John Cena United States Championship Open
John Cena comes out and talks about his match at WWE Payback. He hypes up the crowd and out comes Bret Hart. Bret Hart says he is out here to introduce a great wrestler. Heath Slater comes out and says he will not let his opportunity slip out of his hands again. Bret interrupts him and introduces Sami Zayn. Zayn will face John Cena.
John Cena applies a neck hold and slows down Zayn. He hits a side suplex and it looks like Zayn injured his shoulder. Cena punches him down a few times and Zayn hits a clothesline. Cena hits a few shoulder tackles and then a side slam. Zayn rolls him up for two and elbows the champion. He goes up top and connects with a cross body. John Cena rolls to the outside and Sami hits a Swanton. John Cena tackles him and applies the STF. Zayn grabs the ropes and the submission hold is broken.
Zayn applies the Koji Clutch in the middle of the ring. John Cena powers out, but Zayn rolls him up again for two. Cena catches him with a clothesline and sets up an AA. Both men hit a clothesline and we are at a stalling point. Zayn flies from between the ropes and hits a DDT to the outside. Both men get inside and Cena hits an AA. Zayn kicks out of his finisher and John is shocked. Thunder Bomb from Zayn and a close two count. Cena hits a springboard stunner and then an AA for the win.
This was a treat. This was an incredible showing from Sami Zayn in his first match on Raw. The shoulder was an issue, injury or not, and was done right. John Cena looked really good and Sami Zayn brought the best out of him. If you want to see the future of WWE, look no further than Sami, Neville and other NXT stars. Raw has been stellar tonight and the injection of young talent has been a reason why this has been a complete night. Sami has a bright future and will be a huge player in the future. You can complain about Cena winning. Sami Zayn faced JOHN CENA. Soak that in, win or loss.
Raw Quick Hits
-Naomi and Tamina Snuka attack The Bella Twins. I like Nikki and Brie as heels because they are naturally mean and hot. They just seem like the two girls that everyone wants and everyone hates. Naomi is getting better as a heel and it could open a door for a heel Jimmy and Jey down the road. Tamina returns and she has plenty to offer, even though she is in the same spot as she was with AJ Lee before she got injured.
-Tag Team action saw Neville and Dolph taking on Barrett and Sheamus. Sheamus and Dolph is a natural feud, while Neville and Barrett is a mixture of great athleticism and speed. Barrett as King is something I am not sure about. I feel like he wins tonight because he is the King. I just feel that the “Bad News” gimmick is better than him being King. Someone else could benefit. We will see how WWE books him in the future.
