5 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (July 23)
2. Cena’s Opening Promo
Let John Cena's show-opening promo be a lesson to 99.9% of pro wrestlers on this wonderful planet. The part-timer cut fans in on the action by making his speech interactive as hell, and he managed to side-step the fact that it was almost identical to his material on Raw this past Monday.
Great workers can do that.
Cena had intensity, purpose and was clearly excited to be in Cleveland. Plus, bonus points go to WWE's writers for including some bizarre karaoke from Paul Heyman right at the tail end of the segment. That, ladies and gents, was fabulous television - it was one of those meme-like moments people will remember.
Again, it's just a pity that WWE didn't follow this up with more later on. The strength of John's promo here should've echoed during the closing skit with Roman Reigns and Finn Bálor. Go out of your way to see this despite that niggling negative.