Apr 2, 2023; Inglewood, CA, USA; Gunther during Wrestlemania Night 2 at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

WWE The Last Time Is Now Tournament: Last 2 Semi-Finalists Victorious On SmackDown

Originally posted on Stadium Rant | By Howe Fresh | Last updated Nov 29, 2025 12:47 PM ET

WWE’s The Last Time Is Now Tournament continued on the latest episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown. With Solo Sikoa and Gunther advancing to the semi-finals already, which two Superstars would advance to fill out the final two spots? John Cena’s career is coming to an end on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. One of these Superstars will get the honor of retiring, who WWE now refers to as the GOAT.

The Last Time Is Now Update

The SmackDown quarterfinals featured LA Knight, who defeated Zack Ryder; The Miz, who was a substitution; Jey Uso, who actually defeated The Miz; and Rusev, who defeated Damian Priest. The Bulgarian Brute looked stronger and more technically sound than Uso in their contest. The winner was, of course, the crowd favorite because kids like to Yeet and get their parents to spend money on it. The Mega Star defeating The Most Must-See Superstar felt very uninteresting and transactional.

The semifinalists are locked and loaded. Uso and Knight join The Ring General, who defeated Je’Von Evans and Carmello Hayes, and Sikoa, who defeated Dolph Ziggler and Penta. The Last Time Is Now Tournament was billed to include all types of wrestlers from around the globe. It ultimately turned into the four Superstars most fans would have guessed, with two surprise appearances along the way to bring fans one-off nostalgic jobbers.

Click here for WarGames predictions for the 2025 WWE Survivor Series.

End Of My WWE Rant

Outside of Gunther, The Last Time Is Now Tournament has been pushing the sports entertainers and burying the physical wrestlers. It’s always felt like the Austrian was going to be the man to retire this future Hall-of-Famer, and that feeling is still ringing true. If WWE wants a wrestling classic for this final match, he’s also the only remaining option with the proper talent to check off all the boxes to make it great.

This article first appeared on Stadium Rant and was syndicated with permission.

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