The first round of the John Cena tournament bracket kicks off on next week’s Raw and will feature two stacked matches. On Monday’s show from New Mexico, Raw general manager Adam Pearce revealed who will get a chance to move on with a shot at Cena in his final match.
Throughout Monday’s Raw, Pearce was shown backstage with a tumbler, pulling names out to create the matches. Later in the evening, he announced to fans that two games would be on Raw in Cena’s hometown of Boston.
“I am proud to announce the first two opening round matches taking place next week in The Last Time is Now Tournament,” Pearce said, before revealing that “The Bulgarian Brute Rusev” goes against Damian Priest.
He also announced a “certified banger” as “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura battles “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus. Pearce shared that on Friday’s SmackDown, general manager Nick Aldis would draw the next two opening round matches and announce them.
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With four competitors revealed, that leaves 12 more names for the 16-man tournament. In addition to SmackDown stars, Cena’s announcement indicated that NXT stars and individuals who don’t even work for the company could participate.
John Cena announced his “The Last Time is Now Tournament” during last weekend’s “Saturday Night’s Main Event” in a promo that spotlighted other superstars, including GUNTHER, Dominik Mysterio, Penta, Bronson Reed, and Carmelo Hayes. Two of the individuals revealed during the announcement video package, Rusev and Sheamus, are now in the tournament.
“Oh man, Rusev vs. Priest? That’s a SLAMMER of an opener!” a fan commented on WWE’s X post.
“Damian Priest vs. Rusev is going to be a banger,” another fan commented.
“Oh man, Sheamus bringing that Celtic fury against Nakamura’s knee strikes? This is straight fire—pure banger material!” a fan commented about the other match.
“Going to be a hell of a match!!” another fan commented on X.
The tournament will ultimately produce a final opponent for Cena’s final match, slated for Dec. 13 at WWE “Saturday Night’s Main Event” in Washington, D.C., with Peacock streaming the event live.
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