John Cena officially accepted a match for WrestleMania 39 on tonight’s Monday Night Raw, as he’ll challenge Austin Theory for the United States Championship in Los Angeles next month. Cena arrived at the TD Garden Arena to a hero’s welcome from the Boston crowd, only to be cut off by Theory. The brash, young champion talked about his childhood fandom for Cena, then offered up a challenge for WrestleMania. Cena initially rejected the match, saying Theory wasn’t ready for it. He claimed “A-Town Down” was stuck in his “Ruthless Aggression” phase, and that neither he nor the fans actually care about Theory because he doesn’t believe his own words week after week.
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Theory tried to fire back by claiming Cena was going back on his “Never Give Up” motto by running away from the match. Cena responded by saying Theory would lose everything in the match whether he won (and would have to show up on Raw the next night without having Cena as a crutch to play off of) or lost (his US title). But the 16-time world champion said he’d never give up on the fans, and their loud reaction prompted him to accept the match.
If Cena wins, he’ll tie Ric Flair for the all-time record for most United States Championship reigns at six. He has held the title for a combined 403 days, with his last reign coming in 2015.
Despite getting eviscerated by Cena, Theory has been pushing for a match with his childhood hero for years. He told the New York Post last year, “It just takes words out of my mouth, because I think when that moment happens and I’m in the ring with John Cena, man, I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what I’m gonna say. I don’t know. I have no idea just because like you’re saying and the way you spoke about it, I clearly know what it was like for me growing up watching John, just the story there and how much we’d actually have for a story. Man that’s just so crazy to me. I see it happening for sure.”
WWE WrestleMania 39 Card (As of Now)
- Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
- United States Championship: Austin Theory vs. John Cena
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka
- Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
- Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. TBD
