Damien Sandow vs. John Cena

[8.0] "In the moment, when I was barely 2 months into wrestling but was already in online discussions about it, this match came across like peak CenaWinsLOL booking. Looking back, WOW we were all so wrong because this ruled precisely because of what was getting criticized. Sandow, a guy who didn't even earn the MitB fairly and was in no way ready to win the WHC, tries to get the jump on Cena and beat down his recently-repaired elbow, and Cena just puts that pseudo-intellectual in his place and reinforces the hierarchy by pushing through the pain and hitting his usual winning formula. The crowd got invested as the arm got worked on, the situation seemed prime to give Cena a less-than-clean title loss, and yet one reversal to an AA and it was over. This is the best singles of Sandow's career, but for John Cena it was just another Raw. ****"

[8.0] "8.5 Wow... I said in the Del Rio match before this that you have to care about these matches.. and that's true but the performers can make you care.. the crowd can make you care.. Sandow is not a wrestler that I ever look at and go, he's a great wrestler, this was really his last shot at a being sort of a top guy and around this time.. what they would have planned, him having the briefcase didn't really help the company.. so if you look at it from that view, a more cynical take is they had to get rid of the briefcase and Sandow was a sacrifice.. but I will say, he busted his butt to prove he belonged somewhat on that level. The arm work was more vicious than the night before and Cena sold it like he couldn't use his arm which was a nice touch. I feel like a more grand finish would have really sealed this as a sneaky great match.. I just think its more impressive given its Sandow."

[7.0] "This was a pretty good match. Damien Sandow looked great in this match, being ruthless and attacking John Cena's arm before he cashed in his MITB briefcase. I also liked how Cena had to wrestle smart, as he barely used his left arm here, selling the injury very well. The only thing I didn't like was the finish, with Cena hitting an AA on Sandow out of nowhere. If Cena was going to win, it should have been more climactic and not so sudden. If it wasn't for the unification match at TLC 2 months later, I'd have put the title on Sandow here. That said, this was still a good match, and honestly was the biggest match of Damien Sandow's career. ***1/2"

[7.0] "The match is actually pretty good, but Sandow shouldn't have lost this. Before the match even began, Sandow unleashed an attack on Cena's already injured arm and then targeted it for basically the entire match. Then Cena hits his finisher out of nowhere and pins Sandow clean, even though he only has 1 good arm, demolishing Sandow's credibility in the process. Absolutely nonsensical booking aside though, this match was still pretty good, and Sandow did look like a credible threat up until the end. ***1/2"

[4.0] "The match isn't really that bad, from a fighting point of view it is perfectly enjoyable, but every second I watch this match I can think of nothing but how it served only to increase Super-Cena's unbeaten aura. It's very ridiculous how John managed to fight and WIN a match after the beating he received at the beginning, and there's a reason why this match is the grave on Damien Sandow's WWE career."

[7.0] "Before the match, Sandow had already ruthlessly attacked the injured arm of Cena. His offense and strategy crosses over into the match immediately once it starts, not wasting a second to put Cena on the defensive. Cena sold this extremely well, essentially fighting this match with just one good arm, causing him to get resourceful with his attacks. He kicks, headbutts and wails what we can on the challenger, but can't wave Sandow off for long. While the match is rather simple in structure, the crowd is hot for a potential title change as Sandow comes off a legitimate threat to the world champion, having been completely caught off guard and constantly having his arm worked over. Sandow has never been the most proficient when it comes to technique, but there's a beautiful sense of urgency in how he always transitions to an arm hold after every near-fall. But Cena is still a force to be reckoned with, hitting his finisher with only using one arm. A Crossface takes back the momentum for Sandow, yet the champ manages to break out of it, kick out of his opponent's finisher, before hitting his finisher once more to retain the title. Obviously, the finish leaves a lot of be desired, as Sandow would go on a drastic losing streak and never be taken as a serious competitor again for the rest of his tenure with WWE. But if there is a silver lining here, I would argue Sandow never looked more vicious and hungry than he did here, with Cena helping to give the man his best singles match to date. ***3/4"

[9.0] "I remember loving this when it happened, and it totally held up. Sandow starting the match with some ruthless & brutal work, loved him working over Cena's injured arm (that Crossface was awesome), and Cena sold that pretty well, too. Easily & by far Sandow's best match ever. Helluva TV match. ****"

[8.0] "This is probably the best performance by Damien Sandow in his WWE career. But Vince is just an asshol*! Damien has one of best characters of the federation and he si also a great wrestler, so why did they let him win the MITB if he shouldn't cash in it? ! They just ruined his career.."

[8.0] "This match is very spectacular and the crowd is very hot and involved for both participants."

[6.0] "Cena is often underrated and you can see why here. He gives Sandow the best match of his career and sells the arm pretty well for 3/4 of the match. Cena I one of the few wrestlers, who can create that kind of emotion and epicness in a simple TV-match. The ending of the match sucks, but I guess they wanted to reintroduce Cenas dominance."

[6.0] "The match itself was fine... for the most part. The problem is that is was a prime example of why a sizable number of people are tired of Cena, or rather his booking. **Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen it** Sandow was on the offensive for the majority of the match and delivered his signature moves, a crippler crossface, and his finisher all after a brutal pre cash-in attack and still was defeated by Cena's finisher, which given only having one good arm amounted to a sloppy fireman's carry slam. One good thing that did come out of the match, though, was it made Sandow look like a legitimate threat and turned his character to a more vicious form."