As John Cena went on his profanity-filled tirade that Tom Pestock claims could be heard 20 rows into the arena, he had his back turned to "The Champ," and was instead met with a painful surprise once he faced Cena. "I turn around and John punches me dead in the face — like dead in the face — and, I mean it was a solid potato," he claimed. "And then, like, for the rest of the match I'm trying to remember these spots, but I'm trying not to cry because I'm like 'I'm going back to NXT, I just got out of there.'"

Pestock then recalled walking back through the curtain after the match was done and being praised by those backstage, but he couldn't enjoy it since he was sure he'd be shipped back to "NXT" either way. "John comes back and I just look at him like puppy dog eyes," he recalled. "And he's like 'Hey, that was great.' I go 'John, I am so sorry,' he goes 'Ah, we're good, I gave you it back, we're good.'"

Despite the interaction, Pestock still thought he was going to be sent back to "NXT." However, as fans know by now, things didn't end up that way yet, as the former Baron Corbin wasn't sent back to "NXT" until he was near the end of his WWE run. That said, it was still a traumatic experience according to the star. "I was good, but I legit thought my life was over."