John Cena had a disappointing night at WrestleMania 39 on Saturday, losing to Austin Theory with the United States Championship on the line in the show-opener at SoFi Stadium. Cena tried to put his opponent away multiple times with either an STF or an Attitude Adjustment but Theory always had an answer — whether it was by cheating (biting Cena’s hands while he locked in his submission) or with a clever counter. Cena eventually got Theory up for an AA again, only this time Theory’s feet crashed into the referee and briefly knocked him out.
The 16-time world champion then applied the STF and forced Theory to tap, but the referee was conscious to call for the bell. Theory nailed Cena with a low blow amidst the confusion, then planted him with an A-Town Down to retain his championship. Cena later took to Instagram to respond to the result, posting a photo from Michael Jordan and Spike Lee’s famous “It’s Gotta Be The Shoes” Nike commercials. It’s unclear if Cena was talking about Theory’s shoes hitting the ref or if it was because he was wearing Nike Air Force 1’s while wrestling. Cena has worn a variety of sneakers over the years, but it had been years since he was wrestling in a pair of Nikes.
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WWE WrestleMania 39 Night Two Match Order
- Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
- Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya & Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka
- Edge vs. “Demon” Finn Balor (Hell in a Cell)
- Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
WWE WrestleMania 39 Night One Results
- WWE United States Championship: Austin Theory def. John Cena
- The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) def. Braun Strowman & Ricochet, Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) and The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
- Seth Rollins def. Logan Paul
- Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus and Lita def. Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky
- Rey Mysterio def. Dominik Mysterio
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley def. Charlotte Flair
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. The Usos
