’s developmental program, NXT. And since NXT has been the show with the most Black talent, nearly every undercard match in Saturday Night’s Main Event featured Black wrestlers. This stamps the fact that WWE sees its future as one that showcases Black talent as central to its stories going forward, which is uncharted territory for the company and wrestling in general.

Since 2012, WWE has used NXT as a developmental program for new talent. It’s a place for the company’s raw, younger wrestlers to learn the craft, hone their characters, connect with fans and learn how to be on TV. NXT has also always been ahead of the rest of the industry as a place that highlights Black talent. And what we’ve seen is that audiences of all races gravitate to Black wrestlers with the same fervor and excitement as they gravitate toward anyone else. NXT is proof of concept that wrestling organizations can build around its Black stars.

When WWE was in a drought of Black champions, it was NXT that crowned Big E in its first year. And it was NXT that first gave Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair a platform. Each of those stars would go on to be champions in WWE along with a bevy of others. But for every success story there are wrestlers who felt like sure things — like Apollo Crews, Swerve and Keith Lee — that didn’t get the same opportunities.

When NXT reinvented itself in 2021, it emerged as an even Blacker show, where most of the on-screen roster was Black — and most importantly, removed from the stereotypes and tropes that have haunted Black wrestlers for decades. The show’s score was hip-hop. The characters were fully developed and authentic, making NXT one of the best shows each week. 

NXT also acts as a beacon of hope for Black fans as WWE’s main roster struggles with finding space for Black wrestlers, especially its Black male wrestlers. WWE hasn’t had a Black male world champion in three years, and has hardly had any Black men compete for those titles. A few weeks ago, WWE released its preview poster for WrestleMania 42 featuring a table full of white male talent and Roman Reigns.

These days, Black male wrestlers are mostly absent from WWE’s premium live events and impactful storylines. This hasn’t gone unnoticed and Paul Levesque, WWE’s chief creative officer (and retired wrestler known as Triple H), has had to address the lack of Black talent being showcased.

But last Saturday’s event gave Black fans the hope that WWE understands that its future is full of Black talent. The night’s first match featured undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes taking on NXT champion Oba Femi. The latter, who has spent the past few years in NXT, is a surefire superstar with championship aura and an intimidating physique. The Nigerian-born phenom was a shot put superstar in college and has the charisma of a main eventer. Femi was able to stand in the ring with Rhodes, one of the biggest wrestling stars in the world, and look like he belonged.

The next match featured Sol Ruca, whose finishing move is the soul snatcher — a reverse backflip off the top rope that catches an opponent’s head and slaps it to the ground. The gymnast has attracted mainstream attention from the move alone. Sol Ruca’s win against former champion Bayley on Saturday was a sign of faith in her talent. Finally, the match before the main event featured the tag team of Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater. Evans is one of the great high flyers in wrestling and another no-brainer future star. He’s already put together some of WWE’s best matches of the year. 

This doesn’t even include other NXT standouts like Trick Williams and Ricky Saints, who have also been champions in the past year. In fact, the past four NXT champions have been Black. That is unprecedented in any of the major wrestling promotions.

There’s a poetry in this all happening on John Cena’s last show as the wrestler famously made a name for himself by cribbing from Black culture. His “Doctor of Thuganomics” gimmick of the early 2000s featured him as a battle rapper who wore throwback jerseys and big chains. Cena’s character felt like a mix between Eminem’s B Rabbit in 8 Mile and the movie Malibu’s Most Wanted — each very self-aware of the comedy of playing ridiculous facsimiles of white folks who wear Black culture as a costume. Cena managed to do so brilliantly, comedically and earnestly. He was in on the joke and knew where to tread lightly. Now his last goodbye is actually giving back to the culture that birthed his fame.

With NXT’s level of talent and their performances on Saturday night, the onus now lands on WWE to find a way to capitalize on their future. The excuses —  not having enough young talent or questions about Black wrestlers connecting with audiences — are no longer valid. WWE has a chance to embrace its next generation and finally move past the decades of storytelling and glass ceilings that far too many Black wrestlers have had to face. Saturday was the start. We’ll see what’s next.

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