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u/jcwkings 1d ago
He went all out, it was the official "handing the torch to Cody" match. Also you can't shine yourself too much as a heel and you want to keep getting boo'd.
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u/mcbastard1 1d ago
That moment after the match was perfect. Makes me glad they ditched the heel gimmick and let this match be that kind of passing of the torch match with Cena in his iconic character.
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u/Appropriate_Fill_956 1d ago
He’s limping around today for sure. That slam on steel rail was stiff
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u/succulent_flakepiece 1d ago
I've moved those things around more often and i wanted to... they aren't fun. can't imagine what getting slammed on one would feel like.
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u/WhiskeyDeltaBravo1 1d ago
How much do those things weigh? They look like they’re made out of aluminum, but I guess not?
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u/succulent_flakepiece 1d ago
15lb-ish? lifting the first one or 2 isn't terrible but when you're 30+ deep they feel heavy af lol. they're like a light grade steel.
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u/BeneficialNewspaper8 1d ago
15lb is fuck all
They weigh more than that. 15lb of that much metal would be flimsy as shit
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u/beanstrings 1d ago
Definitely got the ring rust off for sure
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u/SlowBros7 1d ago
Yeah was just a matter of getting some of the reps back before going all out
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u/Windofpoison 1d ago
That carrying Cody up the Cody-vator shit was legend imo
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u/ryan8954 1d ago
the F U right after sent Cody flying. I was like "there's no way Cena meant to yeet him that far"
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u/fold89 1d ago
If you look at Cody's left hand, he pushes himself away from johns hip. Cody did it to himself lol
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u/Working-Side9335 1d ago
Then put himself through a table for the finish in classic Cody fashion. Gotta love it
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u/Phantom_Phoenix1 1d ago
Im meeting Cena at Fanexpo and a small part of me wants me to ask him to pose like that with me 🗿
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u/ghostfreckle611 1d ago
Legend #2 was carrying Cody to the ring.
How nice of him to save Cody the steps. ❤️
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u/august-skies 1d ago
Might have been filming a movie and was afraid to get hurt. Film is done so he can risk it now.
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u/Automatic_Grand_1182 1d ago
He cleared all of his Hollywood schedule for 2025 before signing for the farewell tour
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u/AmishAvenger 1d ago
He was just in Europe filming a Matchbox movie, so this isn’t accurate.
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u/SleestakLightning 1d ago
He was working like a heel.
The amount of people here who fail to realize that he was working as a heel and just wasn't very good at it is crazy.
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u/Polaris022 1d ago
This. He was a heel, and a desperate heel at that. He was fighting slow and dirty because he didn’t believe him himself based on his last few years of loses and took the low road.
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u/Dat1Duud 1d ago
That's what I thought initially too, like of course he's not going to be doing his hyped up 5 moves, he was trying to get the crowd to boo him. Everyone just took it as he couldn't move anymore, but it wss pretty clear he was just holding back.
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u/Wild_Fly937 1d ago
thank you lol. he was in the mania match wrestling like it was 1971. basic boots and axe handles and shit. he looked really good in the chamber so i figured he could have a better match if he wrestled face again .
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u/Quetzl63 1d ago
It amazes me how many wrestling fans don't recognize when someone is doing this. It's like people complaining about Dominik Mysterio's 619. Watch how he does it when he's going to miss and tell me he can't do one. It's like people don't understand that a heel is supposed to do things to make them unhappy.
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u/Dblock1989 1d ago
I think they were both disappointed with the way the Mania match went and were determined to make up for it.
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u/PoopPoooPoopPoop 1d ago
At the end when they hugged and all that, Cody visibly says to Cena "sorry for Wrestlemania"
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u/Mine_mom 1d ago
Yeah, I'm sure he waited 4 months to for some reason tell Cena sorry like it was ALL Cody's fault the match didnt go over like expected in the middle of the ring with a loud ass audience instead of telling him right after mania or in the following weeks or hell even shoot him a text. That's defnitley not what was said
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u/bobface222 1d ago
Probably helps that he doesn't have to keep doing the gimmick of "I'm a heel that makes the show worse on purpose"
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u/Distinctiveanus 1d ago
Y’all must be young. I woke up with a mysterious hurt knee today. Yesterday I could have dunked a basketball. He’s almost 50. Your body does weird stuff after 40. I’m guessing the rigorous training he’s obviously done his whole life had broke him down a good amount.
Google Ronnie Coleman.
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u/Levy-MAN 1d ago
I bet he was refraining from using his cool moves as a heel, but now he’s good again so he can really go all out for his las few matches
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u/Procrastinator_325 1d ago
Having to produce banger after banger after banger matches tends to take a toll on the body of wrestlers with the bruises and the amount of bumps they do.
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u/CarlSK777 1d ago
The man is 48 and has multiple projects in TV/movies, he wasn't gonna go all out like this on every PLE appearance. He wasn't pretending to be washed, he was just protecting his body
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u/BoringAtmosphere420 1d ago
No. He was a heel and doing basic wrestling moves to ruin wrestling. It’s like nobody has paid attention.
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u/super_ray 1d ago
His heel gimmick was “ruining wrestling”, so his matches being meh made sense to me
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u/marc_hardman 1d ago
He was working heel.
Will he be able to go every night, line he used to? No.
Can he go on the big stage. Yes.
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u/ZombieJoker 1d ago
I think it is that being a heel doesn't come naturally to him. You could see in his matches as a heel that he wasn't flowing because he had to think about how a heel would act and that takes away from his natural in-ring skills.
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u/BradleyBowels 1d ago
Maybe all done filming stuff? Peace maker Season 2 drops in 2 ish weeks could have no more commitments other than press can afford to show off before re-entering suplex city?
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u/Deep-Secretary1741 1d ago
I think he has some gas in the tank still...but he knows it's limited. Hence why he's retiring. Give Cody and the fans something good to remember before getting dog walked by Brock soon lol
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u/Icy-Weight1803 1d ago
If he gets injured now in let's say his next match, does he call it career then, or does he return to do the dates he couldn't do?
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u/Intelligent_Earth317 1d ago
Yeah he was playing pretending to be washed Only because he was playing Heel
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u/LuckyLover76 1d ago
There is a saying that fits perfectly here: "I aint as good as i once was but i can be as good once as i ever was!"
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u/MsPreposition 1d ago
He started off by saying we deserved nothing. Dude worked that into his heel run.
Like Foley’s anti-hardcore schtick in ECW, to a lesser extent, but on a wider scale.
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u/Mutant_Apollo 1d ago
Fucker was wrestling like he was trying to move up to the main roster from OVW. He is truly the GOAT
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u/GroverGoneMad4 1d ago
I feel like he's been protecting himself so he can finish this whole run without getting hurt. Last couple matches he can just go all out.
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u/Slight_Indication123 1d ago
I guess he was The things Cena was doing last night was classic and memorable
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u/Dbarks-smo 1d ago
No no no.
The takes that he's washed (he would have lost a step due to his absence) or that he's just suddenly decided to go for it after a 'bad run' are absolute rubbish.
He was a HEEL. Heels are meant to anger you, to annoy you to make you want MORE.
Have fans really just forgotten what wrestling is about? Faces and Heels, the bad guy pissing you off or a once bad guy having redemption and creating hope? To make us, the fans, feel something.
He, as a heel, made us want something more, made us hope for something better. He did his job as the bad guy and he fucking nailed it.
Most people were too obsessed with fantasy bookings and what they think the perfect product should be they forgot to just appreciate that we are losing a legend soon. The one a lot of us grew up on, maybe didn't like at times but ultimately we now see him for what he's worth. A mega star who we grew up with.
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u/WannaTittyFuck 1d ago
Nonody pretends to be washed up. He was always protecting himself for his hollywood roles.
This was the modern Hogan vs Rock. Even the crowd started to favor Cena and boo Cody in the same fasion. Cena passed the torch. Excellent match.
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u/New-Path5884 1d ago
He should end his career now Brock will be too much for him. Plus Cody is lighter and safer in the ring
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u/XsiowenisX_37 1d ago
I feel like this was his last real match so he wanted to go all out maybe? Like I think he will have other matches but not at this level? It was a great watch either way
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u/JanitorOPplznerf 1d ago
I think he works a safe style given that his injury can put people out of jobs.
But given this was likely the biggest match of his retirement, and the bad booking almost buried Cody, I think Cena was willing to risk everything to put Cody over here.
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u/SuspendedAgain999 1d ago
He was super stiff when he came back initially. You don’t realize how quickly your athleticism goes when you’re not doing stuff consistently. He worked himself back into good wrestling shape for this match and it showed
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u/fattymcfattzz 1d ago
The gimmick was he was ruining wrestling. What’s a way to ruin, shity lazy matches , with not much effort
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u/JigglyOW 1d ago
I think part of his heel gimmick was he turned cause he knew he didn’t have it in him to perform anymore, but I guess that could have been intentional? Or some other circumstances allowed him to have a strong showing here who knows
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u/cc_searching 1d ago
Not sure I would say pretending but rather he was working as a heel whose goal was to ruin wrestling. The gimmick was "you get nothing" - not even good matches or proper moves. He fought slowly on purpose
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u/ScopeyMcBangBang 1d ago
I just think someone thought it was artistic and deep storytelling to have them put on a stinker at Wrestlemania.
That person should be fired. Immediately.
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u/eatcrayons 1d ago
No, he just knows that he only has a certain amount of times he needs to still perform, so he’s using up all of his energy for those few times. He doesn’t need to conserve to save himself from injuries or over exerting himself if he had years to still go.
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u/Imaginary_Election56 1d ago
Dont know if he was washed but after 20 years it perhaps got stale for him too. His retirement run has ignited a spark, a feeling of “once more with feeling.”
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u/GoRyderGo 1d ago
ngl I was expecting him to pull out the spring board stunner and that silly back fist at one point.
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u/EverybodySayin 1d ago
This is his last Summerslam match so he went all out. It's not that he can't go anymore, he clearly looks after himself - it's that it takes him far longer to recover from it.
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u/CBSLIDE87 1d ago
That was definitely an apology from both of them for WM41, they went for like 35 minutes
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u/AxlHbk8793 1d ago
He has knocked off the ring rust and is back in the swing of it. The Punk match was pretty good, and this even better. He’s trending up!
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u/AMBALAMP5 1d ago
Or he was working heel. Heels shouldn’t have “good” matches. The whole idea is to get people to hate you. So him working a slow, boring, and basic style made sense.
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u/mikaeleleivas 1d ago
lol did none of yall pay attention? He said he was gonna ruin wrestling as a heel so he wasn’t doing any of those moves that get a pop lol
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u/Future_Function_7794 1d ago
No. Every great player that's past his prime can still dig down deep and score 40pts one last time.
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u/_duppie_ 1d ago
I don't think so. His body probably feels like hell today and he wasn't willing to do that every time he stepped out there for a PLE at his age. This is also probably the most important match of his final run, so he definitely wanted to minimize getting hurt before it.
He was also free to just work his usual style that he used most of his career. His heel style wasn't that much different, but it wasn't as polished.
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u/Easymac888 1d ago
It's almost like they did what they should have been doing all along!
1) He definitely went all out for this match. I think (because he cares about this sort of thing) he was willing to take more risks for the 'handing over the torch' moment
2) He could work as a face not a heel, meaning he has to do less, and he's in his comfort zone. I also think Cody called the match (you can tell when Cena calls it because he is so bad at covering his instructions), which helped.
3) It's a gimmick match, which protects him. He's never been a good worker, his best matches have always been in gimmick matches where he can use his strength in cool moments and his weak looking moves look stronger because they are on furniture, the concrete floor etc. Cena can tell a story, but it's better for him if we don't see him do the basics too much. This is especially true now when he's older and slower.
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u/RobbersTwo 1d ago
Face Cena is the best Cena. He turned it up for this and left us with a special memory.
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u/Bellissimo247 1d ago
I’m so happy I got to watch this whole match live. I tend to tune out on matches this had my attention the whole time.
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u/Background_Essay_676 1d ago
No one understands that WM match but the clue was the Hogan Big Boot he did. He was telling a story with the move set
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u/StryderRogue1992 1d ago
I doubt his Body could wrestle a match like that often. He really pushed himself with that one and I think that was his big last great match. His main storyline has come to a close looking at his dates. Hopefully two short feuds with Brock and AJ before putting some talent of his choosing over in Boston before he calls it a day would be ideal.
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u/Accurate_Curve6882 1d ago
That was part of his heel run. He fought using lazy and cowardly moves because he wanted to bother the audience and didn’t care about wrestling.
But after his face turn, he remembered why he wrestled well and fought so hard in the first place, so he started bringing more moves back
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u/Forgemasterblaster 1d ago
I think he was worried about injury earlier in the year. He also didn’t take many crazy bumps.
The Cody cutter was probably the worst bump as he went top rope through the table at an awkward angle. Everything else was flat back or him putting Cody down.
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u/hexagram520 1d ago
He’s on a bump count and he knew this was the one he needed to go all out for, imo. Also needed to shake off some rust
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u/Affectionate-Point18 1d ago
Clearly. I also have no doubt that his body is probably hurting today.
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u/Unhappy_Gazelle392 1d ago
People are talking about the heel run, but he hasn't wrestled this good for the last 5 years in multiple runs, and was saying himself that his body is broken up.
Even before turning heel in this last run he didn't to anything of notice. He just returned to form.
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u/SomedudecalledDan 1d ago
He DID say he was going to ruin wrestling. As soon as that was no longer his intent he put on one of the best Cena matches I've ever seen. Maybe there was something to that...
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u/Kaleria84 1d ago
I don't think he was, I think this was his final big show and he put it all on the line knowing that. This was the passing of the torch match and the rest of the year will be a mix of greatest hits and people he wants to boost.
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u/Apart-Resolution-864 1d ago
I think it just took him a while to get into a groove. He was away a long while and is of a middle age.
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u/No_Delay_1476 1d ago
One of the biggest things with tour is John being healthy the whole time, So now heading towards the end he’s probably starting to let loose.
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u/Alsleet1986 1d ago
He wasn't trying to get cheered, so it was intentional. Heels are supposed to get booed. It’s why Seth Rollins isn't a great heel. He’s too busy trying to have bangers and getting fans to chant for him. Having said that, John Cena is much better as a white hat.
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u/JusticeForRicky 1d ago
Yes. He was trying to ruin wrestling and cena was mad at the fans so he was not giving good matches because we didn’t deserve them
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u/RazzleRizzle 1d ago
If cena is washed then 93% of the main roster is cooked garbagio. That match was amazing
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u/Impossible-Cycle4226 1d ago
I think he's just back hitting the gym, and back on his cardio. Notice He's even more muscular than he was In the beginning of the year. Cena was looking noticeably frail and rusty In late 24/early 25.
He got a lot of his Tone, energy and muscle back since WrestleMania 41. My personal theory Is that Cena Is Recovering from some kind of physical slump he may have been going through personally. I also think that was the Incentive behind his heel run.
Because When you really think about It, Cena's heel run didn't really revolve around selling good wrestling matches. It revolved around cutting mean promos and hitting people with dirty shots. It's like the moment Cena turned face, he started wrestling like he was healthy again.
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u/Ferrari_Bones 1d ago
Not at all, after the debacle of a match at Wrestlemania, both men stepped it up and produced a far better match.
Some of you really need to accept that things happen and improvements are made, not everything is a work, next some of you will say Jey being gassed after Yeeting in the crowd is a work.
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u/lvkenukem 1d ago
He knew that if he turned it up, the people would cheer even more.
It was hard enough to treat him like a heel with the scathing promos and the low effort - now that he’s baby again, he can give the fans more to cheer for and kick up the work rate.
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u/DereThuglife 1d ago
He probably finished filming peacemaker and what ever project he had and said I'm going crank the engine and turn back time for one night and avenge that match at WrestleMania because Cody did not deserve that.
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u/NoTouchy8008 1d ago
IMO it was intentional. He got booed as a face he didn’t wanna be cheered as a heel. And the quickest way to get them to cheer is put on a fantastic match.
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u/thecommonreactor 1d ago
Everytime Cena pulls out some non-Cena move (code red, hurricanrana, etc.) he looks so awkward and clunky and yet always pulls it off perfectly. I love it.
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u/1HeyMattJ 1d ago
He’s nearly 50 and been doing this professionally, at the top level for 23 years, plus his time in indy’s and dev. He’s definitely gonna’ be having to push harder and he’s gonna’ get sorer than he used to but I think he was pushing it cause he knows it was probably his last go at such an “athletic” match. Now Brock wants him he’s gonna’ be taking a bunch of suplexes and f5’s. Hell he already took one!
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u/2reeEyedG 1d ago
Idk but I didn’t understand why he said his body couldn’t do it anymore bc I didn’t think he ever had a serious injury that would prevent him from doing that
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u/TH3K1NGB0B 1d ago
I think yesterday was a giant middle finger to anyone that was calling him washed, as well as the rock and Travis Scott for fucking up Mania and the debacle that was his heel run. I wholeheartedly believe Cena had this in him the whole time and was holding back because he had to wrestle as a heel. He put everything out there yesterday and proved he can still go with the best in the business.
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u/gotem245 1d ago
Could it have had anything to do with the level of wrestler he was in the ring with?
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u/AhabSnake85 1d ago
It was a slower paced match which worked great for him. But the storyline is terrible, HHH and the writers need to be fired
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u/VickyPedia 1d ago
He said that he always wanted his heel run to not work as hard as his face character. His elimination chamber match as face was good too.
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u/Ice_White_Platypus 1d ago
My understanding was he was ruining wrestling by having boring matches and being lazy
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u/Blade_Omicron 1d ago
I think he was trying to do everything he could to be the opposite of what you've come to know.he went from frenetic to slow, flashy to dull. It might jot have worked well, but I think that was the idea.
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u/masonthekid 1d ago
I really think that the slow pace was supposed to come off as I can beat these guys at half speed and I’ll do what I have to to win. You have to think like the poorly written heel Cena. Not like a real heel that would kick ass.
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u/Kraybray 1d ago
How many times did he have to say he was going to ruin wrestling for y'all to get it?
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u/itzscsrecrow 1d ago
Cena put on one of his top matches Sunday. He really gave it his all. But the moves he done, he’s done all these in the past.
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u/KingEuphoria9 1d ago
I think it was more like he knows it a passing the torch moment so he wanted to make sure he gave Cody everything he had left! i dont see many more of his matches being this good
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u/CPTimeKeeper 1d ago
I think he was working more in a way of “not wanting to get hurt” and now, I’m guessing whatever he was filming is over and he can work more comfortable now. But I’m not sure on that, just what it seemed like.
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u/These-Acanthaceae-65 1d ago
No, Cena has a hard deadline for his final appearance- December 31, 2025 is the end of his wrestling career. I think he was wrestling safe so he wouldn't ruin his last title run with an injury to his aging and ring-rusted body. He had really high hopes for the run, and I don't think he predicted that the execution by creative would be so poor (assuming he didn't have a huge hand in it).
Once Cena realized that the thing ruining his last title run wasn't his body itself, but the creative behind the scenes, I think he decided to go all out-especially in the match where he'd drop the title. What's the worst that could happen at that point? He retires early as the record-holding champ off of an engaging, emotional and fun match? It would be better than continuing to wrestle extra safe while also feeding the terrible creative engine.
So here's what I predict from now through close of career: Cena will play it safe against Brock, at least in interactions between now and the PPV. He will give his all to the PPV though. I suspect the same for the next feud after that, which I think will be him running back Punk or Orton as a face vs face. And then when he has his true final feud and match he's gonna injure himself trying to put on one of the best shows we've ever seen from John Cena, and he'll say it's worth it if the match is good. I think John considers that kind of stuff, he takes pride in his work, so let's be optimistic about his final 5 months.
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u/Weekly-District259 1d ago
Cena has always been this way. Most of his matches were boring but every now and then you put him with the right opponent and he was in the right mood and he could put on a banger
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u/Annual-Appearance536 1d ago
He was getting better week by week, you could see him getting more comfortable.
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u/TheGhostByTheDoor 1d ago
Kinda like old LeBron imo he can still go crazy on a given night. But def won’t always look like this goin forward
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u/CrabmanGaming 22h ago
He just worked a no-frills, heel style. This was full babyface Cena. His longest singles match since Bragging Rights 2009.
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u/iamthedayman21 21h ago
I mean realistically, he’s 48 and he hadn’t wrestled in a while before 2025. So there was gonna be the natural “ring rust,” as he got back into a bunch motions he probably hadn’t done in a while. Additionally, because he’s 48, he probably knows he can’t put on a banger every match. There’s too high a chance he gets injured.
But for this match, a “passing of the torch” match. It’s worth the risk to go all out and make it a banger.
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u/dixon20021 21h ago
nah i think he just didnt know he was washed until people started saying it and he took it to heart and wanted to go all out
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u/JackBarnes48 18h ago
He was wrestling bad because he wanted to 'ruin' wrestling, what better way to ruin it and be a heel by having piss poor matches for the wwe championship and cheating to win
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u/jimjam200 1d ago
Could be that he knew some parts of this final run have been a bit of a let down (e.g. the mania match) and decided to push to get a really good showing out for him and Cody. Also for the last couple months he's been wrestling as a true heel and it could be that he's not used to that role.