On Monday night, WWE Raw celebrated the 20th anniversary of John Cena’s debut for the promotion. It was the mainstay of all pre-show promotions and much of the first two hours revolved around Cena finally coming to the ring to deliver a promo about his connection to WWE fans.
The show also featured the ongoing build-up to Saturday’s premium live event Money in the Bank. Included in this build was the addition of a male and female to the Money in the Bank ranked matches.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of the action from the Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas.
WWE celebrates John Cena’s 20th anniversary
Video packages were aired throughout the show highlighting John Cena’s career. Halfway through the show, Cena was shown talking to Ezekiel backstage and telling Ezekiel to never forget who he is when Theory interrupted him. The theory ran through Cena, pointing out that his own success at the age of just 24 was more than Cena had achieved, and now Cena was just an old man wearing jorts. Cena walked away when Theory tried to take a selfie, leaving Theory angry.
Later in the show, Vince McMahon introduced Cena, who walked to the ring as the WWE locker room stood on the entrance ramp and applauded. Cena cut a rather lengthy promo where he talked about how the WWE fans made him a better person and that nothing he does is just about him, “it’s about us”. The theory didn’t come up during the segment, and it all ended with Cena celebrating with the fans.
The whole Cena thing didn’t have much upside, just the teasing of an eventual Theory match and a classic Cena babyface promo. The show was heavily populated by the video packages for the first two hours. McMahon’s involvement was entirely unnecessary, but he’s done so show after show since news broke that there was an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct, prompting him to temporarily step down as WWE CEO and Chairman. Still, Cena knows how to handle crowds and will always garner huge reactions whenever he shows up. Grade B
What else happened at WWE Raw?
- Riddle won a Battle Royal to secure a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder game. The battle royal started the show and got to Riddle and Miz, who had previously feigned injury. Riddle eliminated Miz with an RKO on the ring apron.
- Defeated Montez Ford. Jey Uso on Pinfall after hitting a frog splash.
- AJ Styles def. The miz via countout. Styles interrupted a Miz interview, upset that Miz eliminated him from the battle royal earlier in the night, leading to a match. As Styles seemed to have the match in hand, Miz decided to exit the ring and head up the entry ramp, taking the countout loss.
- Bianca Belair and Carmella faced each other. Belair was interviewed calling Carmella to the ring. Carmella took the call and said she would win Belair’s Raw Women’s Championship at Money in the Bank. Carmella then tried to hit Belair with a cheap shot, but Belair waited and sent Carmella out of the ring.
- Liv defeated Morgan. Alexa Bliss via Pinfall with roll up. The match came after the women were interviewed and said they weren’t friends but were “friendly” and both vowed to win Saturday’s Money in the Bank ladder match.
- Bobby Lashley defeated. Alpha Academy in a handicap match when he locked Chad Gable in the Hurt Lock. Theory was the special enforcer, but Lashley was still able to claim the win and fend off Theory after the match.
- An interview with Cody Rhodes was broadcast. Rhodes said it was bittersweet to know he would only watch Money in the Bank and not attend, but he wants Seth Rollins to win so he can be one of the first to congratulate him.
- Becky Lynch won a last chance elimination match to earn last place at Money in the Bank. Lynch outlived Nikki ASH, Xia Li, Tamina, Shayna Baszler, and Doudrop to win the match, ultimately eliminating Doudrop.