John Cena discusses Firefly Fun House Match with Bray Wyatt
The WWE Universe has not seen John Cena since he literally disappeared following his WrestleMania 36 loss to The Fiend, Bray Wyatt. The Firefly Fun House Match was one of the most unique matchups in WWE history. It saw Cena battle multiple incarnations of Wyatt, but also his own past failures and personal demons.
The finish saw The Fiend lock in the Mandible Claw as the Fun House version of Wyatt appeared to count the three. John Cena then completely vanished from the ring, leaving many fans wondering exactly what it was they just saw. Cena said of the match to Sports Illustrated:
“It left a lot of questions ... It wasn’t just single-serving, it is something you can go back and watch and enjoy. Those are some of the best efforts.”
A lot of questions indeed arose after the match. Did the match actually physically take place? Or was this a literal dream match? It appears to be open to interpretation. One thing it was for certain, is memorable, which is something John Cena says he worked extremely hard to make this first of its kind matchup.
Bray Wyatt beat John Cena with psychological warfare.
As mentioned previously, the Firefly Fun House Match put Cena through the ringer. Though not so much from a physical standpoint, as it lacked actual in ring wrestling. Instead, the match was more of an attack on John Cena's psyche.
Bray Wyatt made John Cena explore all of his past failures and insecurities — from his Ruthless Aggression debut, to his Dr. of Thuganomics gimmick, to his relationship with Nikki Bella. It was clear from his performance, that the 16-time World Champion was all in on making the match special. Said Cena:
“This isn’t the first time I’ve done something like this. For the viewing audience, it was the first time they’d seen a cinematic depiction of this, but this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen a conflicted John Cena character. As with all the opportunities I get in WWE, I never try to be complacent and I always like to push the envelope. This was an instance where we could do just that, and I think we put forth a product that certainly got people’s attention and got people talking.”
Cena also told SI that Wyatt is doing tremendous work right now. He says both Wyatt and Seth Rollins have done an excellent job of adapting to today's crowdless environment.