I ended up liking the Cena/Heyman promo as much as anyone, because it was great, but I’m giving a “hated” to the stuff Cena was doing on the mic before Heyman came out. And it’s not even because Cena was bad — he was actually pretty good. He talked about how he was getting older and how he might not have what it takes to win a singles match anymore, and when the crowd chanted “You still got it,” he tremulously responds, “What if I don’t?” Because he’s an ACTOR now, DAMMIT.

Now, because I am the parent of a four-year-old and a two-year-old, both of whom love all things with wheels, my first thought at this point was “Oh, he’s doing Lightning McQueen in Cars 3.” It’s the story of a great athlete who’s gotten too old to compete with the up-and-coming generation, which is basically the scenario Cena is afraid of. The problem is, I know they’re going to mess up the ending.

Not to spoil a movie that came out in 2017, but Cars 3 ends not with Lightning winning the big race himself, but with him helping his younger protégé win it, accepting the arrival of the new generation and his own status as “no longer the best” while still remaining part of the world he loves. I can’t see any such nuanced storytelling in Cena’s future. The more he insisted that he had to win at Crown Jewel, the more sure I became that he is actually going to win, and that’s just kind of a bummer, because Solo Sikoa could really use that rub. Isn’t that what Cena should be doing at this point in his career — lying down for the next generation? The best idea, to me, would be to structure the match around a bunch of big Cena hope spots, making him look like he can hang with Sikoa and teasing a Cena win over and over, only to have Cena’s body finally fail him against the younger Sikoa, who wins a hard-fought contest. I think that would have both guys come out looking strong given this storyline.

But I don’t think that, or anything like that, is going to happen. I think Cena wins. Lol.