Revisiting Larry Csonka’s Match Reviews of John Cena

Steve Cook: Five years ago today was when I got the news that my flamingo, 411mania.com legend & the greatest pro wrestling pontificator that ever graced God’s green earth, Larry Csonka had passed away. I will never claim to be half the pontificator that Larry was, but I will do whatever I can to carry on his memory. Hence why I always quote “Have fun & don’t be a dick” before every live Raw review for the comment section.

Considering that 2025 is John Cena’s retirement year, I thought it’d be fun to look back at Larry’s opinions on some of the WWE-recognized GOAT’s most acclaimed matches. The Last Time Is Now, so let’s look back at John Cena’s time through Larry Csonka’s words.

Larry got hired by 411 in 2004 to do TNA reviews, so he wasn’t covering a lot of WWE early on. Things took a turn when a bunch of writers decided to jump ship to a new site that had all sorts of potential, promises & a pulse at that point. This led to folks like me getting invited onto the 411Mania ship, so I thank everybody involved for that. Scott Keith, Chris Hyatte, Josh Grut, all those legends inadvertently opened the door for me. I’m pretty sure that the first time Larry reviewed a WWE show on this site was SummerSlam 2004. Cena was there, kicking off a best of 5 series with Booker T because somebody on the WWE creative team watched some WCW. Anywho, heeeeerrrrrrreeee’s Larry!

Match #3 Booker T © vs. John Cena (1st of the Best of 5)

They talk smack to start, and then duke it out. Clothesline by Cena for 2. More talk, lock up and Cena gets a hammerlock, but Booker fights out and chops away at Cena. Slam by Cena, then a rolling neck breaker for 2. Booker crotches Cena on the top rope, and Cena knocked to the floor. Double ax handle to Cena, and Booker tosses him back in. Kick to Cena, and Booker then nails a knee drop to Cena. Mount and punches by Booker, and he plays to the crowd. Forearms by Booker, but Cena fights back but Booker gets a leg lariat and locks in a Camel Clutch on Cena. Cena picks him up and rams him to the corner. Cena off the ropes, and Booker gets a spine buster. Side slam by Booker, then he locks in a rear choke. Cena fights out and gets a small package for 2. Clothesline by Booker, then MISSES the ax kick. Both men are down, and fight back to their feet. Cena punches back, boot to Booker and a clothesline takes him down. Cena off the ropes, flapjack to Cena. SPINAROONIE! Cena snatches him up, F U finishes off Booker T!

Winner: John Cena @ 6:25

SC: I know, a match review without a star rating. Perish the thought. We move onto the next SummerSlam, where Cena has become a top guy and is defending the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho. Here’s Larry’s review of that.

Match #6 WWE Title Match: John Cena © vs. Chris Jericho

They jaw to start, circle then and lock up. Headlock by Jericho, off the ropes and a shoulder block to Cena. Rights by Cena now and a boot to Cena. Chop fest! Off the ropes, clothesline to Cena. Then a suplex and boots by Jericho. Rights by Jericho, and then a spin kick to Cena. Jericho misses Cena and flies to the floor. Cena follows and tackles him and they brawl. Jericho rammed to the corner and rights to Jericho. Corner whip and a dropkick by Jericho. Rights by Jericho and then Cena’s head is repeatedly rammed off of the mat. Chops by Jericho, boots and Jericho is in control. Suplex to Cena and a cover for 2. Basement dropkick by Jericho, then a rear choke on Cena. Off the ropes, reversal and Cena tossed to the floor. Jericho follows with a dropkick off of the apron. Jericho chokes Cena with a mic cable on the floor and then tosses him back in. Cena set up top…chops by Jericho and he goes up. Head butts by Jericho and SUPERPLEX TIME! All the way from the top and both men are down. Jericho covers and gets 2. Another cover and another 2. Jericho with rights to Cena again and a corner whip, but Cena with a boot to Jericho. They exchange rights, off the ropes and a backdrop to Jericho. Clothesline to Jericho, off the ropes and Cena MISSES the flying shoulder block. Bulldog by Jericho…Lionsault misses but Jericho to his feet, roll up, reversal and the Walls are broken and Jericho sent to the floor. The crowd is more in favor of Jericho as they boo’ed the Cena escape. Cena up top… Jericho comes in and a top rope leg drop by Cena to Jericho as he was between the ropes! Cena covers for 2. Jericho chants now! FU try…escape into a DDT by Jericho! Cover 1…2…NO! Backbreaker by Jericho. Elbows to Cena. More elbows and dueling Cena vs. Jericho chants! Wow. It is SPLIT down the middle. Jericho chokes out Cena on the bottom rope. Jericho off the ropes and Cena springs to his feet and levels him with a clothesline! Cena is up and rights to Jericho. They duke it out and jabs by Cena and a right takes Jericho down. Clothesline again. Seated arm drag. PROTO BOMB to Jericho. 5-Knuckle Shuffle to booo’s, stopped…Jericho up and WALLS OF JERICHO ON CENA! Cena fights…scratches and crawls…and gets pulled back in. He tries again…and gets the ropes! Jericho thought he won, and now back to the attack. Jericho up top…Cena nails him and goes up with him! Cena grabs him, Jericho escapes…electric chair drop gets 2! Jericho threatens the ref, Jericho off the ropes, Cena with a tilt a whirl…into the…FU and that’s all!

Winner: John Cena @ 15:00 via pin ***¾

SC: Our next stop is a show I attended! WWE Backlash 2006 took place in Lexington, KY and was the most recent time I set foot in Rupp Arena. As Larry’s full show review would tell you, this event had some really good & really bad stuff. I cite the Kane vs. Big Show match from this card as the worst match I’ve ever seen live, and I’ve been to plenty of outlaw mudshows. John Cena was in the main event defending his championship against his top two challengers, and at least that match delivered.

WWE TITLE MATCH: Edge vs. HHH vs. John Cena ©

They stall and Edge steps to the apron and tells them to have at it. HHH and Cena say ok and brawl. Shoulder block to HHH. Boot and a fisherman’s to HHH gets 2 as Edge saves it. Edge on the floor still and HHH gets an atomic drop to Cena. Rights by HHH, Cena fires back but HHH gets the high knee for 2 as Edge saves the pin. Crowd for HHH easily here, Edge is on the apron and HHH and Cena pull him in and whoop his ass. Cena clothesline’s Edge to the floor and follows. Rams Edge to the table as HHH comes to show him how it is done. They try to one up each other and Edge is getting FUBAR’D! HHH tosses Edge back in and HHH nails Cena. He tosses him to the floor and he and Edge go at it. Edge works over HHH and has him on the apron…Cena in and pulls HHH to the floor and back in after Edge. Cena up top…big splash by Cena gets 2. PROTO BOMB by Cena! 5-knuckle shuffle try, Lita pulls the rope down and Cena fall to the floor. HHH tosses Cena to the steps and then goes in and gets a knee crusher to Edge for 2. HHH works over Edge with rights, but Edge with a boot. Off the ropes…SPINEBUSTER by HHH gets 2. Edge counters a suplex and gets a cover for 2. Off the ropes and a sleeper by HHH. Edge escapes and gets a sleeper of his won. Cena in, picks them BOTH UP but Edge escapes and SPEARS CENA as he had HHH up for the FU! Edge and HHH brawl on the floor and catapults HHH into the steel post and he TAPS AN ARTERY! Edge puts HHH on the Spanish announce table, they brawl…IMPLANT DDT by Edge and the table DID NOT BREAK! Damn that is a LOT of blood. Edge with a missile dropkick on Cena gets 2. Edge with rights to Cena. Irish whip and Edge with a corner spear on Cena. Cena counters a DDT into the STFU! Edge fights…crawls…and HHH stops him from getting the ropes and NAILS Cena with the mic! HHH is in a pool of his own blood, gets a chair and absolutely KILLS EGDE! HHH back in the ring, STFU on HHH! HHH fights…my gawd the ultimate crimson mask! HHH is fading…the arm drops 1 time…2 times…NO! HHH LIVES! He fights to his knees and gets the ropes! Cena stalks him, FU countered…Pedigree countered and STFU AGAIN! HHH battles for his life as he bleeds all over the ring! Edge is up and goes up top…Cena up and nails him. REF BUMP! Cena and Edge up top…HHH over…TOWER OF DOOM! Edge rolls to the floor and the ref gets to his feet. Lita has a chair and is in the ring. Tries to hit HHH…SPINEBUSTER ON THE HO! HHH has the chair…but tosses it away. SLEDGY TIME! Back in the ring he goes, measures Cena…SPEAR BY EDGE ON HHH! Edge has sledgy…but Cena gets him…LOW BLOW by HHH! Pedigree countered into a jackknife roll up and Cena wins!
Winner: John Cena via pin @ 20:00 ****¼

SC: We move onto 2007 and a match that many people would say was John Cena’s best. He faced off against a part of the Bloodline that was on his best run that didn’t last long enough. Here’s John Cena taking on Umaga at the 2007 Royal Rumble.

WWE TITLE/LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: Umaga w/Armando Alejandro Estrada vs. John Cena ©
Cena has his ribs taped up. They stare down and SLUGFEST TIME! Rights by Cena, Umaga nails him in the gut. Jawbreaker by Cena. Umaga with another shot to the ribs. Cena to the floor as the ref begins to count. Up at 4 and rights by Umaga, Cena on the apron and falls to the floor again. Umaga follows and slams Cena into the steel steps. The ref counts, up at 6 and Umaga attacks again. They brawl up the ramp way. Rights by Umaga. Cena fires back, slams Umaga off the apron, hard head John and Umaga nails him in the ribs. Can’t head butt a Samoan. Slam by Umaga and then kicks to the ribs. Umaga works the ribs/abdominal area and Cena is down. In the corner and shoulder rams by Umaga. Irish whip and boots by Cena. Stiff clothesline by Umaga. Armando is playing his part well as he “holds off” Umaga so the ref can count. Cena up at 7 and Umaga with rights again. Slam by Umaga, he goes to the floor and grabs the top portion of the steps. Armando holds him back as the count is on. Cena up at 7 as Umaga tosses in the steps. Cena stun guns Umaga off the top rope and Cena picks up the steps and THROWS THEM ONTO UMAGA who was on the floor! Umaga is down and the count is on! Armando helps Umaga and he is up at 6. Cena to the floor and they brawl. Back into the ring, rights by Cena. Off the ropes and a spin kick by Umaga! The count is on Cena again. Up at 6 and Umaga on the attack again. Bear hug by Umaga as he continues the assault on the mid-section. Cena is almost out on his feet, BELLY TO BELLY by Umaga and he backs off for the count. Umaga now to the floor and grabs the other half of the steps and slides them into the ring. Cena is up at 8, Umaga grabs him and clubbing shots to Cena. Tables chant now by the crowd. Umaga beats Cena down again. Umaga sets the steps up in the corner. Grabs Cena, and lays him out in front of the steps. Umaga backs up…RUNNING ASS RAMMISSES and Umaga crashes into the steps! Cena picks up the steps and slams them into Umaga! The count is on as Cena is up at 3, Umaga still down. Umaga up at 7…Cena up top…cross body, caught and a SWANK SPINNING Uranage by Umaga~! Umaga drags Cena over to the ropes so he can get up and he then nails him in the ribs again. Leaping Banzai drop by Umaga. Another! A 3rd…misses as Cena gets a low blow! Front rolling face jam into the steps by Cena. PROTO BOMB onto the steps! The count is on again. Both men down, Cena up and as Umaga is laid across the steps he gets the 5-knuckle shuffle! FU try…has him up…but Cena’s back gives out and Umaga counters into a DDT onto the steps. Count is on again, Umaga up at 5. Cena is BUSTED open! He is up at 9. Rights by Umaga and Cena is down. Rapid-fire rights by Umaga! Cena is pouring blood at this point. Cena down and the count is on again. Cena pulls himself up at 8. Rights by Umaga, some Cena sucks chants here. Cena Cena’s up and is a fireball now. Off the ropes…and a Samoan drop by Umaga about KILLS Cena as he lands on his head and shoulders. Umaga sets for the spike…FOR SAMOA…blocked by Cena! Head butt by Umaga and Cena is down. Umaga picks him up, tree of woe~! Lots of blood now, Umaga misses a head butt as Cena sat up. Up top…ALABAMA JAM on Umaga! Cena slams Umaga to the steel post. Cena takes out Armando, grabs a TV monitor and measures Umaga…and KILLS HIM with it! The count is on as Cena gets back into the ring. Umaga is up at 8! Shoulder block by Cena and Umaga to the floor. Cena off the apron, caught and Umaga SLAMS him into the steel post, and then slams him off the steps! They brawl to the ECW announce table, and then he dismantles the other 2 announce tables. Cena is laid out on the ECW table, he climbs the Raw table…charges and MISSES A SPLASH and goes through the ECW TABLE! Cena crawls back into the ring as the count is on. 7…8…9… Umaga is ALIVE! SWEET JESUS! Armando now undoes the corner ropes, actually unscrewing shit and the top rope falls down. Umaga grabs the metal part, FOR SAMOA…Cena grabs up Umaga…FU~! He grabs the metal part and NAILS Umaga! STFU WITH THE ROPES AROUND UMAGA’S THROAT~! Umaga is fading…Cena keeps pulling back and finally breaks the old. The ref counts again, Umaga is ALIVE AGAIN! STFU AGAIN and he chokes him even more! Cena breaks out of tiredness. The ref counts, 3…4…5…Cena up, 6…7…8…9…10.
Winner: John Cena @ 23:03

SC: Cena still had the WWE Championship at WWE Backlash 2007 and defended it in a match Larry reviewed years later.

Champion John Cena vs. Edge vs. HBK vs. Randy Orton: They all stare down and Cena/HBK talk. All four talk now, and then have some tea and crumpets. Cena and HBK attack RKO. They clear the ring and HBK attacks Cena. Chops by HBK, but a boot and fisherman’s suplex get 2 for Cena. Off the ropes, neck breaker by HBK. Edge in and tosses Cena, Orton in and they stand off. Randy whispers sweet nothings, Edge doesn’t swing tat way so they brawl. Dropkick by Orton and Edge to the floor. Cena tosses Edge back in and HBK pulls Orton out. Cena levels both of them on the floor. Baseball slide by Edge wipes them all out. Edge slams Cena, then HBK escapes and slams Edge. HBK on the apron, then up top…moonsault onto all three men. HBK got knees to the faces of Orton and Edge on that. Rolls Edge in, chops follow. Forearms by Edge, Irish whip and they clothesline each other. Cena up top…the double fameaser connects and Cena covers HBK for 2. Orton in and a clothesline to Cena, boots to HBK and Edge. Tosses HBK and then tosses Edge. Rights by Cena, Orton with rights back. Off the ropes and the 3.0 back breaker by Orton for 2. Orton Stomp on Cena. A knee drop by Orton gets 2. Rights by Cena, Irish whip and Cena misses and NAILS the post shoulder first. HBK rolls in and chops Orton. Off the ropes and a flying forearm by HBK. KIP UP! Edge then levels him with a spinning heel kick and covers for 2 as Orton saves, and then covers HBK for 2 himself. Orton and Edge talk about working together, and then work over HBK. Irish whip and HBK slams the corner hard. Edge nails Cena off the apron onto an announce table. Orton beats down HBK, Irish whip and HBK flips and back in, double backdrop by RKO. They get a double Boston crab on HBK. HBK fights, and gets pulled back center. Cena in with a double neck breaker on RKO. Clotheslines by Cena on RKO. Shoulder blocks and then one to HBK. PROTO BOMB on Edge! 5-knuckle shuffle time on Edge. HBK and Orton pull Cena to the floor. They slam him to the post ands then HBK slams Orton to the post. HBK lays out Orton on the announce table, HBK climbs onto it and goes for a piledriver but Edge kills HBK with a chair shot. Then one for Orton! Edge in the ring with the chair, drop toehold and the STFU is on! Edge fights and gets the ropes. Orton in and drop toehold and STFU on Orton! HBK in and Cena grabs him, roll up by HBK gets 2. Chops by HBK, flying forearm, KIP up, Atomic drop and one for Edge. Tosses Edge. Atomic drop for Orton and he is tossed. Slam by HBK, he goes up top…ELBOW DROP connects~! He tunes up the Christian Rock Band, Edge in and slammed down. HBK up top…ELBOW DROP to Edge! Slam to Orton! Up top…Cena over and nails HBK. Up top he goes with him, FU try, Edge and Orton over…tower of doom FU~! EVERYONE IS DOWN. HBK to the floor, Edge and Cena in the ring, FU try…escape and reversals…HBK in and RKO by Orton! Cena stops the pin, implant DDT by Edge, 1…2…NO! Edge looks for a spear, Cena moves, spear to Orton! FU on Edge! Superkick to Cena and he falls on Orton and as HBK collapses and Cena gets the pin. Champion John Cena defeated Edge, HBK, & Randy Orton @ 19:25 via pin [***¾] This was really good overall, with a hot closing stretch and the intrigue with all the forming and fading alliances adding to the story, the thing that holds it back from being great is that there was little drama in Cena losing his championship.

SC: Folks of my time talk about the OVW Class of 2002. John Cena & Randy Orton were in that class and expected to carry their genre for the next couple of decades. Cena & Orton had a big match at WWE Breaking Point 2009, which some folks saw as a big deal. Here’s Larry’s take.

WWE TITLE I QUIT MATCH: I will fully admit to not being the biggest fan of the Cena vs. Orton feud. It seems so repetitive, and the matches can be hit and miss. I don’t hate it, and I am not going to bitch all day about it, but I am not a huge fan of the feud. But I am willing to give any PPV match a chance, and when all was said and done here, I really, really liked this match. I quit matches can be hard to rate, because you are at a disadvantage because you cannot replay on near falls. To make these matches work, you need good storytelling, that’s the only way that these things work. Well, in my opinion, they succeeded there and big time. I was worried that they were going the Foley vs. Rock route, but thankfully they didn’t. The story of the bout was the use of the handcuffs by Orton, which was done well. Orton handcuffed Cena to the rope, beat on him, and when he wouldn’t quit, un-cuffed him and hung him from the post handcuffed. Orton then unleashed some vicious cane shots, welting up Cena, but he wouldn’t quit. Cena was eventually able to escape, and then cuffed himself to Oton, which Orton sold excellently. Cena eventually got the STF with the handcuffs, making Orton say I QUIT, and giving Cena the title. I will agree to some extent that this is more of the Cena Superman stuff, but overall the story was so good that it didn’t bother me in this instance. Cena struggles and keeps going to fulfill his promise not to quit, yet Orton taps right away because he is a pussy villain and not willing to go through what “the hero” went through.

SC: Another man in that OVW Class of 2002 was Batista. A man that got some credit during his time but not enough. Batista & Cena got their WrestleMania match and it was pretty darn good. Here’s Cena vs. Batista from WrestleMania XXVI.

From WrestleMania 26 – John Cena vs. Champion Batista: They lockup and work into counters as Cena grounds things. Batista gets to his feet and backs Cena into the corner, but misses the cheap shot. Cena goes to work with strikes, misses the charge and gets leveled by Batista. The big man takes control, they brawl to the floor and Cena blocks a suplex and hits one of his own. Back in and Cena hits the bulldog for 2. He tries the Attitude Adjustment, gets him up but Batista reverses into a DDT for 2. Batista with a running boot to the face of a seated Cena for 2 again. Batista applies the choke with the hooks in, but Cena just stands up with Batista on his back and powers out of the hold. They trade rights, Batista gets the advantage with a boot to the gut and a neck breaker. Front facelock by Batista, Cena powers out with a back body drop and catches a charging Batista with a boot. A pair of shoulder tackles followed by a Protobomb, but Batista counters back into a spinebuster. Cena counters the Batista bomb attempt into an STF, but Batista makes it to the ropes. Cena gets to his feet and GETS SPEARED for 2. Batista woks him over in the corner, takes Cena up top for a superplex but Cena grabs his hand they fight for position, and Cena head butts Batista down… and follows with the top rope five knuckle shuffle. Batista counters the AA into the Batista bomb for a great near fall. Batista tries another, they wok into a series of really well done big move counters as Cena hits the AA for a great near fall.

Cena heads up top but flies into the spinebuster, shades of the Summerslam match. Cena counters the Batista bomb into the STF and Big Dave has no choice but to tap. John Cena defeated Champion Batista @ 13:40 via submission [****] I really love this match and think it’s great in it’s simplicity. It just comes off as a big time heavyweight clash, where both guys just gout, unload their arsenal and at the end of the day, one man stands tall. They packed lot into the time they have and never teased going too long. The crowd fucking ruled during this match.

SC: The next step for Cena was facing Brock Lesnar. Not a great position to be in, but that was the SummerSlam 2014 main event, and Larry had the call.

WWE World Heavyweight Title Match: Champion John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar: Paul Heyman’s work to sell this match has been near perfection, as he is one of the few men that can not only sell matches, but deliver money promos. In all honesty, I was really looking forward to this match due to Heyman’s work and due to the fact that they had the great match at Extreme Rules. I appreciated Cena’s serious entrance, because he actually sold concern over the beast he was about to face. The opening portion was great, with Brock getting the near fall super early with the F5, and then just destroying Cena with suplexes and knee strikes. The match had an entirely different feel than the average WWE match, which is such a good thing. Lesnar giving no fucks and rag-dolling Cena around the ring with suplexes was awesome. Cena fired up and made a comeback with the AA, but Lesnar kicked out and then sat up Undertaker style and laughed at Cena. I love this man. Lesnar just brutalized Cena, and constantly asked the ref to see if Cena would quit. Cena got a hope spot with the STF, but Lesnar powered out and hit the F5, and that was it. This was an extended squash match in the very best way possible. If you wanted Lesnar over as the complete monster, to follow up off the ending of the streak, this is how you had to do it. Also, the MMA-centric booking was evident. Like in a title fight, when someone gets caught early (the F5 in this case) and that person never recovers. And now, if booked right, the man that ends Lesnar will be made. I didn’t think that they would do it, but they did and they deserve the credit for doing so. The match was outstanding, it was fresh, it felt real, there was no bullshit, no run-ins and on some levels, master level work by both men. This was an outstanding main event, and certainly a memorable one and I cannot ever remember a WWE heel looking as strong as Lesnar did here over a star like Cena. Credit to both men and for whoever laid this out. Brock Lesnar defeated Champion John Cena @ 15:50 via pin [****½]

SC: We move onto a year where Cena was on top of his game and wrestling everyone with a pulse. Here’s the Royal Rumble 2015 review of Brock vs. John vs. Seth.

World Title Match: Champion Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins: the Philly crowd having fun pre-match, singing “John Cena Sucks” to Cena’s theme music. Brock dished out several German suplexes early, including one of both members of J&J at the same time. Watching Lesnar toss grown ass men around while Heyman smiles like an evil genius at ringside will never get old. The story of the match was that Brock Lesnar is a grown ass man, and was simply destroying people at every turn. Toss suplexes, catches Rollins on a high cross into an F5, taking three consecutive AA’s from Cena and getting up; great intensity and physicality. Cena and Rollins unintentionally double teaming Lesnar at times to survive was also a nice touch. Cena even speared Lesnar through the barricade and slammed him to the steps, but the monster was still able to get to his feet. Cena picked up the steps and skulled Lesnar, who then landed on the Spanish Announce Table, leading to Rollins delivering the big elbow drop from the ring. Cena and Rollins then had a tremendous back and forth as Lesnar received medical attention. Cena and Rollins work very well together and I always find their encounters entertaining. Cena finally got the advantage, which led to J&J getting involved. As they brought out a stretcher for Lesnar, Cena ate the triple powerbomb. Cena fought off J&J with a double AA, avoided the briefcase shot and hit Rollins with the AA, but Rollins kicked out. Rollins then hit a Phoenix splash, but Lesnar rose from the dead to rain on his parade and started to throw Germans. Rollins then waffled him two times with the briefcase, but then Lesnar fought back with the F5 and scored the win. Brock Lesnar is a GROWN ASS MAN. Tremendous work from all three men, Cena always seems to deliver in big matches, Rollins stepped up big in his really big PPV match as a solo and Lesnar continues to be the beast. I love Brock Lesnar matches, because they are completely different than anything WWE produces. The WWE product feels so homogenized and or sterile at times, but these matches feel different and special. This is exactly what this show needed, loved it.

SC Our next match is the WWE main roster debut of Kevin Owens, a man that Cena was more than happy to work with. Here’s their first encounter.

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: No titles on the line here, in what is the biggest moment of Owens’ career. John Cena is in CALL SPOTS AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE MODE EARLY with a “Drop down, shoulder block, I’ll give you one” in the opening minutes. Stop it. Kudos to Lawler, discussing that he faced Owens and that he won’t be intimidated. Lawler doing real announcing work is rare. Owens worked a measured and methodical attack, simply beating down Cena with simplistic violence, which works for him so well. Owens dominated the match early, with Cena selling the beating well and giving a lot to Owens, which they need to do here. Owens and his constant mocking of Cena was also good, reinforcing that Owens wants to prove that he belongs. Cena would counter the lights out powerbomb, and run through the five moves, but then ran into the lights out for a great near fall. For a near fall it worked well, but on the other hand I feel that hurts the guy’s finish in his first match. Owens missed the old Marc Mero hop up moonsault, and ate an AA but then kicked out. They got a great reaction from the fans on that one. Owens was doing all of the little things here, the stuff in between the moves is just as important, and he knows that. Things like using the AA to try and beat Cena was also a nice touch. They completely turned around an at best Luke warm crowd, with Cena opening the bag of tricks and Owens continuing to survive. Owens used a modified package piledriver for a near fall, so that answers if he would use it or not (he kinda will). This was the definition on the “WrestleMania” match, as both guys did everything and kicked out of everything. You can’t do it all the time, but in a way I felt that they needed to here as Owens won clean with the pop up powerbomb. If you want to make Owens a star, he has to not only beat Cena, but also had to do so in an epic, star making match. Now Owens is already a star to many, but on the main roster he is a new guy. The way he won, surviving all Cena had and then hitting his finish for the win was perfect. I have said before, Cena has so much equity to give and did so here in a performance that was done without ego. He again stepped up on a big stage. You also give credit to NXT here as now some people should look at some of the new stars in a different light due to this performance by their champion. As for Owens, he served notice tonight to all of the people that said he’d work in front of 200 fans for his entire life. Cena is the old warhorse trying to remain the champion, but fell to the WWE newcomer. This was a star making performance by Owens, and an awesome effort by both men. Kevin Owens defeated John Cena @ 20:50 via pin [****½]

SC: 2015 feels like Cena’s best year. He was willing to do whatever with whoever. Cesaro had several matches with Cena during this time period, and Larry had nothing but good to say about this one.

John Cena’s US Title Open Challenge: Indy Cena vs. Cesaro: Cena made mention of Owens losing his title, and then said not to fear because the champ is here. He then promised us a title match, and said for whoever challenges him to bring their “A-Game”. Owens came out and complained that “the worst part of Raw” was when Cena did the same garbage every week. He said it would end now and that he needed to win the title to shut Cena up. Cesaro then showed up and said he deserved another shot due to last week. He laid it out that he had Cena beat, and only lost due to Owens getting involved. Cesaro cut a good little promo there, leading to Owens backing off and allowing Cesaro to take the match. I am REALLY glad that they did not forget about Cesaro after last week’s excellent match. They almost immediately went to commercial, and came back to Cesaro fighting back to take control. The dude is such a freak, doing the delayed vertical suplex and squat with ease on Cena and almost decapitating him with uppercuts. Beast mode. They worked through a second commercial break, and Cena tried to go into his usual comeback but Cesaro stopped the five-knuckle shuffle with a crossface. Cena then did his freak routine to lift Cesaro up and escape. Cesaro escaped the STF, and hit rolling gut wrench suplexes for a near fall. They also had a really good crowd here, which only added to another very good match between these guys. Cena foolishly tried to climb the ropes, but ate a dropkick that sent him to the floor. Cesaro would hit the cross body, but Cena would roll through for the AA, which was countered by Cesaro. John Cena breaking out new moves still fascinates me, I love it don’t get me wrong, but after years of him doing the same old same old, it is refreshing. Cesaro then got a great near fall off of the springboard uppercut as we were now past the 11PM mark. They worked in some excellent near falls as we continued on and the crowd stayed with it. Cesaro got the big swing and sharp shooter late, and then transitioned into the crossface only for Cena to counter into the STF. Then Cesaro used his freak strength to get to his feet and hit a suplex for another near fall. Cena then botched the springboard stunner, but Cesaro hit the neutralizer for another near fall. These guys both have a crazy amount of strength, which allowed them to pull off some awesome counters that not many others can do. I also really like when Cena actually shows frustration, which he did again here on some of the late near falls. It shows that he care, which adds to the match. They brawled on the ropes late, and Cena hit an AA off of the second rope, and that was finally it. Owens tried to attack post match, but Cena hit an AA to send him packing. God damn these guys have awesome chemistry, and the Cena open challenge continues to be a highlight of Raw. I give much credit to Cena, who has been largely great (outside of the Rusev feud) this year. Also, can we now fuck off with the Cesaro doesn’t connect and can’t be believable as a player bullshit? The dude just had back to back excellent matches on Raw and the crowd was into him winning both times. This match was excellent, even better than last week and really helped to improve the show. The only compliant, and this is a small point, but this is an instance where WWE could have benefited from using time limit draws. Had you established that matches have time limits (say 30-minutes for the Cena challenges) you could have done a draw here and kept the positive momentum going for Cesaro. He’s not hurt here, but it would have been better for him going forward.

SC: I would not have included this next match given the BS involved except this is probably the last time Larry reviewed a John Cena match. One of the last reviews posted by Larry was the best of WWE Seth Rollins Matches. SummerSlam 2015 was meant to be a big moment for the Architect. Let’s see Larry’s take on it.

Winner Takes All US & World Heavyweight Title Match: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins: Seth Rollins debuted new all white gear here, looking like the white Power Ranger. If this were several years ago I would say that it was a perfect “I’m going to bleed like a stuck pig” outfit. With this going on so early, my initial thought is a long and good match with a bad finish. I hope I am wrong on the bad finish. After a slow start, Rollins summoned his AR Fox power card and hit three consecutive dives. Rollins largely controlled early answering Cena and busting out the meteora, a standing shooting star press and the double stomp from the corner. Outside of Cena’s ugly as hell springboard stunner, we were off to a really good start. We had a scary spot as Rollins countered the top rope AA into the buckle bomb, but they almost completely lost it but recovered. Rollins later stole the roll through spot and powered Cena up into an AA for a near fall, which was cool. Rollins continually tried for the pedigree, but Cena would counter, including once into a figure four to play off of the Flair name-drop on Monday. Rollins followed with a great near fall off of the superplex, which he rolled into the falcon arrow. Cena hit an AA, and we had a REF BUMP… UGH. Rollins hit the knee to the face of Cena, and then Jon Stewart ran in with a chair, and hit Cena. Rollins hit the pedigree on the chair and that was it. The match was really, really good and I thought that they were heading for something special, and then that finish just killed it for me. I haven’t been a huge fan of Rollins’ title run, but he looked so awesome here and it felt like we were going to have a special match. Instead, they opted to so what they do and did the shit finish to make sure they get some extra SportsCenter time. Not exactly long, but they had a really good match with the bad finish. Give that a few more minutes and a clean finish and it’s likely a MOTY contender. I guess when you have a match that is for two titles and hyped as important, asking for a clean and decisive finish is too much to ask from WWE. They worked the right match, both guys delivered, I just feel that the booking failed. Seth Rollins defeated John Cena @ 19:26 via pin to retain the WWE Title and to win the US Title [****]

SC: As somebody that had followed AJ Styles since the earliest days of TNA, it was interesting to see how he’d fare against the best in WWE. Turns out that Styles & John Cena had incredible in-ring chemistry. Larry had also followed AJ since his earliest days in TNA, here’s his review of their match at the 2017 Royal Rumble.

WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. Champion AJ Styles: Styles looked to work leg kicks, but Cena leveled him with a lariat and then worked him over in the corner. Styles quickly fought back, and laid into Cena with more kicks. Styles took control, mocked Cena and then missed the knee drop, Cena fired up and looked for the AA, countered and Styles hits an enziguri. Styles follows with rights, but Cena hits the shoulder block, but Styles cuts him off with a RANA and corner forearm. A diving forearm follows, Cena then hits the proto bomb and smiles. Five knuckle shuffle countered, and Styles hits the German and a wheelbarrow face buster. Styles hits a series of strikes, and Cena answers with another lariat. The five-knuckle shuffle follows, goes for the AA but Styles escapes. They work up top, Styles slips put and works the torture rack into the powerbomb for 2. Styles looks for the springboard, but Cena avoids it and hits the AA for a near fall. Cena was not happy with that, looks pissed and hits another vicious lariat for a near fall. Cena looks for another lariat, but Styles counters with the PELE. Springboard forearm by Styles hits, but only get 2. The crowd is digging this, Styles then lays in some kicks, taking control, but Cena hits an electric chair face buster; they then trade strikes center ring. Cena counters the clash, but Styles rolls into the calf crusher. Cena transitions into the STF, drags Styles back center ring but Styles counters into the STF. Cena teases tapping, but Cena powers up into the AA position, more counters follow and Cena locks in the figure four. Styles fights out, and then locks in the arm bar. Cena powers out and powerbombs Styles to escape. Cena now goes up top, but Styles counters, catching him with a powerbomb. The CLASH follows, but Cena survives! Styles then eats knees on the springboard 450. Code red by Cena follows, and that gets a near fall. Styles then hits the ushigoroshi for another near fall. Styles clash countered, and Cena then hits a cutter for the near fall. Cena sets Styles up top, looks for the super AA, hits it! 1…2…NO Styles kicks out! Cena can’t believe this shit. Cena looks for another, AA, countered, Styles clash! Styles then goes for the springboard, but is caught and Cena hits the AA and then rolls into another, finally putting Styles away. John Cena defeated Champion AJ Styles @ 24:35 via pin [****¾] This kicked all of the asses, they completely emptied the tank and hit each other with anything and everything, making this feel huge, like they were both desperate to have this title. The crowd was great, the near falls were great and Cena’s subtle facials, showing his frustration and teasing possible heelish tactics added so much to this. Styles was put over huge in defeat, he doesn’t lose anything because he survived so much of Cena’s best, kept coming and almost won. They also played well off of their past matches, with some great call back spots. These two guys have amazing chemistry, and I want to see more. Styles continues to show why many considered him one of the best for so long, delivering again. Also, Cena once again steps it up and delivers in the big match setting. I absolutely loved this.

SC: WrestleMania 36 had some issues to deal with, as the show couldn’t have fans in attendance. We saw the start of cinematic matches as a result of the show and the situation. One of those cinematic matches involved John Cena, here’s Larry’s take on the last meeting between Cena & Bray Wyatt.

Firefly Funhouse Match: The Fiend vs. John Cena: Cena arrives and Bray appears in the Funhouse. He welcomes Cena to the Funhouse and Cena magically appears in the Funhouse. Ramblin Rabbit greets him and tells him to follow Bray. Cena enters wacky land and puppet Vince is there. We get Bray doing the original Angle challenge and Cena arrives in boots & tights. Bray mocks him for almost being fired, avoids strikes and sings Nikki’s theme. The Buzzard & puppet Vince are on commentary. Bray does a Hogan Saturday Night’s main event promo and Cena arrives lifting weights to 80s montage music. His arm stop working and Cena turns into Thuganomics Cena on the Smackdown fist stage. Cena does a rap, talking about Bray’s little joke, making fun of Husky Harris and calling his a disappointment and a slut or opportunity, blowing every chance. Bray does a after school special monologue, calling Cena a bully and horrible person. I feel like Cliff Booth smoking that acid-laced cigarette in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Bray is back to Wyatt Family Bray. He attacks, hands Cena a chair and talks about Mania 6-years ago, and tells Cena to fix it and disappears. Bray turns into Eric Bischoff in WCW, introducing Cena as Hollywood Hogan as puppet Vince says it’s such good shit. Cena has flashback, beats up Huskins and the Fiend arrives. Mandible claw, sister Abigail, mandible claw, and “Bray” counts the pin.The Fiend defeated John Cena @ 13:00 via pin [DUD] While creative and even amusing in parts, this missed the mark as much as the Bone Yard match nailed it. The bone yard match had me completely captivated, while I just wanted this to end. I can appreciate them being different and that’s all well and good, but this one wasn’t for me. Mileage will vary and I can see people loving this, but for me it missed the mark. At least Bray won.

SC: I did not enjoy the Firefly Funhouse match. Larry didn’t either, but there were plenty of other people that did enjoy Bray Wyatt’s view of wrestling & enjoyed the Firefly Funhouse. I do wish we could see more of Bray’s vision of wrestling, and more of Larry’s as well.

Thank you all for reading, and thank you all for hanging on with 411Mania.com through thick & thin. I’m very proud of all my cohorts that have done everything they can to keep 411 a thing five years after Larry’s passing. He was the backbone of this website, and we all carry on in his name.

Thank you, Larry.