John Cena returned to his home state on the March 6 episode of WWE RAW and cemented a spot at WrestleMania 39 in a title match against than Austin Theory.
Cena came out to a massive ovation on Monday night, and the response made the 16-time world champion emotional. He was promptly interrupted by Theory, who said he only became a WWE superstar because Cena inspired him when he was a kid. He then stated that he had a gift for Cena, as he offered the veteran a match for the United States Championship at WrestleMania.
Cena quickly said no, and that he isn’t interested in Theory’s gift because Theory hasn’t earned the right to give it. Cena said he had been listening and watching Theory, and he just doesn’t care. In fact, Cena said, no one cares about Theory because Theory doesn’t believe in himself.
The two continued to argue for a bit before Cena began lobbying insults at Theory, saying that he has to have crowd noise piped into his matches and that no one has bought into him. He then said that he didn’t want to face Theory because he knows when he wins, that’ll be it for Theory, and no one will care for him afterward.
Theory then claimed that Cena would be letting down the fans if he didn’t take him on, and bringing the WWE Universe into the equation changed everything. Cena was fired up, and he turned to the fans to see if they wanted the match. After they cheered, Cena told Theory he had made the worst decision in his career, and that he knows Theory doesn’t have the brains, heart, or the testicular fortitude, as Mick Foley would say, for the monumental moment.
WWE then confirmed the match, which will mark Cena’s first time competing in a traditionally announced WrestleMania singles match in front of a live crowd since WrestleMania 31. In is most recent WrestleMania match, Cena faced Bray Wyatt in the Firefly Fun House Match at WrestleMania 36. Cena last wrestled on the December 30 episode of WWE SmackDown; there, he and Kevin Owens defeated Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn.
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