The feud between John Cena and Rusev has been a mixed bag. On the one hand, you have Cena abandoning his toilet humor and goofiness, but he still gives those intense promos where he tells everyone how much he loves WWE and America and that he needs to beat Rusev. The Bulgarian Brute, however, simply wants to continue on his path of destruction. Cenas red, white and blue promo earlier in the show was hokey, but their build ended strong when Rusev enticed him out by clamping an Accolade on Jack Swagger and refusing to let it go. What ensued was a simple, dominant beating that ended with Cena passing out in the Accolade on top of the announcers table. There was no superhuman comeback, no prolonged fight while in the hold. Instead, Cena passed out quickly and quietly, just looking vulnerable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dNiC6NMxfY That is what has been missing from many of Cenas feuds: At no point does he seem vulnerable. Oh sure, hell lose a match through some strange circumstances or get beaten up one week, but this was a decimation that rivaled the early days of the Nexus. Aside from his attack to get the WrestleMania match in the first place, Cena hasnt really had the upper hand in this feud, at least not since Fastlane. Its a different look for Cena, truly fighting from underneath. Will that lead to a different result at Mania? Youll find out Sunday night, if youve been convinced to tune in.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.
