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The anticipation is building as the competition heats up to determine who will face John Cena in his much-anticipated final match. This historic showdown is set to unfold on December 13 during the special edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C.
The journey began with the “Last Time is Now Tournament,” featuring 16 WWE Superstars. As of now, the competition has narrowed down to 10 contenders, gearing up for the next bouts on Friday Night Smackdown.
With all the mystery slots now filled, the remaining competitors are ready to battle it out.
This Friday on Smackdown, the field will be reduced to eight as we advance into the quarterfinals. The evening will feature Hayes facing off against Reed, while Balor takes on Penta in the concluding matches of the first round.
For those victorious in the Hayes-Reed and Balor-Penta matches, their path will likely lead them to confront Sikoa or Gunther. These two have already secured their spots in the next round by defeating Dolph Ziggler and Je’Von Evans, respectively, in their initial matches.
The winner of Hayes-Reed and Balor-Penta will presumably move on to take on Sikoa or Gunther, both of whom won their first-round matches over Dolph Ziggler and Je’Von Evans, respectively.
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Some expect that portion to take place on the next episode of Raw. There’s also a chance the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds could be settled in a pair of Fatal Four Way matches.
Most of the details have yet to be confirmed. What’s also not confirmed is whether the winner of the tournament will be facing Cena as the Intercontinental champion. Cena dethroned Dominik Mysterio on Raw in Boston on November 10.
Mysterio will challenge Cena in a rematch at Survivor Series in San Diego on November 29. If Cena successfully defends, the winner of the Last Time is Now Tournament will get a shot at the title. That would add even higher stakes to the matchup.
If Cena drops the title to Dom at Survivor Series — a feasible outcome considering San Diego is Mysterio’s hometown — it’ll be interesting to see how the match at SNME is sold. It’s an excellent opportunity for someone to get a significant push, but quite honestly, the only people remaining in the tournament who stand to gain from that elevation are: Penta (would be his first title in WWE), Reed (same), Hayes (same), Balor (rebirth), Knight (rebirth), Sheamus (the only title he hasn’t held), and Rusev (a new push upon returning to WWE).
Gunther and Uso don’t need this title at all. You could make the argument that Sikoa doesn’t need it either.
As it is, we’re waiting on the next developments, and I’ll follow up with updates to the bracket after Smackdown.
