Backstage News About John Cena Putting Over Finn Bálor on Raw

As was seen on this past Monday's episode of Monday Night Raw, 16-time World Champion John Cena took a loss to former Universal Champion Finn Bálor in a Fatal 4-Way Match that also included Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin. After the match, Cena got on the microphone and gave Bálor a very strong endorsement.

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated provided some backstage insight on the match. According to Barrasso, Cena actually volunteered to take a clean loss for Finn, and wanted to do his best to elevate him into becoming a bigger star.

Barrasso also noted that there was a bit of speculation that Cena's loss was some sort of punishment for him choosing not to participate at the recent Crown Jewel pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia, but Barrasso dismissed this as being inaccurate:

"Although the timing is suspicious, sources close to WWE stated there was no connection between Cena taking the loss and his recent decision to withdraw from the controversial 'Crown Jewel' show in Saudi Arabia this past November. In fact, I was told Cena offered to take the fall in an effort to make Balor an even bigger star."