John Cena vs. Samoa Joe, WWE Live, Convocation Center, Jonesboro, AR, August 26, 2017
Yes, this match happened on a random house show, rather than on TV or PPV. These two actually trained together at Ultimate University in California, the training school for the since-defunct UPW promotion.
Joe gets a good reaction, but the crowd goes NUTS for Cena.
They circle each other a few times, lock up and Joe pushes Cena down. They circle each other again, lock up and Joe grabs a headlock, which brings Cena down to one knee. Into the ropes, Cena pushes Joe off, Joe bounces off the ropes and knocks Cena down with a shoulderblock. Cena gets back to his feet. They circle yet again, tie up and Joe grabs another headlock. Cena goes back to one knee again. Cena returns to a vertical base and they go into the ropes again. Cena sends Joe for the ride, drops down and Joe hits the ropes again. Joe charges and Cena leapfrogs him and this time Cena knocks Joe down with a shoulderblock. Joe gets up and this time Cena grabs a headlock. Into the ropes again, clean break in the corner. Joe then punches Cena, knocking Cena down and actually causing heel heat. Another punch and Joe grabs Cena and launches him headfirst through the ropes to the floor. Cena slips back in behind Joe's back and lights Joe up with some punches of his own. Cena whips Joe into the ropes and lowers his head for a back bodydrop but Joe just kicks him in the head. Cena gets up and Joe punches him down again. Joe chokes Cena against the ropes in the corner. Cena blocks a punch and gets Joe up for the Attitude Adjustment but Joe escapes and hits a big kick for 2. Cena gets up and Joe headbutts him. Another headbutt. Cena gets up and Joe gives him a Vertical Suplex for 2. Back up, Cena blocks Joe's punch and responds with a few of his own. Cena tries a cross-corner whip but Joe reverses it and collides with Cena in the corner. Again in a different corner. Joe charges Cena in a corner but Cena moves out of the way. Cena kicks Joe and punches him and goes for a whip but Joe blocks it and hits an Inverted Atomic Drop and follows it with a running kick to the face. It gets 2. With Cena still down, Joe goes for the running senton but Cena rolls out of the way. Cena bounces off the ropes, ducks Joe's clothesline and bounces off the other ropes with a flying shoulderblock. Again. Then the Protobomb. The crowd is going wild because they know what's next, the You Can't See Me followed by the Five-Knuckle Shuffle. Cena gets Joe up for the Attitude Adjustment but Joe grabs the top rope and the referee gets knocked down. Cena hits the drop toehold and locks on the STF and JOE TAPS, but the referee is still down. Joe gets up and low blows Cena. With Cena down, Joe brings the ref back in and goes for the cover, but Cena kicks out at 2. Joe rolls out to the floor and grabs a chair. Joe gets back in the ring but Cena ducks the chair. Joe drops the chair, Attitude Adjustment, 3 count. ****
Really fun match and it's too bad it couldn't have happened on a bigger stage. You can watch it here.