WWE Payback 2015: United States Championship I Quit Match - John Cena (c) VS Rusev

[Jack-Hammer]

It's been made official that Cena will defend the title against Rusev in an I Quit match.

This is overkill in my opinion; Cena's beaten Rusev twice and this match just isn't at all necessary. We all know that John Cena won't say "I quit", it's just simply how it is so why go through with this farce when the outcome was beyond obvious the second the match was made? Because Vinny Mac just simply cannot help himself when it comes to making John Cena look invincible.

I'm not ragging on Cena for being US champ and certainly not for being a strong champion, but I don't see the point in this match when all that could POSSIBLY happen is Rusev losing momentum.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Yeah while I'm not fond of four corners matches (which this last one basically was), it should've ended this feud.

I have no problem with Cena ending the streak and holding the US Title. Any title he's holding, especially a midcard title, is going to look good. That said, why have Rusev lose to him a 3rd time? It doesn't make sense. Let him move on to a different feud that he can win.

While most people who complain about Cena burying people are idiots, it's booking like this that makes you wonder what the hell creative is thinking. No one should go from undefeated to going 0-3 the next PPVs.

Unless there's some crazy booking here, I don't foresee Cena losing this either.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

The booking is quite clear here, Cena beats the living vodka out of Rusev until Lana throws in the towel. Rusev rage fires Lana, who disappears from programming for a few months. Rusev gets a new manager in Cameron. Eventually, Cameron turns on Rusev after a heartbreaking loss at Mania 32, Lana jumps the barricade and saves Rusev from Cameron. Rusev winds up proposing and the two get married at Summerslam 2016. I mean come on, the writing's on the wall.

In all seriousness though, this match is so unnecessary. Lana throwing in the towel for Rusev doesn't make him look strong. No one wants to see dissension between Lana and Rusev. Even Cena's most hardcore fans must realize how preposterous the idea of him losing an I quit match is. Unless the do the tape recorded thing like Rock vs Foley. Rusev cheating into the U.S. Title is the best scenario. Hopefully this is better than the chain match.

 

[Navi]

I don't see the point of this either. Cena isn't going to quit, and they've spent a lot of time building Rusev up just to have him go as well. Maybe Lana is the one who will say I Quit, with the way booking as gone lately, you never know.

This feud should have been over last night and Rusev given a new opponent. They do like to drag these thing out to the bitter end though.

 

[crossface for ever]

Both get carried out on stretchers because neither will quit....only way to save this match and make both look good

 

[Spidey Revivey]

What a logic-killing feud this has been. You have one guy ready to challenge your champion at the pay per view. Hey- in the meantime, let's have your champion defend the title every single week until that one guy faces him in the obvious title match at Extreme Rules. Clever, right? Suspension of disbelief ftw!

Or, or how about...bare with me here...how about that one guy interferes with the Open Challenge after the ppv? AND ACCEPT CENA'S CHALLENGE???!?? Lawds no, you filthy casual, just have him make a statement on how he'll beat the champ in the match the champ never fucking loses in. Can you smell the coke money from here?

This was one of the most interesting things going in WWE for me. We have a fighting US Champion (can you believe it?) and it's John Cena of all people. The biggest star of this era. And even though it's been a fair head-scratcher to have your biggest star hold a secondary title, defend it each week, and advertise the obvious #1 Contender facing him a month later, I accepted it. It's wrestling. Logic often takes a backseat. But then I realized this has been called the Reality Era so much. Reality is supposed to take the forefront of your storylines. That's why a UFC Heavyweight Champion fucked up a zombie at Wrestlemania. That's why Daniel Bryan doesn't get "attacked backstage", but WWE publicly tells the world he has a real injury. Wrestling is supposed to imitate reality now. So what would anyone with half a brain cell do in Rusev's position?

You'd take the Open Challenge. Even in a losing effort at least you tried. I mean c'mon now.

This "I Quit" stipulation is the epitome of a dead feud. If Cena wins, there's no surprise. Cena's never lost. At least with Taker's Streak for a spell it truly looked like it could end by the hands of certain superstars. Cena's entire mantra is "Never Back Down, Never Quit". Hell, that's pretty much his gimmick and has been since joining Raw back when Raw and Smackdown were separate shows. I'm sure some will be happy. But it would still not get the blood flowing and shock any of us.

And really, who has Rusev beat that really makes a head in the room turn? Big Show? Sheamus? Jack Fucking Swagger?

If Rusev wins, there goes Cena. WWE's money maker since, what, 2006? Would be a really odd thing for WWE to do. Rusev will have to make due with challengers who aren't as good as Cena. Period. He'll have done the impossible, true, but how will that benefit him further down the road when he loses to people that lose to everybody? John Cena is the apex champion and has always been portrayed as such. Rusev will be a star for sure, but I can't imagine anyone being a real threat after making John Cena say "I Quit", and literally have him do so.

Nobody really wins here. This stipulation is dumb for both participants. I'd rather see a Russian Chain Rematch than this obvious drinking from the dry well. This is a bad idea. But at least it's the end of it, right?

 

[laodaron]

This is basically a perfect finish to an incredibly well done feud. Rusev is going to win this match, probably not from an I Quit, but probably from a complete knockout/pass-out like he did before. It's a Dusty finish to a typically uninteresting gimmick match.

John Cena is the epitome of a Champion. Rusev has shown himself to be able to hold his own against John Cena, to be able to have as big of a presence as Cena in the ring. Cena will have held the US Title for a few months, which is all that needed to be done, and we can get a heel US Champ, again.

But, I believe that this also depends on whether or not the WWE let's Daniel Bryan to continue to be champion without having to show up or defend. Heel with the WWEWHC, heel with the US Title, and Face with the IC is a strong way to book the summer.

 

[kadroan]

I don't see the point of this either. Cena isn't going to quit, and they've spent a lot of time building Rusev up just to have him go as well. Maybe Lana is the one who will say I Quit, with the way booking as gone lately, you never know.

This feud should have been over last night and Rusev given a new opponent. They do like to drag these thing out to the bitter end though.

Yeah, I could see Lana saying I Quit for Rusev. Unfortunately, that probably means we'll see them fight again at MITB. I can't believe they're dragging out this feud longer than Cena's feuds with Bray and Ryback.

 

[TheLittleOne]

there are actually still some methods of booking the CENA vs RUSEV match at PAYBACK so that it is exciting, but not only far from predictable, but still provides compelling storyline drama to increase their feud and add another ppv match... dont sigh just yet..hear me out..

this would be fun, we have seen Lana doing business with the Authority, its obvious she is far from just a pretty face.. it was her that gave cena the shot at WRESTLEMANIA.. remember that.. GOOD.. cause its time we get some Realistic scenarios play out on WWE ppvs which include storytelling that doesnt erase the past events ( hate that)... RUSEV is in trouble.. that match has been goin on past 15mins LANA is either Thrown out of the ringside area by ref for causing trouble or maybe slightly injured by accidently push ( the 1st is easier).. Now the action is going full blast, cena has rusev beaten and looks to end it, camera is close up on the action as we hear over the arena's loudspeakers " JOHN" in that trademark LANA Voice.." John" just like we heard before SUDDENLY we see LANA on the titan tron.... she is in a room with NIKKI BELLA on the floor .. a chair propped up against the door to stop brie and security... LANA has already beaten nikki with a weapon and is threatning more harm.. tells John to .. no, demands John Say I QUIT into the mic to the ref making RUSEV the winner, and NEW US CHAMPION...and first time John Cena has said i quit ( i think..??)...

now this might seem hard to imagine.. but thats because wwe has been easy booking lately.. LANA has serious reason to do this.. A. her Man, her Love Rusev has lost trust in her abilities, and she has cost him much embarrassment therefore she wants to prove her dominance and earn his Respect with Evil, Devious behavior.. plus this establishes Lana and a strong Heel which can only HELP wwe tv.. just cause we have naomi heel doesnt mean there isnt room for another.. plus what crazy evil Girl wouldnt go after girlfriend of the man her man is fighting...

Now this could easily lead to RAW next night , CENA demands rematch, at next ppv title match, but could also give us good heated brawls with meaning, and maybe a mixed tag team match CENA & NIKKI VS RUSEV & LANA at house shows, tv or after their next ppv match..

if i had the pencil , the book, above is what would go down at payback.. LANA does to JOHN CENA what HE did to her prior to Wrestlemania...

next option, which is a little more likely since it seems real relationships millions see on total divas doesnt get written into wwe tv..??

again remember LANA has been doin business with authority, its obvious she wants Rusev's respect and she is getting more involved.. and deserves it .. she is freaking beautiful and great look, good actress, great athlete.. probably training but thats left to be seen ( my money is on he blowing up)...
again, match is past 15 mins.. both are beaten up, but not giving up... RUSEV locks in a submission hold, and i really prefer it to be something NEW.. not only to help sell the following ending... BUT the camel clutch is not as threatening..he can still use it in this match & future.. BUT HEY in a match where u must make ur opponent say I QUIT a submission ending is likely.. so Rusev has maybe a boston crab locked in after really hurting cena's lower back.. REF asks loudly with his live mic on his shirt " what do ya say John?" we hear over that same system John Cena say " I QUIT I QUIT "
.. LANA used maybe Money, or GOLD or Ravinshing Russian moves to get either authority and or a wwe tech dork to simply copy cut paste play audio of John sayin i quit from earlier episode of RAW.. bell rings.. cena has the Look of what the ?? ,like montreal 97!!.. RUSEV is US CHAMPION, LANA saved her man...

now next night on RAW could go 2 ways. CENA proves he was screwed, AA's the tech dork, but obviously wwe doesnt just hand back TITLE so we get brawl and rematch booked next ppv with a payoff type stipulation.. OR the better 2nd part Cena is proved to never have said i quit, maybe even the tech dork plays the security footage of Lana forcing him to prepare the audio clip.. So RUSEV is stripped of US TITLE and breaks up with LANA for the HUGE embarrassment last night she is his hero, tonight again Lana fails and hurts his dominance.. which all doesnt make rusev look bad or weak.. rusev is the challenger for the us title Open Challenge that same night on RAW.. and defeats CENA with help from lana !.. leading to a big payoff match next ppv ...

what say you..??

i would love to see the LANA hold hostage NIKKI BELLA backstage in the middle of the US TITLE MATCH...it reminds me of the crazy way some feuds would go in 97.. i'm not screaming go attitude era, just for more realism.. LANA wants to earn Rusev's respect and they are EVIl so she is gunna have to get dirty..!! and CENA did exactly same thing to her prior to WM.. right? CENA locked in on rusev like a pitbull until a crying Lana said " ok john, OK, u got it."

 

[Mustang Sally]

In the past year or so, WWE management has taken Cena's character down a few pegs, partially by necessity since he's been on top so long that his overall effectiveness has been lessened. That he outright lost his feud to Brock Lesnar was something I never believed could happen, yet they made a good program of it.

Still, if there's one aspect of his persona they won't compromise, it's the "Never give up" aspect. If they did that, I can't imagine how the guy would continue to function as the #1 performer in the company.

The fact they've put Cena in an "I Quit" match against Rusev indicates that something is going to change for Rusev. His break-up with Lana seems assured.....and after losing to the same guy three times in a row, I would think Rusev will be moving in an entirely new direction, character-wise.

It will be interesting to see what Creative has in mind.

 

[Navi]

what say you..??

i would love to see the LANA hold hostage NIKKI BELLA backstage in the middle of the US TITLE MATCH...it reminds me of the crazy way some feuds would go in 97.. i'm not screaming go attitude era, just for more realism.. LANA wants to earn Rusev's respect and they are EVIl so she is gunna have to get dirty..!! and CENA did exactly same thing to her prior to WM.. right? CENA locked in on rusev like a pitbull until a crying Lana said " ok john, OK, u got it."

The only problem with your scenario is the fact that they've never publicly on RAW or SD acknowledged the Cena/Nikki Bella relationship.

Only IWC members, those that read the dirt sheets, or watch Total Diva's know that. Casual fans, kids and those that don't give a shit about their private lives, wouldn't have any clue as to why Lana is holding Nikki Bella hostage. Then you have to get into the murky relationship between the two, and there is no going back once that starts. They've kept it off TV for this long, and I'm assuming they want it that way.

Now if it were Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella it would be a different story, because it's a known fact that they are married in real life. Even then you might get people that don't know. Before Total Diva's the WWE was very good at keeping these types of relationships quiet, and still are.

 

[fouldsy91]

At Payback Cena v Rusev is an I Quit match in it's last chapter they are saying.

We all know that John Cena won't say I Quit, and he most likely wins the match.

The way I see it going down as like Vince v Stephanie in 2003, Lana will throw in the towel for Rusev which causes their official split on Raw.

Thoughts?

 

[Gavschenko]

My plan is simple have rusev snap at lana becoming popular and stealing rusev spotlight so he puts her in the accolade and says to cena he will break her in half so cena being the hustle loyalty respect babyface should say he quits as this will give rusev his heat back and will also give him back the us title as he cannot be beaten 3times in a row as he will fade into obscurity.

Does anyone else see this kind of story happening or will it just be cena beating rusev as expected

 

[ASKane]

While I agree that I wouldn't like to see him lose 3 in a row, this would only work is Cena is tied or handcuffed to something and that is a bit too overused in Cena matches plus the Rusev Lana split should be a slower burn as they still both benefit from being together. Also I don't think Rusev hurting a women to the point where his rival says I Quit to protect will go over well with the WWE's sponsors who at the end of the day are there main source of income. I would like to see Rusev just win clean, no Lana, no BS just on the night he is the better man. Cena can take the loss without any real damage and could use it motivate him as he develops his character but Rusev losing 3 in a row would mean that WWE gives fans no reason to see him as an unstoppable force especially if he says I Quit.

However WWE won't wanna make Cena lose or Rusev say I Quit so I imagine Lana is gonna throw in the towel for Rusev and that will let Cena move on and Rusev deal with his issues with Lana

 

[5000]

My plan is simple have rusev snap at lana becoming popular and stealing rusev spotlight so he puts her in the accolade and says to cena he will break her in half so cena being the hustle loyalty respect babyface should say he quits as this will give rusev his heat back and will also give him back the us title as he cannot be beaten 3 times in a row as he will fade into obscurity.

Does anyone else see this kind of story happening or will it just be cena beating rusev as expected

If this was the Attitude or Ruthless Aggression Era??? Maybe. In the PG Era??? No.

The main reason is due to sponsors, and because that would make people really want to #CancelWWENetwork or #BoycottWWE because they went too far. Also considering the fact, that the accolade could be too dangerous of a move for a 300+ lb. men to put on a 100+ lb. female.

However, it would be a great way to have Cena say "I Quit." It could also further Lana's new "Stand Up for Woman" campaign on Twitter.

But there are certain limits where it is just going too far.

Spoiler

I'M BACK BIITCCHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Fuck me, I hate Cena so much. WWE spend ages building up heels and then they all fall to Cena. Win or lose, their aura vanishes. It happened with Wyatt last year, it's happening with Rusev now. Once Cena has showed how vulnerable these guys are the rehabilitation process is too great for WWE to invest any effort in.

I get that these guys can't be indestructible monsters forever, but why is Cena always the guy to show us? And why can't somebody like Rusev face and defeat Cuba in a hard fought match where Cena isn't the first to power out of a previously devastating finishing manoeuvre?

 

[laodaron]

John Cena did more for Bray Wyatt than anyone else in Bray's career has done for him. The same goes for Rusev. No match in Rusev's career has made him seem more important than his Wrestlemania match against Cena. I'm sorry that you don't see that.

Cena v. Rusev pays off in this match. Rusev should get the win AND the belt back, and hold the belt through several more feuds afterwards.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

They shouldn't have gone withan 'I Quit' match. Its a typical Cena match that we see to end his feuds and he always comes out on top, also I don't like the idea of Rusev losing 3 in a row. Maybe he'll say it in Russian? Only way I see Cena losing is if he's in such a bad situation that he has no other reason to quit, e.g. Something to do with Nikki maybe.. Who knows, if it was any other wrestler vs. Cena, I would say Cena easily. But at this point, i'm wondering what WWE Creative will have in store for us.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Despite it being the FOURTH consecutive PPV event match between these two, I expect it to be one of the better matches of the night. It's an I Quit match so there's no way John Cena is not winning it. This type of match is his specialty, his character thrives on never ever giving up on a challenge. This is honestly what they should have gone with last month instead of that weird Russian Chain gimmick. Anyway, the feud definitely ends here with Cena finally being victorious for the US against Rusev. The match goes on later in the evening, maybe next to last, with Cena retaining. He'll then move on to his next US Championship challenger. Rusev will probably go into some filler feud, who knows.

DAGGER'S PREDICTION
John Cena will retain the US Championship.

 

[Mustang Sally]

As the match proceeded and the two showed amazement at the amount of punishment the other was absorbing without quitting, I had the notion the two might wind up appreciating the other and shaking hands at the finish.......which was, of course, a ridiculous idea. Had Rusev won, it might have happened, but there wasn't a chance in hell a defeated Rusev would extend the hand of mutual respect to a victorious Cena.

I'm glad Rusev didn't quit since that would probably have damaged his WWE future....how would his fierce, anti-American stance play after he'd outright quit in a fight with one of dem Yankees?

As for the Rusev/Lana break-up, I'm presuming we'll see it tonight; maybe not a complete split if they plan to make a program of it, but I can't see dragging it out until the next PPV.