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Major Returning WWE Star Announced For John Cena's 'Last Time Is Now' Tournament

The field continues to fill up as the 'Last Time is Now' Tournament gets underway on WWE Raw.
Rick Ucchino|
John Cena
John Cena | WWE

The bracket is nearly complete as opening-round matches are underway.

'The Last Time is Now' Tournament will feature 16 men all vying to earn the honor of being John Cena's final opponent, and Raw General Manager Adam Pearce pulled four more names out of his tumbler Monday night at the TD Garden in Boston.

Former World Heavyweight Champion Gunther will be returning from injury next Monday night inside of Madison Square Garden to take on NXT's Je'Von Evans, while Solo Sikoa will battle an opponent that was too good for Pearce to spoil. The leader of the MFT's will have to wait to find out until next week.

Those two announcements came on the heels of the first two opening round matches that saw Rusev and Sheamus advance to the semi-finals by defeating Damian Priest and Shinsuke Nakamura, respectively. The final four competitors of the tournament are expected to be unveiled this Friday on SmackDown.

John Cena said that Monday night's show from his hometown was going to a special one and he delivered on that promise by capturing the Men's Intercontinental Championship from Dirty Dominik Mysterio in an impromptu match to begin the evening's festivities.

This is the first time in his career that Cena has held the Men's IC Title, and with his victory Monday night, he officially became a WWE Grand Slam Champion with just three dates remaining before his retirement. He's one of fewer than two dozen men ever to accomplish that feat.

With an extremely limited number of appearances left on his farewell tour, it's very possible that the winner of 'The Last Time is Now' Tournament will also earn an opportunity at the Intercontinental Championship.

Cena's final match will take place at Saturday Night's Main Event coming up on December 13 from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. And prior to his match with Dirty Dom, John made a notable announcement about that show.

In the spirit of wanting to leave the business in a better position than where he found it, Cena wants to showcase the future of WWE on the night his career comes to a close by hosting a series of exhibition matches between main roster Superstars and the upcoming stars of NXT. No competitors have been announced, as of this writing.

'Last Time Is Now' Tournament Opening Round Matches & Results:

Rusev
Rusev | WWE

Rusev defeated Damian Priest to advance to the Semi-Finals Monday night in Boston

Sheamus defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to advance to the Semi-Finals Monday night in Boston

The Miz vs. Jey Uso - Taking place on 11/14 SmackDown in Albany, New York

LA Knight vs. Surprise Opponent - Taking place on 11/14 SmackDown in Albany, New York

Je'Von Evans vs. Gunther - Taking place on 11/17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Solo Sikoa vs. Surprise Opponent - Taking place on 11/17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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