Former WWE head writer Vince Russo is furious with the creative direction for John Cena, arguing the company made a significant booking mistake that hurts the believability of his upcoming match against Brock Lesnar. Russo’s criticism stems from the recent United States Championship match on SmackDown between Cena and Sami Zayn.
The title match, which was born from an open challenge by Zayn to honor the legend, saw Cena struggle to gain a definitive advantage. On his Legion of RAW show, Russo argued that booking Cena to go “50-50” with Zayn at this stage of his career makes it impossible for fans to believe he stands a chance against a dominant force like Lesnar.
That title match ultimately ended in a no-contest when Lesnar interfered, continuing the storyline from his return at SummerSlam. The Beast pulled the referee from the ring before hitting an F5 on Zayn and delivering two more to Cena for good measure. After the assault, Lesnar officially laid down the challenge backstage for a final encounter at Wrestlepalooza.
“Bro, on SmackDown, John Cena went 50-50 with Sami Zayn. And now we’re supposed to believe Cena can beat Brock Lesnar? This is what I’m talking about, bro. There is no thought put into this,” Russo stated.
The “One Last Time” clash between the two rivals is set for the Wrestlepalooza premium live event on September 20 in Indianapolis. This will be their first singles match since 2014, with Lesnar currently holding a 4-2 lead in their head-to-head record.