LA Knight and The Miz’s WWE Payback clash saw some unexpected involvement from John Cena, who inserted himself into the bout as a special guest referee in a bid to make the match more exciting in his role as the pay-per-view’s host. Cena’s long-time rival The Miz wasn’t too happy at the Hollywood star’s interference and the two engaged in a war of words before Knight made his entrance.
The two had a fair even contest but both had tense staredowns with referee Cena multiple times throughout the bout. Miz managed to hit a Skull-Crushing Finale but Knight managed to kick out before responding with his BFT finisher and securing the win over the 19-year veteran, seemingly ending their feud.
Following the match, Cena and Knight had one last extended staredown on the stage before Cena shook his hand and raised the up-and-comers’ hand in a show of respect. Cena is set to return to the ring next week for his second WWE match of the year against Superstar Spectacle where he’ll team with World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins against Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci of Imperium.