10 Live Observations From WWE Las Cruces
1. John Cena Is Still Very Much The Company's Top Draw
In May of last year, I attended a WWE house show in the very same venue as this one, the NMSU Pan American Center in Las Cruces. John Cena was not on the card that night, and the show was main-evented by Dean Ambrose taking on Rusev. While a good number of people attended this event, it was visibly anything but a sellout. You had plenty of room to breathe as well as walking room out in the halls. This show, which featured John Cena facing Randy Orton in the main event for the WWE Championship, told a much different story.
The arena was packed like a can of sardines. There was hardly an empty seat to be seen, and an absolute sea of John Cena merchandise visible from every spot in the building, not to mention that the crowd popped louder than they had all night for both Cena's entrance and ultimate victory. It was so loud, in fact, that you couldn't even hear the man's theme music. It was, frankly, a perfect last title defense for Cena's latest title reign.
Chants for Cena were utterly deafening, and you'd be hard pressed to find someone who wasn't taking part. Even self-admitted non-fans of WWE who had been dragged to the event by a friend or family member found themselves getting lost in it all.
It just goes to show that even with the New Era taking hold, John Cena is still, arguably more than over, the face that runs the place.