Add as a preferred source on Google John Cena’s loss to Brock Lesnar at WWE Wrestlepalooza was not designed as a final triumph for The Beast, but as the beginning of a new chapter for Lesnar.
In the third season of WWE: Unreal, which premiered this Tuesday, Cena explained that he accepted being completely dominated because his own career was nearing its end, while Lesnar needed to regain his aura after returning to the company following several months away.
“It’s not once in a generation. He’s once in a genre. That’s it. There’ll be one Brock in wrestling. End stop. The why is losing to Brock does not kill me at all ’cause I’m on my way out. And we’re bringing him back with the intent to give him as much energy so he can begin to give it away. What’s the best way to do that? So yeah he’s gonna come back and destroy me. Yeah, it’s physically gonna be a tough night, champ, but that’s what we want.”
Lesnar had returned at SummerSlam on August 3, attacking Cena after the main event. At Wrestlepalooza on September 20, he hit six F-5s to win the match and then attacked both Cena and the referee afterward, in a bout that played out far more like a one-sided beatdown than a competitive match.
Cena also revealed that Drew McIntyre was originally planned as his opponent for Crown Jewel in Perth. He had previously acknowledged that plan in February, but the documentary showed in detail how fan demand for AJ Styles changed everything.
“My next opponent was originally supposed to be Drew McIntyre. Sorry, Drew, but you can’t ignore the indicators. We’re sick and tired of this. Give us somebody we want. Rewind, I had cut a promo in Dublin with Logan Paul. They popped for AJ Styles. Indicator, they want to see this match. What if we socially ask the people who are typing away saying this sucks? Let me put something out. Do you guys want the AJ match? F*ck, that’s what we’ve been trying to tell you! Let me put something else out with AJ, and then let me put Hunter. The guy you follow into the whiteboard room. Do you hear this? I do. And we’re gonna do it. The why for the AJ match? This contest is property of the populace. You guys did this. So let’s go for it.” h/t False Finish
Cena went on to defeat Styles at Crown Jewel on October 11, in the first singles match between the two in more than seven years.