Brock Lesnar squashing John Cena at Summerslam in 2014 was one of the more surprising WWE matches in recent times, but Cena has now revealed the psychology behind it all.
The main event match saw The Beast destroy Cena from pillar to post with a series of devastating F5s and suplexes. In fact, this is where the term “Suplex City” was first uttered on WWE television, followed by “b*itch” which made it all the more badass.
Cena explained in an interview with Sam Roberts that Lesnar had come up with the idea over a dinner with Stone Cold Steve Austin the night before (what an image that is) and that he was all in on it.
The reason for this? Lesnar had just ended The Undertaker’s legendary undefeated WrestleMania streak and it could not be wasted with a standard 50/50 match. One mega feat had to be matched by another, which was beating Cena like no one else had done before.
Check out Cena’s full comments below, in which he gives major props to Lesnar as a performer, as well as the legendary Arn Anderson.
This doesn't get said enough but John Cena might have one of the best wrestling minds in all of wrestling, let alone WWE.
What a perfect explanation for Brock Lesnar squashing him at Summerslam 2014.pic.twitter.com/SqWPrIprle
— Just Alyx (@JustAlyxCentral) May 22, 2023
The match did the trick, with Lesnar being seen as the most dominant force in WWE, which he has remained ever since in the most part. It also repaired a lot of the damage that was done by Brock losing to Cena in his first match back after eight years away in 2012, which cooled down his epic return and made absolutely no business or creative sense.
As his career winds down, it is very interesting to see the 16-time champion talk more and more about some of his best matches, opponents and the psychology behind it all.