The 5 biggest news stories from this week's RAW

1) Cena takes the pin

Finn Balor pinned John Cena clean in the middle of the ring

It’s a sign of the changing WWE environment, but John Cena getting pinned on Raw was again a massive sign of approval towards Finn Balor.

Cena has been the WWE’s poster boy since debuting on the main roster back in 2002, going on to become one of the most consistent top level stars in the company’s history. Like him or not, Cena’s longevity as “the guy” has far surpassed legends such as Steve Austin, The Rock, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, and his in-ring work is often massively underrated. When it comes to the crunch, time and time again Big Match John has stepped up to the plate to deliver.

In 2019, however, we have a John Cena who is no longer that figurehead, that poster boy, or even that ever-present top star. Instead, we have a Cena who makes sporadic appearances when his star power is needed. And that star power was perfectly utilised on this week’s Raw as the 16-time World Champion was pinned clean in the middle of the ring by Finn Balor.

Such a simple thing can have such a major impact in increasing the credibility of Balor, particularly amongst younger fans who still hold Cena up on a pedestal as the best in the business. Plus, that decision similarly protects Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin in how they can now proclaim how they lost their shot at the Universal Championship despite neither of them being pinned.

For years, we’ve often heard how Cena buried talent and refused to lose (hey, Nexus!), but now we’re seeing the other side of the coin, and hopefully this week’s Raw is a nice indicator of how the WWE plans to use the ridiculously talented Finn Balor going forward.