RAW Retort – Maddox and Ref Stripes mean problems

Zeb can be annoying on mic, but that means he’s doing his job. Zeb is great with this character, but then he’s been great with every character he’s had. The way he’s built a platform for his wrestlers to work from, so they barely have to speak, he’s doing exactly what a manager should be doing.

Both Cesaro and Swagger really need a mouthpiece, and it seems to be working well for them. What is also working wonderfully well is the Usos’ performance in the ring. Something really seems to have clicked for those two boys, and they’re looking fantastic in all that they do. I want to see them facing Reigns and Rollins for the Tag Team Championships again as they’re not yet done after all they showed us at the last pay-per-view. These boys are following in their father’s footsteps and doing it in a fantastic way.

The Shield, as always, were solid on mic. They talked about the older wrestlers who needed to step aside for them, so it was obvious to me that it would be someone older and more iconic winning the 20 Man #1 Contender Battle Royal.

I wasn’t at all surprised when it came down to Henry and RVD in the end. I knew that Henry and Ambrose wouldn’t be a solid SummerSlam match, so it had to be RVD, but how could RVD eliminate Henry? He did a great job of it, and made it look good in the process.

I further loved the fist bump between Henry and RVD, but Bryan returning to fight The Shield by RVD’s side showed true heart. Even better than that was Big Show‘s return to stand by both of them against The Shield. I’m thrilled that Big Show is back, and while he looked like a face here, there’s a lot of questions that need to be answered.

Either way, I thought it was all handled wonderfully, and I’m glad to see both big men in what appears to be roles as faces.

In my other writing about wrestling, I am very open about who I am, and why certain things mean so much to me. Tonight Cena had me in tears when he was talking about Dakota, the Make-A-Wish child he met earlier in the day.

When I was eight years old I spent a year on a pediatrics ward with other very ill children. I lost a number of friends that year, and almost passed away myself. I remember that it was the little things that meant so much, that made us so happy.

The tiniest touches of home, the fun little things we were able to do when we were not force to be stuck in bed. It was really hard, and right at the start of Make-A-Wish. I was able to do more than most of the kids there, so when fun things came up, I passed them along as much as possible.

And then there’s my daughter Ellie who I adopted as a teenager, but when she was four years old she almost died of cancer. Make-A-Wish sent her to Disney World. She went to Disney Land and Disney World other times in her life, but that trip means the most to her for so many reasons.

There might be times that I don’t like Cena’s character in the WWE, but there’s rarely a time that I don’t adore the man he is. I respect him for all the work he does with children, especially ill children through Make-A-Wish.

It’s obvious that Cena is using his celebrity to do great things, but it’s also obvious that he learned that somewhere. That somewhere I completely believe is his parents.

John Cena Sr. is one of the kindest, sweetest, and most honest men I have ever met. There’s no question in my mind that John Cena learned a lot about being a man from John Cena Sr., and it’s great to see that Cena is continuing by teaching all of our children how to be a good person.