Payback Predictions: Rusev VS John Cena

United States Championship Match

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are doing very well! This Sunday the WWE will present the two thousand and fifteen Payback pay per view after just three weeks from Extreme Rules. The card has been set, the matches have been made official, and it's time for me to start my Payback prediction week. I know, it feels like only yesterday that my predictions ended. With it being Extreme Rules not that long ago it feels like it's prediction season forever; but I do like writing these posts at times and you guys do like reading them so I hope your not fussed at the fact there is another week and a half of predictions left. I say a week and a half because next week we have another NXT takeover live show witch means I will be uploading my NXT Takeover predictions this weekend also. But for now let's just keep our minds on Payback. If you are new to my blog then you may not know what prediction week is about. To be honest it's pretty self explanatory. From Monday to Saturday I will be uploading my predictions for every match on the Payback card. I will be talking a look at the action of the past couple of weeks, inserting what I wrote about the previous action between the two superstars at the past live show from my review and reactions post of that pay per view, then finally making my bold predictions for this Sunday's match, being spoken about in the blog post. I do this every month for every pay per view and they seem to go down pretty well. Prediction week does mean that I'm very busy with posts and so there are no Smackdown, NXT, Superstars, and Main event review and reactions and there is also no top five superstars of the week either. As usual I will be live tweeting throughout the show this Sunday using the hash tag "Payback" on twitter. Because I have such a busy month this month t does mean I will not be doing a dedicated month until June just because there would be no time to upload them all. Do please however let me know what you would like to see June dedicated to before the end of this month.  I will link bellow any recent posts including my top twenty matches of the month and my top fifteen superstars of the month. Finally, you can let me know what your predictions for this Sunday's pay per view by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

This Sunday we will see the final chapter in the John Cena//Rusev saga, as John Cena defends he's United States championship against Rusev in a match he has thrived in for years, an "I quit match". With he's huge experience advantage, will we see Rusev forced to let go of the greatest feud of he's career so far? Or will we finally see John Cena say the words "I quit"? Only time will tell, but in today's blog post I will be taking you through the history between John Cena and Rusev, I will be looking at what the two have been up too since Extreme Rules, and finally making my bold predictions for their final match up. With so much to get through let's get straight into the blog post.

Here is what I wrote in my Extreme Rules review and reactions post about the last fight between these two superstars; " Up next we saw John Cena defend the United States championship against former champion Rusev in a Russian Chain match. I will admit, I wasn't a fan of this stipulation but I liked how it was different and it brought something a little new. I also liked how much of a minimal build up we got. It meant that the match wasn't as boring as it would of been if it had a heavy build up because it really didn't need it due to the fact these two have been feuding for over three months now. Rusev spent the early part of this match in control trying to wear Cena down enough so that all he had to do was drag he's body round the ring but of course, he was in the ring with Cena and it was not going to be that easy. I'll be one hundred per cent honest, this match did not do it for me at all. I struggled to stay focused and able to keep watching, I thought it was flat and predicable and it all round lacked entertainment for me. Don't get me wrong I think it had some great moments but as an all round back it did not work for me at all. I found it so boring and nothing about it made me wanna carry on watching, the camera angle frustrated me quite a it also. I did like it when Lana walked off though, that was pretty entertaining and I think that was the right road to go down with the ending of this match. I also thought the match dragged a bit and went on far too long for my liking. In the end of course it was Cena who was able to get the win and walk away still the United States Champion. I liked the ending of the match but not the overall match itself."

You can tell from above that I did not enjoy the last match at all. I made it clear in my Wrestlemania review and reactions posts and prediction posts that I felt the feud between these two should of ended at Wrestlemania, and dragging out the feud any longer was simply history repeating itself. Last year we saw Bray Wyatt and Cena feud for months on end and for weeks the WWE universe made it clear that they were bored with the storyline. This was a feud that started out well and had all the tools to be a great feud and it was at the beginning but because it went on for so long it became boring, repetitive and predicable, and everyone lost all interest.  A year later and the WWE are giving us the exact same thing. My main worry has been about Rusev and the damage this storyline is doing to he's career. If he looses this weekend to Cena again that will be the third pay per view in a row and that really isn't great for any superstar regardless of how good their status and popularity is, but when your a new talent only a year into being on the main roster it isn't going to look good at all. Over the past year I have managed to really grow into it a huge Rusev fan and if you would of told me this a year ago I would of said that you were insane. I didn't have any faith in him and I did not see him as a top talent, but after watching him grow as a character and as a wrestler, I don't have any reason to be a Rusev hater. This weekend Rusev will go one on one with Cena in a match that the fifteen time champion thrives in. An I quit match. For years Cena has made a name of himself out of this type of match but regardless on whether or not Cena goes over this Sunday, the match needs to be about Rusev and the WWE need to make sure they do not damage him as a main event star. They have spent far too much time and put way too much effort into building Rusev up as a top talent and they cannot ruin all that this weekend at Payback. The simple fact that the WWE have had Rusev go one on one with Cena for four consecutive pay per views proves in itself that creative are high on Rusev. When you first glance at him you can see that Rusev is a star. He's size, he's anti American gimmick, and he's strength make him a stand out on the roster. Putting Rusev in the ring with the top guy is also enough prof that the WWE are high on the young talent. Not many can say that they feuded with John Cena in their debut year and they took on the fifteen time champion in their first Wrestlemania. So we cannot deny that Rusev has benefited from feuding with Rusev. Every single time the younger talent has stepped in the ring with the veteran he has managed to shine all on he's own and take the spotlight due to he's amazing in ring talent. Rusev is a man who knows how to deliver and knows how to get better and better and better each and every time. If he is too loose at Payback then he's time at the top should not be ended. Let's be honest, the chances of Rusev winning he's final match with Cena are very very slim. Hardly anyone ever goes over with Cena and wins the final stand down. I honestly think that as long as Rusev has a outstanding, memorable performance then he's status as a top star should not be damaged what so ever. While I'm personally not a fan of this feud continuing it does make sense. Everyone on the roster is very busy and the tops stars are in top feuds, so continuing to feud with Cena allows Rusev to build more momentum, to grow as a superstar, and carry on impressing the fans and the higher ups. Even if Rusev does loose this weekend, there is something waiting around the corner for him later after.

We all know how well Cena does in I quit matches. Over the years he has made a name for himself in this type of match and there is not a chance in hell is that history going to be damaged in the slightest this weekend when he squares off with Rusev for the final time. There are next to no superstars in the past who have managed to go over with Cena and win a feud against him and I don't see that changing any time soon. As I mentioned above, Rusev has benefited greatly from feuding with the fifteen time champion in John Cena, but to be honest Cena has also benefited from feuding with Rusev also. Rusev is that old school heel that we all love to hate. He's anti American gimmick meant that we all predicted for months that these two would square off against one another at some point, it was just a matter of when. Rusev has been the perfect opponent for Cena. It's clear that the WWE still deem John as the top baby face and all round face of the company and with Cena being so controversial with the WWE universe it's difficult now days to find him an opponent that will get next to no fan support. Rusev is that one superstar that manages to do that. Rusev is that heel that has a zero chance of gaining any kind of support from the WWE universe and it kind of forces the fans to go on team Cena for a while, proving that Cena really is the top guy. The feud has been a nice throwback to a a Russia versus America storyline and it has worked so well, adding the US Championship to the mix has added the drama to it all and brought more interest to the feud and the title. Cena has done a great job working with the US championship since winning it back at Wrestlemania and he has also done a pretty good job in putting Rusev over.

There's no question about. This weekend Rusev will be saying the words "I  quit" and John Cena will most defiantly be walking out of Payback still the United States champion. As I have already said, I do think that this match needs to be all about Ruse and he needs to have the best performance to date. I think even though he is most likely going to loose this weekend there will be no problem after

Payback in keeping Rusev relevant. He can still be used to challenge superstars like Randy Orton and maybe when Brock Lesnar comes back the Authority could use Rusev somehow to punish Lesnar depending on what they do with both Superstars. The main angle they will be going down however will be with Lana. There have been a lot of rumours going around the WWE have plans on making Lana the next face of the women's division and it appears that we are going to be seeing more of Rusev playing that controlling Boyfriend role with Lana, witch could see some really interesting work over the next couple of months and especially when Money in the bank comes around. Storyline wise there are a lot of things the WWE could do with Lana and Rusev as a pair. I think we will see Lana used some how this weekend too. I would love for Rusev to have a really strong performance and maybe after the match Cena is so impressed with Rusev that he goes to shake he's and Lana's hands and maybe Lana could shake he's hand or goes to but Rusev walks off and drags her with him maybe. That's just a little angle I think they could go down. But I'm defiantly predicting another win for Cena but this will defiantly be better than their last match.

Let me know what your predictions are by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.