John Cena rule breach saw WWE slapped with staggering $500k fine as rival star left covered in blood

John Cena’s WWE retirement run has once again proved his staggering popularity and value.

Across a two decade career he has built a global fanbase and a legacy unlike any other WWE Superstar past or present.

WWE

That remarkable tenure comes to an end in a matter of weeks. He wrestled at WWE Survivor Series on Saturday night, facing off against Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental title, and will have a final send off at Saturday Nights Main Event next month.

It is the final chapter of an iconic run that has produced milestone moments enjoyed by television and pay per view audiences of millions as well as the occasional night witnessed only by those lucky enough to be in the building.

One such occasion came in 2012 when WWE took a special Christmas show to the hallowed wrestling ground that is Madison Square Garden.

Why one untelevised night still defines Cena’s legacy

It was an untelevised steel cage main event with Dolph Ziggler, the sort of festive house show booking usually played loose and light, yet it would become one of the most memorable nights of Cena’s career for reasons nobody in the crowd could have guessed.

What should have been a simple holiday headliner instead turned into a story that feels even richer today as Cena prepares to step away.

Nic Nemeth, the man who performed as Ziggler that night, told KVIA ABC-7 that everything changed the moment they were warned about the arena’s strict cut off.

“One of my absolute favorite matches I ever had with him was at Madison Square Garden in a Steel Cage, not televised, and here’s the best part: There is a curfew with MSG and if you don’t hit that curfew the bill becomes a half a million dollars more.

“Everybody at MSG gets excited because they’re excited to be there, and we’re down to the main event in a steel cage and we’re about to go out and there’s eight minutes until: ‘Hey after this there’s half a million dollars on Vince’s tab’.”

Cena, even then, approached crowds and venues like obligations etched in stone. MSG was sacred ground. Cutting time was not an option.

For a man about to close the book on his career, stories like this offer a reminder of the consistency that made him the company’s foundation for so long.

WWE

Nemeth remembered questioning whether they really had room to deliver the full match, only to find Cena’s mind already made up.

“I’m like: ‘what are we doing? We can’t shortchange these guys.

“[Cena] goes: ‘Absolutely not we’re going and talking to the boss’. Boss goes: ‘Give them their money’s worth’.”

That “boss” was Vince McMahon, the man ultimately responsible for absorbing the kind of financial penalty a late running show at Madison Square Garden could bring.

They did exactly that. Instead of rushing through the finish to escape a costly penalty, they stretched the match to around half an hour, giving the New York crowd a main event that felt bigger than the setting.

“We went out there for 30 minutes,” he said.

WWE

WWE

WWE

The costly moment that showed Cena’s true value

The decision came with a price for Nemeth, who revealed that a brutal mishap with the cage door left him bloodied as he made his way backstage.

“A steel cage door… busted out my front teeth, so I was covered in blood leaving this cage match with John Cena at Madison Square Garden after giving back to the fans, even more than we promised them.

“Those moments, that people don’t see on TV, is what makes it extra special to us.”

The wasn’t aired to a global audience and largely exists only in the memories of those inside the Garden that night. It sits somewhere between folklore and fact, a reminder of Cena’s willingness to push beyond expectations and of the hidden moments that shaped his reputation long before this final run.

As he moves toward his last appearances, stories like this explain why crowds continue to greet him like a hero and why WWE never hesitated to trust him with nights that mattered.

Sometimes the matches that define a legacy are the ones only a few thousand people ever see.