16 Match Star Ratings For WWE WrestleMania 39

15. Austin Theory Vs. John Cena

John Cena did the honours, but his match with Austin Theory did not do a thing for his opponent.

Even before the finish - Theory kicked Cena in the balls after visually tapping out following a ref bump - Cena didn't take Theory seriously. He didn't tan and barely bumped, instead writhing on the floor as Theory worked a generic WWE starter kit of a heat sequence. Cena worked harder than possibly anybody in WWE history in his prime. Nobody expects him to annoy the boss and take a piledriver in 2023, but he used to be more goofy and animated than that on the sell. He wasn't even unintentionally funny here, just there, detached, on something less than autopilot.

It felt like Cena had agreed to appear because he felt obliged as a result of his positive relationship with the company. The finish was arrived at very suddenly. The match was a flat house show special with a carny TV result abruptly tacked on the end of it. Woefully generic and so non-committal that it might as well not have happened, the crowd was at least hot on the nostalgia of seeing Cena in person.

On this evidence, if people embrace such a phoned-in performance from Theory in 20 years, a miracle has occurred.

Star Rating: ★¾