WWE Raw: John Cena claims he is a “victim;” makes a child cry

Thomas Starr

WWE Raw: John Cena claims he is a “victim;” makes a child cry

Without the Cena promo, this would have been a good show. With it, this was a blistering episode. I cannot emphasize enough how great that promo was. My colleague wrote about it in detail here Furious Cena cuts legendary promo on Raw: ‘I have been the victim’ – Slam Wrestling

Must-see moments:

John Cena promo

This was Hogan turning heel for a modern audience. He was seething with hatred. John is so natural on the microphone that it was difficult to recognize what was acting and what his real feelings were. This felt like a guy unleashing every bit of anger he has stored up for the last 20 years. Incredible.

Bron Breakker vs. Finn Balor

A terrific way to end a talk heavy show. The night started with an all-time great promo and ended with an exceptionally good main event.

Quick Results:

  1. Penta defeated Ludwig Kaiser
  2. Dakota Kai defeated Ivy Nile
  3. Jey Uso defeated Austin Theory
  4. Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee defeated American Made
  5. Bron Breakker defeated Finn Balor

Chronological recap:

It was an early start time as WWE presented Raw live from Brussels, Belgium. They opened with some drone shots of the local architecture. Beautiful scenery. When they went to the announce desk, Corey Graves was with Michael Cole. We have not seen him for weeks now.

After airing highlights of Cena’s turn, the arena was eerily quiet until Cena’s music hit and the crowd exploded into boos and a “Cena Sucks!” chant that went perfectly with his music. This was some spectacle as the crowd took over the show. The dueling “Let’s Go Cena, Cena sucks!” chants were deafening.

John said he was the victim of an abusive relationship with the fans. He said they tried to make them into their puppet. They had to bleep the crowd at one point. Cena said he was not a babyface or a heel, he was a human being.

The crowd sang “Nah Nah Nah hey hey goodbye” when he mentioned retiring. He started pointing out people in the audience with his shirt on and said they were stealing from him. Cena said he is not changing the way he dresses or his music, because the crowd copies him not the other way around.

John was seething here. This was some great theater. Finally, Cody’s music played, and the crowd lost its minds.

Cody said he did not recognize Cena. He asked where the Cena from the T-shirt was and told John to find the real Cena for WrestleMania. Rhodes said he wanted that Cena and not this whiny version. Cena ambled his way to the back but stopped several times to soke in the boos and chants.

WWE hyped the main event which is an Intercontinental Title match between Bron Breakker vs. Finn Balor. They aired highlights of Steamboat and Savage.

Ludwig Kaiser vs. Penta

Penta’s entrance was shown on the drone shot, which was spectacular. The crowd was into everything they did. Penta and Ludwig worked two table spots, but the announce table did not break.

Ludwig messed with Penta’s mask on a couple of occasions. He kept asking Penta to say he was scared.

Penta hit Ludwig with a Mexican Destroyer onto a chair and then a Penta Driver on the same chair for the win.

Winner: Penta

Cathy Kelley met Penta in the aisleway. Penta thanked the crowd and then said he wanted the Intercontinental Title. Bron vs. Penta at WrestleMania? I would love that.

They went to a pre-tape of American Made and Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee meeting up in the back.

The Judgement Day was in the back bickering again. Finn called Dom a snake.

Dakota Kai vs. Ivy Nile

Chad Gable came before the match but was chased away by Rey and Dragon Lee. Then Dakota won with a GTK, which missed by five feet. A pointless match.

Winner: Dakota Kai

Iyo Sky and Bianca Belair came out for their contract signing. Adam Pearce introduced the contract signing. Both women sat down to have a discussion. Iyo said three times that Bianca would not disrespect her again. I do not know if she lost her place or if she was supposed to say a different variation each time. The crowd was into her though.

Bianca got to retort in our debate club segment. She told Iyo she would not allow Iyo to touch her again without retaliation. They both signed and Rhea Ripley’s music played.

Ripley said she was not just going to sit back and let Iyo slap her face. She beat up both Iyo and Bianca and then signed the contract herself. The announcers said that was not official. Rhea stole the contract and left with it.

Jey Uso entered in what appeared to be an alleyway but turned out to be part of the arena. He did not go through the crowd this time, but when he got to the ring the crowd blew and bounced up and down.

Jey Uso vs. Austin Theory

This did not last long. Theory jumped Jey at the start, but then missed a series of moves and Jey speared him for the win.

Winner: Jey Uso

Gunther jumped him from behind, but Jey dumped him out of the ring.

After they aired a hype video for Breakker vs. Balor, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory were in the ring cutting a promo. They invited Jey to find a tag partner for next week and face them.

American Made vs. Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee

American Made dominated early. Dragon Lee escaped a superplex attempt and tagged Rey. The crowd went crazy for Rey. Rey won with the 619 and top rope splash. Another short match.

Winners: Rey and Lee

Chad Gable, wearing his mask, attacked Rey and Lee after the match. Corey pretended he was not sure who was under the mask.

WWE aired a lengthy highlight package from last week’s cage match. This is an effective way to make things memorable. Instead of just moving on to the next bit of brutality, they reinforced how important a moment it was.

Seth Rollins came out. He took a long time soaking in the atmosphere. The crowd sang his theme song.

Rollins said Roman saved Punk last week. Seth claimed that he was seconds away from ending Punk’s career last week. He said he was left to clean up Roman’s mess.

The crowd was indifferent here because they like all three men. They did not know how to react to what Seth was saying. Seth said he was heading to Smackdown on Friday to confront Roman and Punk. Rollins awkwardly handed it off to the main event and asked the crowd to sing his theme song. Okay. That was a waste of time.

AJ Styles was backstage with Cathy Kelley. He started to talk about Logan Paul, but Karrion Kross showed up to bore us again. AJ said he knew what Karrion was doing, but it was not working. I can agree it is not working.

Bron Breakker vs. Finn Balor – Intercontinental Title

Finn dominated early. The pace was slow, seeming to indicate a lengthy match. Finn mocked Bron and slapped his head. Bron pumped up and took over the match. Just as he seemed headed to victory, Dominik and Carlito came to ringside.

Finn took back over until Bron started running the ropes. They varied that spot slightly by having Bron duck a clothesline and then hit Finn. Bron then leaped off the ring apron onto the announce desk and flipped over the top of it. That was awesome.

Dominik tried to interfere on Finn’s behalf, but crotched Balor on the turnbuckle. Bron hit the BreakinSteiner and a spear for the win.

Winner: Bron Breakker

Dom and Carlito attacked Bron after the match, but Penta made the save. Penta and Bron had a stare down to end the show.

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