Austin Theory Defeats John Cena, Retains United States Title at WWE WrestleMania 39
Austin Theory defeated John Cena in a grudge match on Night 1 of WrestleMania 39 on Saturday to retain the United States Championship.
Cena initially was able to make Theory tap out, but with referee Chad Patton face-down on the canvas after taking an inadvertent kick to the face from The Now, the titleholder had a lane to flip the script.
Theory proceeded to connect on a low blow on the 16-time world champion, with Patton still in pain away from the action, to secure the victory.
After months of teases, Theory finally got his wish on the March 6 edition of Raw when he challenged The Cenation Leader to a WrestleMania match.
Cena initially declined, expressing his belief that Theory wasn't ready or deserving of a WrestleMania moment. But when the U.S. titleholder pressed the issue and continued insulting him, he eventually agreed to the match.
On an episode of Raw celebrating Cena's 20-year anniversary in WWE last June, Theory confronted the WWE icon backstage. When the veteran wasn't interested in taking a selfie, the youngster launched into a verbal tirade against him.
Theory would periodically drop hints about a potential future match against Cena after that moment, including using one of his signature catchphrases: "The Champ is here!"
Cena vs. Theory at WrestleMania seemed like a natural fit for several reasons, including the fact that the latter has often been compared to the former in his earlier career.
The 25-year-old has the ideal look and physique to be a top WWE Superstar, which was undoubtedly the case for Cena when he first got called up to the main roster.
Also, it didn't take long for Cena to start getting pushed to the top, and Theory had a similar experience, as he was seemingly Vince McMahon's handpicked choice to be a future world champion.
The presentation of Theory changed when Triple H took over as WWE head of creative, but his push hasn't slowed down, and it can be argued he entered The Show of Shows in a better place than at any other point in his career.
A 'Mania match was the biggest moment and challenge of his career, though, and it was fair to wonder if Theory would be given the career-making rub of beating Cena on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Cena had beaten up-and-coming stars like Bray Wyatt and Rusev at WrestleMania before, but things were different this time around, as Theory defeated his childhood idol and took another step toward becoming the face of WWE.
