I definitely did not expect this coming into tonight's Raw, so I suppose I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know what to think of this match-up, though. Johnny Ace clearly isn't going to be ready, at this stage in his career, to work a full match by himself. His time as an in-ring performer has passed him by. As such, I'm expecting Lord Tensai at ringside to even the score, while Cena will carry a majority of the in-ring action, or take a beating from Laurinaitis and company for most of the match. I'm conflicted about that, though. We saw a vicious beating handed down to Cena's already injured arm, so they will definitely be playing that angle up. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Cena is unfit to even participate in the match and does indeed take some time off, though I think he'll probably wait until after Over the Limit.
I'm glad to see that they're playing Big Johnny up as a heel, I'm even a fan of them pushing this storyline with John Cena. Most figured it would be Punk/Laurinaitis at some point, but Cena is a much more natural fit here. It makes perfect sense, as Cena is the face of the WWE and Johnny Ace wants to change that, whether it be through Brock Lesnar or at his own hands. Tonight's Raw will certainly add to that, and I'm looking forward to see what punishment, if any, Johnny Ace will be facing for this. I'm also anticipating the introduction of a stipulation, because this match can't be a straight up one-on-one.
I'm expecting a John Laurinaitis win here, with John Cena being put out of action during the match. They don't need Cena to go over here, plus it makes for a better long-term story with Cena/Laurinaitis. They can use this match at Over the Limit to build toward a potential blow-off at Summerslam, or one of the bigger PPVs down the line. I don't think the result is clean/fair, though. Johnny Ace will certainly have his goons at ringside, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Lesnar come into play and get some revenge on Cena for the loss at Extreme Rules.
