After weeks of back and forth on Monday Night Raw and WWE SmackDown, The Miz and LA Knight were finally set to face off one-on-one at WWE Payback. There was an unexpected wrinkle revealed earlier today though, as John Cena would be guest referee for the match, and that certainly came into play throughout. Cena was completely fair across the board and caught Miz trying to cheat his way to a win. Cena and Knight would also bump heads at times for Cena’s fair calling style, but despite all that, Knight was able to take down Miz and get the win. There were also some hints that Knight and Cena could be facing each other at some point in the future, but that remains to be seen.
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It took a while for the match to actually start, as The Miz wouldn’t get in the ring, and then as soon as the bell rang he rolled out of the ring and yelled at Knight and Cena. Knight pulled the rope down and welcomed Miz in, and once they got in the ring Knight stayed on his opponent. They both ended up on the top rope but Miz won the exchange and looked to build some momentum.
Miz stomped on Knight and then hit Knight with a chop. Knight came back with a slam and then they countered each other’s moves until Miz rolled out of the ring again. Knight kicked Miz to the floor through the ropes, and then Knight slammed Miz onto the steel steps. Knight slammed Miz on the announce table several times and then gave a yeah to Cena before getting slammed into the announce table by Miz.
Miz shoved Knight’s head against the barricade and then rolled into the ring to break the count. Miz taunted Cena a bit before heading out again and he charged at Knight, but Knight picked him up and flipped him over into the timekeeper’s area. Knight threw Miz over the barricade again and then launched off the barricade, slamming into Miz with a clothesline.
Both men were back in the ring and Miz hit Knight with kicks in the corner. Cena counted to five on the stomp from Miz but Miz wouldn’t stop, causing Cena to push him away and cut it off. Knight then stomped on Miz and counted to five, which necessitated Cena pushing Knight away from Miz twice. Cena and Knight argued until Miz came back with stomps of his own, and then Miz kicked Knight’s legs out from under him, slammed him down to the mat, and went for the cover, but Knight kicked out.
Miz was able to keep the momentum going and keep Knight from gaining the upper hand, and then Miz got Knight in the ring and knocked him to the mat with brutal kicks to the chest. Miz hit a third kick and a fourth kick, but Knight got to his feet. Knight dodged the last kick and picked up Miz for a powerbomb. Knight went to pin Miz but he kicked out at two.
Miz tried to roll up Knight and then hit a DDT before hitting a second one into a cover, but Knight kicked out. Miz kicked out of a quick pin and then evaded a charge from Knight. Miz missed Knight and Knight hit a spinning neckbreaker into a cover, but Miz was able to kick out. Miz then went to pin Knight but Cena caught him holding the ropes and kicked his arm away. Miz argued with Cena and that led to Knight almost hitting Cena. He caught himself, but Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale and went for the pin. Knight was able to kick out of it though, and that led to Miz mocking Cena’s five knuckle shuffle. Knight got to his feet and hit a power slam and then hit the elbow drop. Knight hit the Blunt Force Trauma on Miz and got the 3 count, getting the win.
Then at the entrance ramp, Cena took off his referee uniform and entered a staredown with Knight. Cena then extended his hand out of respect, and after some back and forth, Knight shook his hand. It wouldn’t be surprising if we got an eventual match between these two, but we’ll just have to see how things turn out.
What did you think of the match? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
You can find the updated card for WWE Payback below.
World Heavyweight Title Match: Seth “Freakin” Rollins (C) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Steel Cage Match: Becky Lynch def. Trish Stratus
Women’s World Title Match: Rhea Ripley (C) vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Title Steel City Street Fight: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (C) vs. The Judgment Day
United States Title Match: Rey Mysterio (C) vs. Austin Theory
LA Knight def. The Miz
The Grayson Waller Effect with Special Guest Cody Rhodes
What did you think of the match? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
