No surrender in Champ, thanks to Irish
MILWAUKEE -- It took a McMahon to nearly end WWE Champion John Cena's year-long title reign Monday night on Raw. But it also took a McMahon to give him the luck of the Irish -- and a little bit of revenge -- and save his pot of gold.
At the start of Raw, The Champ probably would have never guessed that Mr. McMahon's little bastard, Hornswoggle, would save his WWE Championship. But ironically, Mr. McMahon enabled that to happen; he told Hornswoggle before the world that being a McMahon meant he had authority that couldn't be questioned.
Still, Cena almost saw his rage over his ongoing personal rivalry get the best of him Monday night. Mr. McMahon gave Jonathan Coachman the power to decide whether to strip Cena of the WWE Championship in a Championship Surrender Ceremony after he attacked the Acting Raw General Manager.
The Champ clearly had vengeance on his mind; he was seething over the beating his father took against Randy Orton in a match that Coachman set up last week. Mr. Cena put his body on the line after Coachman threatened to strip his son of the WWE Championship. Last week, Orton attacked Cena and handcuffed him to the ring ropes, making him watch as he gave his father a horrific thrashing.
The WWE Champion was out for blood -- Orton and Coachman's. His own blood had to boil when Orton was conveniently not around. Initially, Coachman claimed he didn't condone Orton's actions and had indefinitely suspended the Legend Killer.
But that didn't stop Cena from trying to exact some revenge. Even after Coachman told him he would be stripped of his title if he laid his hands on him, Cena evaded security guards surrounding the ring and attacked. The Champ didn't care about his WWE Championship at that moment. He only saw his father getting beaten mercilessly by Orton. Cena relived the helplessness he felt and believed that Coachman was an accomplice in his father's pain.
Still, Cena can thank Orton and Coachman for making him refocus on the WWE Championship. Via satellite, the Legend Killer called Cena a phony, and said he took the "easy way out" when he got disqualified in their match at Unforgiven. He taunted him over the beating he inflicted on Mr. Cena, saying that he enjoyed annihilating him. Orton invited Cena to bring his dad to Raw next week so he could get a preview of what would happen to his son during their Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship at No Mercy on Oct. 7. Mr. Cena's pain was just a taste of what his son would feel at No Mercy.
Meanwhile, Coachman's vindictive motives came through after Cena's attack. He admitted not suspending Orton indefinitely and applauded his attack on Cena's dad. Mr. Cena, Coach noted, had sacrificed his body for his son's WWE Championship. He knew what the WWE Championship meant to his son and didn't want him stripped of the title. Now, Coach mused, Mr. Cena's brave sacrifice would be for naught. As Mr. Cena nursed his wounds back home, he would have to watch his son relinquish the WWE Championship anyway.
Coachman relished the opportunity to take the WWE Championship away from Cena. He wanted The Champ to beg him not to take away his title. Coach, who has had a history of run-ins with Cena, felt like he had a point to prove as Acting GM of Raw. He wanted to be feared and respected and deemed as a worthy permanent Raw GM -- and making an example of Cena would do that.
However, Mr. McMahon -- Mr. Hornswoggle McMahon -- had other plans. The mischievous leprechaun showed that he knows exactly what kind of new power he has as a McMahon. Our fans in the Bradley Center gasped along with Coachman when Lilian Garcia announced that Mr. McMahon ordered that Cena not be stripped of the WWE Title, and that he take on Coach in a Tables Match. (WATCH)
Cena unleashed his fury on the suit-laden, babbling Coach and happily sent him crashing through a table. It then became apparent that it wasn't Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon who had ordered the reversal of fortune for Cena. Hornswoggle and Coach haven't had much love for each other in recent weeks, and the little guy gave him a taste of his own executive medicine.
John Cena celebrated -- for himself and his dad at home. They both had reason to smile because of a little McMahon with giant-sized grapefruits.
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