After The Miz and Snoop Doff warmed up the crowd at SoFi Stadium, Austin Theory became the first WWE superstar to make the (very) long walk down the ramp at WrestleMania 39. Before he was joined by his opponent, a number of kids helped by the Make-A-Wish program gathered on the stage, as a salute to John Cena — with artwork picturing him from different stages of his career flashing on the screens beside the set.
Both men were cautious in the early going, with Theory grabbing a side headlock but tasting the canvas first courtesy of a shoulder tackle. Cena’s headlock was better, taking Theory to the mat until the U.S. champ could power his way up. Another shoulder tackle put Theory back down again.
Theory got the first near fall, looking confident as he followed quickly with another. The fans at SoFi Stadium let Theory hear it, then turned to cheers as Cena reversed a suplex into one of his own. A back elbow for Theory set up a flipping blockbuster that earned the champ another near fall.
The fans unsurprisingly remained displeased with Theory’s posing, and even more so with his dropkick for another two count. His second attempt at a rolling blockbuster missed, giving Cena an opening to try for the STF. Theory managed to avoid the hold by biting Cena’s fingers, which the announcers sold as getting extra leeway given the stage.
Theory went for a cocky cover before stomping Cena on the mat. Cena finally caught his boot and tried for an Attitude Adjustment, which Theory reversed into a DDT. He battered Cena in a corner and took a bit of a victory lap, but his corner charge missed and led to an exchange which led to Theory applying a sleeper.
Cena began to fade in the hold, but was able to power to his feet and back Theory into the turnbuckles. A flurry of offense led to the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but his AA attempt led to a ref bump. Theory tapped out, but with no ref to see it.
A low blow allowed Theory to set up for A-Town Down, enabling him to get the three count.