Why did John Cena lose at WrestleMania 39? Likely reason for WWE's decision

WWE legend John Cena suffered a disappointing loss at WrestleMania 39 at the hands of Austin Theory in the show's opener.

The Leader of Cenation challenged the 25-year-old in an attempt to win the United States Championship for the sixth time. Theory started the match in a dominant fashion, grounding his experienced opponent with his offense.

The 16-time world champion made a brief comeback, delivering the five-knuckle shuffle, but the champion escaped the Attitude Adjustment, knocking out the referee in the process. This allowed Theory to hit a low blow, followed by the A-Town Down for a shocking win.

The Peacemaker star got very little offense in the match and lost in meek fashion. There could be a number of reasons for the megastar losing in this manner. Austin Theory is an up-and-coming wrestler who is in the infancy of his main roster career. He was also Vince McMahon's handpicked superstar. Defeating a star of Cena's stature on the biggest show of the year will undoubtedly give him an incredible amount of credibility moving forward.

Moreover, it is well known that John Cena is a busy Hollywood star. Considering his schedule, it is unlikely that he will have the ability to be a full-time champion if he were to win the United States Championship. Cena's lack of in-ring time in recent years and probably rustiness could also be the cause of why the match was structured the way it was.

These are some of the likely reasons why John Cena lost at the Grandest Stage of Them All in Los Angeles.

---

When did John Cena last wrestle in WWE before WrestleMania 39?

John Cena is very rarely seen inside a WWE ring these days. He is a full-time Hollywood star, which doesn't allow him to work as a wrestler very often.

Prior to his match against Austin Theory, he last wrestled on the final episode of WWE SmackDown in 2022. He teamed up with Kevin Owens to take on the Bloodline's Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns.

The Prizefighter handled a majority of the physicality of the match. He dropped Sami Zayn with a Stunner to pick up the win for his team and hand Roman Reigns a rare loss.