10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About WrestleMania 39

6. John Cena's Phoned-In Performance

John Cena WrestleMania
WWE.com

John Cena worked WrestleMania like it was a house show in an absolute nothing match with Austin Theory.

There was nothing to it. Cena sold with none of his trademark, broad histrionics. He mounted a brief comeback with no Hulk-up gurning before the carny ref bump finish. The result did nothing for Theory. Cena's actual performance did nothing to suggest that he was in trouble, that Theory was a threat to his legacy in any way. He was hardly going to work a 25 minute back and forth, but this was such a generic, apathetic compromise. If Cena wasn't interested, Theory should have squashed him. At least then, WWE would have told a bold story and written a shocking headline. Cena might have earned plaudits for doing nothing (but also everything) at the same time.

The message was clear: WWE didn't even have the conviction to put over their major internal prospect, which is damning, since nobody externally thinks he's a prospect.

At some point, WWE will want you to think that Cena is willing to do an actually big match, which is difficult to believe now. At some point, given that Vince is back and is a horrible wrestling promoter, they'll need him for a big show - and 'Big Match' John's aura disappeared over the course of 11 tedious minutes.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!