The announce team praises Furious 7 with The Rock for its crazy successful opening weekend. I laughed, because the graphic they used shows just how poorly Get Hard – a movie they’ve been promoting like crazy for weeks – did by comparison.
John Cena comes out to the usual mixed reaction. He talks about the “John Cena U.S. Open” and how he’s proud to defend the title each and every week and to represent America. He tells the guys in the locker room to step up or get stepped on if they want a title shot.
United States Championship Match
JOHN CENA vs. STARDUST
Crowd sets in with dueling Cena chants right away. The champ controls the pace of the match from the start. Stardust tries to skin the cat over the top rope but Cena catches him and slams him. He hits a few shoulder blocks and a big stalling vertical suplex before going into the rest hold. Stardust fights back and escapes from the ring as they cut to commercial.
Cena is back in a rest hold after the break. So weird — that’s always a heel spot. Cena has worked the entire match in the traditional heel role, building spots for a Stardust comeback. Stardust with the Alabama Slam out of nowhere for two. Cena runs into a kick and a snap DDT for a nearfall. Stardust off the top rope with a standing moonsault for another two. The champ tries for the STF but Dust breaks out and hits the Cross Rhodes for yet another nearfall. Cena hits a springboard stunner from the second rope out of nowhere and connects with the AA to retain.
Winner: John Cena
That turned into a good match, but I couldn’t get over how strange it was to watch Cena in the heel role for no obvious reason. They kept building for Stardust comebacks (which is a babyface spot). Really strange.
