In the past week, John Cena has given Rusev his first
pinfall loss at Wrestlemania 31 and captured the United States championship.
While some may be angry at this win, I think that for the first time in years
WWE is booking Cena perfectly.
Both in person and when I was known as TimBERRR on the
Facebook page Main Event Maddox (now known as Main Event Memes), I was always
very vocal about giving Cena a midcard title. Whether you love him or hate him,
Cena is a main event player within WWE and can elevate the title to new levels.
Cena has competed in 12 Wrestlemanias, he was in a world
title match in 8 of them. He has won the WWE title a record 12 times, and has
been consistently featured throughout all WWE programming for the past decade.
The only full calendar year since he spent without a world title in the past
decade was 2012, and he main evented almost every Pay-Per-View. Despite the
fact that CM Punk was the WWE Champion, Cena was booked in the main event of
Wrestlemania 28 against The Rock. Love him or hate him, Cena is their go-to
guy.
This is where the US title comes into the picture. Both
midcard titles have lost a lot of their luster over the years. In the past
year, Sheamus had a very lackluster US title run, and although Rusev is a great
heel he never defended the belt. The Intercontinental title was in a similar
situation. Dolph Ziggler made the fans interested in the titles through his
exciting feuds with both The Miz and Luke Harper. However, Bad News Barrett soon took the strap and had
a very forgettable run as champion.
Although a lot of fans like to look for something to complain about, the
reality is that WWE needed to bring excitement back to the midcard.
Cena has proven that he can be a main event player. He is a
guy that always gets a reaction and brings in the family demographic. These
fans are interested in Cena’s matches, they want to see him beat the bad guy
whether its in a 30 second squash match or a 60 minute slugfest. With Cena
announcing that he will be doing weekly open challenges with his US title belt
on the line, fans will be tuning in to see if he can hold onto the strap.
Fans may complain that Cena’s matches are predictable, and
at times I’m one of them. I am not a fan of the Cena character, however I can
see how this will be “best for business.” This will bring prominence and
interest to the midcard, but will also give rising stars like Roman Reigns and
Seth Rollins a chance to shine in the main event. After a decade of taking the
spotlight, Cena can take a step back while simultaneously allowing the roster
full of young and hungry stars to reach for that brass ring and make a name for
themselves.
John won’t lose any stock by being a midcard champion, he
will simply elevate the title to a level that it hasn’t been at in years. The
same can apply to Daniel Bryan and the Intercontinental championship. For the
fans that love him, they can cheer their hero as he regularly defends his
championship each and every week. For his detractors, they can let out a sigh
of relief because after 10 years they have a chance to see others take the
spotlight. Cena could go the rest of his career without another world title
win, without even being in the main event again, and he will still be
considered one of the main stars.
As for the US title, Cena may carry the strap for awhile.
When he does lose it eventually, it will be just like when he lost his first
WWE championship to Edge. The people who hate him will cheer the heel and go
nuts when he finally does lose, and those who love him will want to watch their
hero earn his title back. Although I am not a huge Cena fan, I think this could
make for some great TV, and if it can make the US title mean something while
giving others a chance to carry around the world title then it is clearly “best
for business”
