The Miz is unquestionably one of the most devious villains in WWE. The A-Lister shares a long-standing rivalry with John Cena. In fact, one of The Miz’s biggest wins of his career came from defeating John Cena at WrestleMania 27. 

That said, the two-time Grand Slam Champion crossed paths with Cena again at Payback. Much to The Miz’s chagrin, John Cena revealed that he would be the special guest referee for The Miz’s match against LA Knight. Despite having a heated face-off before the match, John Cena made a very kind gesture towards the heel post-match. 

John Cena checks on The Miz after the latter’s defeat at the hands of LA Knight

Payback will go down in history as a memorable event, as John Cena even officiated a match during the show. The sixteen-time World Champion made his way to the ring and applauded the steel cage match involving Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus.

While doing so, Cena was interrupted by The Miz, who fired insults at the wrestling legend. Cena then revealed that he was going to referee The Miz’s match against LA Knight. With The Miz’s history with Cena, it was clear that the former wasn’t too keen on having Cena officiate the match. But, Cena managed to call the match right down the middle. 

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There were moments during the match when John Cena butted heads with The Miz, forcing him to break holds whenever it was needed. In the same vein, Cena was at loggerheads with LA Knight. After a see-saw battle, Knight picked up the win via pinfall. After raising Knight’s hand, Cena immediately turned his attention to The Miz and checked on him.

Like Cody Rhodes, LA Knight Finally Gets ‘The John Cena Endorsement’ at Payback Despite Being Disrespectful to the 16-Time Champion

This just goes to show that The Cenation Leader was staying true to the role he was playing as referee. The moment went mostly unnoticed as Knight celebrated his win around the ring. Moreover, Cena and Knight, conspicuously displayed that they were not friends despite shaking hands at the end. Nonetheless, it was interesting to see John Cena checking on The Miz post-match. After all, Cena has proven himself to be one of The Miz’s biggest supporters in real life.

John Cena once acknowledged The Miz for his contribution as a heel in WWE

As noted before, The Miz is one of the most nefarious stars in WWE. When WWE released a documentary, WWE Evil, commemorating The Miz’s career as a villain in 2022, John Cena tweeted that The Miz was one of his favorite bad guys. 

In addition, Cena also relayed that The Miz was one of his favorite WrestleMania opponents. He tweeted, “One of my favorite bad guys and #WrestleMania opponents. He reminds everyone all the time!”

Despite being bitter on-screen rivals, The Miz and John Cena share a great bond in real life. A glimpse of that was seen at Payback after The Miz’s loss. What are your thoughts on John Cena’s gesture?

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