There was a ton of controversy surrounding John Cena and Rusev's Flag Match at the WWE Battleground pay-per-view (PPV) last night (Sun. July 24, 2017).

During the Cena vs. Rusev match, the WWE violated many rules of the US Flag code. The match was made after Cena made his WWE TV return on the July 4th episode of SmackDown Live. "The Leader Of The Cenation" had not been seen on WWE programming since his WrestleMania 33 win over The Miz and Maryse, who he defeated alongside his real-life girlfriend Nikki Bella. 

After the match he proposed to Bella, feeding the rumors that had been circulating for months prior, and she said yes. After taking a few months off to promote his new movie, The Wall, and his show, American Grit, he was finally ready to return to the professional wrestling world.

Cena was confronted by anti-American character Rusev who began to talk down about the U.S.A, which didn't sit well with the very patriotic Cena. In response, Cena proceeded to challenge Rusev to a flag match at Battleground, which the Bulgarian later accepted.

During their match last night, both the American and Bulgarian flags were treated with a tremendous amount of disrespect, as they were thrown on the floor, bunched up, and more. In the end it was Cena who emerged victorious from the match, however, one Reddit user pointed out that the WWE actually violated several rules from the US Flag Code.

Here is a few rules from the US Flag Code that were violated last night:

"Some of the violations committed include the following:

1. The flag should never be drawn back or bunched up in any way.

2. The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way.

3. The flag should never be stepped on.

4. The flag should never touch anything beneath it (The biggest violation if you ask me).

"I can understand the likes of Rusev, a Bulgarian upset with the US, to commit such acts of violation, however a great American such as John Cena himself should be held to a higher standard. How could he let this happen?"

What are your thoughts on the WWE's violations against the US Flag Code last night? Have YOUR say in the comments section below and the fourth episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here!

Check it out via this link: https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-money-in-the-bank-fallout