John Cena Sr. Critiques Wrestlepalooza Match

• Cena Sr. called Cena's loss to Brock Lesnar a squash and said it hurt the show and the kids.
• He suggested outside interference or another finish instead of repeated F5s to protect Cena.
• Wrestlepalooza felt underwhelming: few surprises, broken promises; ESPN graded the show a C.

Even John Cena’s father, John Cena Sr., wasn’t happy with how his match turned out against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza. It was WWE’s first PLE in the ESPN era, and honestly, it didn’t deliver like it should have. The Cena vs. Lesnar match, which opened the show, seemed to be an omen of bad things to come.

John Cena Sr. Wasn't Happy About Brock Lesnar Dominating The Match

During his interview on UnSKripted with Dr. Chris Featherstone, Cena Sr. said how he thought his son’s match shouldn’t have gone down that way. He also felt that the match should have some outside interference from Cena’s next opponent, and that could have been the reason Cena lost instead of a repeated F5s. He said:

“That was a squash match. When (Paul) Heyman came out and said, ‘The last real a– kicker,’ you knew right there. I said, ‘Cena’s done. It’s over, it’s over,’ and it’s gonna be the same type of thing when he gave him the 15 F5s. It’s gonna be the same type of squash, and I kind of sat back and I said, ‘It shouldn’t go down that way.’ Brock doesn’t need the rub. Cena’s on his way out. So a smart thing would have been at some point, maybe we had an outside interference. Maybe we had a — I don’t like countouts — but the outside interference setting up the next match with Cena, whomever that might have been, would have been a better way to take it out than the way I saw it go down. Look, you know in this business, you wanna leave ‘em happy, sometimes.” (h/t: WrestlePurists)

He later added that he had no beef with Brock Lesnar, even calling him a “wonderful human being,” but the match wasn’t good for business. Cena Sr. brought up kids in the audience who were crying. He said:

When I saw those kids crying, that is not the way you wanna have business go, and it’s my son, and when I saw those F5s, I’m going, ‘Man oh man, I hope he’s alright.’ Brock is a wonderful human being and took good care of John, as he does the most of his opponents. But there again, why would you take the man on a tour, who’s leaving… It just makes no sense to me at all. I don’t understand it. I don’t understand it, and I don’t know if you can call that a match. That was just a squash. That’s all it was.”

As reported, Cena Sr. was also critical of his son's heel turn, saying that it didn't work out because The Rock never returned.

Wrestlepalooza Had Too Many Broken Promises