As predictable as it was that John Cena's opponent would be Zack Ryder on this night, that made it no less satisfying to see him come out to a vocal response from his hometown crowd. While the match itself was fairly unremarkable, seeing Ryder take it to Cena served as a nice reminder that he still has a lot to offer the company as a performer. Him giving his all also led to a series of near falls, and as exciting as those were, it was too difficult to ever really buy into him beating the United States Champion. Ryder's surprising flip from the top rope (which ultimately cost him the match) was a nice moment though, as was Cena raising his hand at the end as a sign of good sportsmanship. Ultimately, the fact that Ryder was joined by the over the hill cast of The Entourage Movie didn't really help this match as it made it feel more like a promotional event than something which was going to have any real lasting impact. That's arguably evident from the fact that the fan-favourite Superstar continued making only sporadic appearances after this bout, but hey, at least he's tearing NXT up with Mojo Rawley!
