4 Horrible Mistakes WWE Made With John Cena’s Last Time is Now Tournament

The Last Time is Now Tournament concluded on the December 5, edition of WWE SmackDown. Gunther defeated LA Knight by submission in the finals of the tournament to earn a match against John Cena.

While it featured a number of surprises, the tournament felt largely underwhelming for a multitude of reasons. In this listicle, we will look at four horrible mistakes that WWE made with the Last Time is Now Tournament.

4. Not enough young stars

The entire premise of the Last Time is Now Tournament, and John Cena's final appearance at Saturday Night's Main Event seemed to be pushing forward the new generation. Only Je'Von Evans, Carmelo Hayes, and Solo Sikoa qualified as 'young stars' who could use the tournament to establish themselves.

The rest of the brackets were filled with stars that were already quite established, either in WWE or elsewhere. As a result, it somewhat defeated the intention and purpose behind the tournament.

3. None of the surprises reached the quarters

Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler, two former WWE Superstars, emerged as the surprise entrants in the Last Time is Now Tournament. However, both of them were defeated in their first round matches. It would have been better to have at least one of them reach the quarter finals, so that it wasn't as blatantly obvious that they had signed deals for one-off appearances.

The fact that both Ziggler and Ryder were defeated in their first matches back was quite disappointing, and it would have been a better call to have at least one of them advance to the quarters.

2. Carmelo Hayes not having a longer run

The former NXT Champion was one of the biggest underdogs in the Last Time is Now Tournament, and defeated Bronson Reed by countout in his first round match. However, he lost to Gunther in the very next round, ending his run prematurely.

Hayes had a lot to gain from a deep run in the tournament and could have faced Gunther in the finals. This would have helped him gain more credibility and exposure and would have helped him become a bigger star on SmackDown. Instead, he seems to be back to right where he was before the tournament started.

1. The Miz getting two chances

After winning his first-round match, Sheamus had to withdraw from the tournament after suffering a legitimate shoulder injury. Of all the names that could have entered the tournament, it was The Miz who gained a second chance after a switcheroo in the draw.

While it was a hilarious backstage segment where the former WWE Champion put his name in the ball Nick Aldis drew, it was a missed opportunity. Instead of giving The Miz another opportunity, they could have had another surprise opponent - perhaps someone like Trick Williams, Austin Theory, Rey Fenix, Logan Paul, or El Grande Americano.

The creative team could have even had R-Truth enter the tournament, owing to his history with John Cena. However, giving another shot to The Miz felt very out of place and was a terrible missed opportunity for the creative team to make the tournament even more interesting.