Who is still in the John Cena last time and is now a tournament bracket?

I have to admit, I love what WWE is doing with the John Cena Last Time is Now tournament. It’s the epitome of squeezing every last drop of value out of a one-time Superstar leading up to his final match.

For the uninitiated, the tournament is a 16-man field with a variety of performers. There’s at least one NXT superstar, one who hasn’t been on the roster before and one we still haven’t seen.

We started at 16 and are now back to 12 with four games completed. Here’s a look at who’s in and out and the four first-round matches scheduled for next week’s episodes of Raw and Smackdown.

John Cena’s last time is now – first round

• Rusev final Damian Priest (Raw, November 10)
• Sheamus for sure. Shinsuke Nakamura (raw, November 10)
• Jey Uso definitively. The Miz vs. (Smackdown, November 14)
• L.A. Knight def. Zack Ryder (Smackdown, November 14)
• Je’Von Evans vs. Gunther (Raw, Nov 17)
• Solo Sikoa vs. Surprise Opponent (Raw, November 17)
• Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed (Smackdown, November 21)
• Penta vs. Finn Balor (Smackdown, November 21)

John Cena’s last time is now: quarterfinals

• Rusev vs. TBD
• Sheamus vs. TBA
• Jey Uso vs. TBA
• LA Knight vs. TBD

It’s unclear if the winners of Raw will face each other using the same formula devised on Smackdown. If so, Rusev will face Smackdown, likely on November 24, and Jey Uso will face LA Knight on November 28.

WWE could push this all the way to Saturday Night’s main event on December 13 in Washington DC, where Cena will have his final match.

If the dates line up as expected, the final match to determine who will face Cena could take place on the December 8 episode of Raw or the December 12 episode of Smackdown. Since the December 8 episode comes from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, that feels like the logical location.

This is all speculation, but the December 12 Smackdown will take place at the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. By comparison, you can see where I’m going with this thought.

As for the mystery opponent, you have to assume it will be a face since the person is facing off against Solo Sikoa. I wonder if it will be Uncle Howdy since WWE has been teasing a feud between the Wyatt Sicks and MFT for about a month now.

I’m not sure how far they would try to take Howdy at this point, but it could be an interesting match.

There is also a chance that WWE will handle the quarterfinals or semifinals in a Fatal Four-Way match. This thought has some credence because WWE has not once shown a hook on screen during programming. That could indicate that a surprise or wrinkle is coming. We’ll see, but I’m enjoying this whole farewell tour for the GOAT.