When Austin Theory and John Cena were announced as the opening match of WrestleMania 39, it felt like WWE was attempting to give fans a happy moment to kick off the show.

Sure, Theory is on a white-hot run in the mind of his number one fan, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, whereas Cena would at most be working a match or two before dropping the strap at the next “Premium Live Event,” but hey, is that really a bad thing? Cena is a legend, and after winning the United States Championship at his first WrestleMania, why not give him the very same strap for 20 years of hard work in what might be his final WrestleMania as an active wrestler?

On paper, that makes a ton of sense, but apparently, Theory had other ideas, as after working a rather dirty match featuring a weird amount of biting, just when it looked like Cena was going to win, as he got “A-Town” to tap without a referee, he then fell victim to a low blow that simply couldn't be overcome. Theory secured the win, retained his title, and beamed from ear to ear after killing his idol, even if the crowd booed him so vociferously that it felt like the very foundation of SoFi Stadium may be called into question.

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Jade Cargill with a text bubble reading, "Everybody wants to see me succeed" with the WWE logo as the background.

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Rikishi with a text bubble reading "There was a missing piece" with Jimmy Uso on the left and Jey Uso on the right with the WrestleMania 40 logo as the background.

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The Rock with a text bubble reading "My MVP of WrestleMania 40 is..." next to the blacked-out silhouette of Seth Rollins with the WrestleMania 40 logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Fortunately, after Theory secured the win, Cena did have a moment with the crowd, thanking them for what be his final big moment in the ring wearing trunks, but as Corey Graves said on commentary, all that matters in the mind of history is Theory getting the W and Cena leaving WrestleMania 39 a loser.