Austin Theory was victorious over John Cena in the WrestleMania 39 opener on Saturday night, but he had to resort to some serious cheating in order to retain his United States Championship. Cena repeatedly tried to put the young champion away throughout the match but Theory always found a way to escape, whether it was biting Cena’s hands while he locked in the STF or hitting a DDT when Cena went for the AA. Finally, when Cena went for his finish again Theory kicked the referee, preventing the match from ending when he tapped out to the STF.ย
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Theory used that opening to nail Cena with a low blow, then hit A-Town Down for the victory. The win gives Theory his sixth successful defense in his second reign as US Champion.
The bulk of the build-up for the match centered around Cena burying Theory in their only in-ring interaction, saying that he wasn’t ready for a WrestleMania match with the 16-time world champion and that fans wouldn’t care about him regardless of the result. Theory responded by repeatedly brushing off Cena’s comments.
“To be completely honest, in that moment, I kinda of knew what was going to happen,”ย Theory toldย After The Bell. “It doesn’t matter if I’ve been there every single week working and grinding and putting my name on the print of Monday Night Raw. It’s how it always is when that guy comes back. Everybody goes crazy. I didn’t want to give him any time to speak. That’s why I immediately came out. We all saw when I came out there, he had a lot to say. Of course he had a lot to say to me, I’m the most important thing here. If you’re trying to be important again, I’m the guy.”
WWE WrestleMania 39 Night One Results
- WWE United States Championship:ย Austin Theory def. John Cena
- SmackDown Women’s Championship:ย Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships:ย The Usos vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
- Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
- Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
- Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus and Lita vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky
- Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
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