Off the back of a fantastic Last Man Standing match against Bray Wyatt at the Payback pay-per-view, John Cena has...
Off the back of a fantastic Last Man Standing match against Bray Wyatt at the Payback pay-per-view, John Cena has once again been solidified as the key player in WWE. Though a large proportion of fans had clamoured for the younger, fresher Bray character to ultimately triumph in the engaging and exciting feud between the two superstars, Cena’s victory means that he will be the man with the momentum going into Money in the Bank and beyond.
Cena’s staunchest detractors often criticise the in-ring ability of a man who has collected a total of 14 WWE Titles and World Heavyweight Championships. Though Cena’s style is not to every wrestling fan’s taste, and certainly does not resemble anything like that of current fan favourite and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, the leader of the Cenation has been a key component of many of the most memorable matches of the last decade.
It is no secret that WWE’s audience has pretty much always been massively divided in its response and reaction to John Cena’s dominance within the company. It is this division that has created some truly epic atmospheres in main event matches in the last several years. Some of the most hostile and vociferous crowds in modern WWE history have come to life in matches involving Cena. The feud with Bray Wyatt has been no exception.
The fact that Cena is so polarising to the WWE audience makes his feuds and his matches interesting. Whether it be positive or negative, Cena still today draws the biggest reactions from the WWE audience, and this is what makes him such a bankable commodity to WWE. There can be no doubt that Bray Wyatt has benefitted from his programme with Cena, but assuming their feud is now over following Payback, it will be interesting to see how Cena is booked in the coming months.
Will WWE look to cement Cena’s place at the top of the roster by placing him into a feud with another of the company’s brightest stars? Or, similarly to how the Wyatt feud developed, will Cena’s standing in the industry be used to propel one of the company’s most exciting young prospects into the main event?
Here, we look at the five candidates most likely to feud with John Cena next.
5. Cesaro
The ‘King of Swing’ may well appear to be the least likely candidate on this list, especially having only just lost a United States Championship match to Sheamus ay Payback. However, with Cena now potentially freed up, WWE could look to accelerate the push given to the Paul Heyman guy by booking a programme between he and the sure-fire future hall-of-famer.
Speaking of Heyman, how much inspiration could he draw from going up against the company’s undisputed biggest star? The manager, who has been in sparkling form on the microphone and at ringside ever since he returned to the company, would no doubt relish the prospect of duelling with Cena on behalf of the ‘Swiss Superman’.
With WWE having arguably already used Cena relatively charitably during his involvement with Bray Wyatt, the smart money may well be on a more illustrious opponent being placed in front of Cena during his next programme. However, if WWE are as serious about Cesaro’s potential as the early indications have shown, pitting him against Cena for an extended period of time could prove very fruitful in the long run.
Given the momentum that Cesaro has built in recent months, and the widely suspected potential of a face turn somewhere down the line, this is a feud that could be used to very much establish Cesaro as a big time player, whilst also generating a level of interest from fans that would create the traditional crowd division and conflict we have now come to expect from Cena matches. Despite all the possibilities, WWE may well feel that the timing for Cesaro vs Cena is not quite right at this time. That said, do not be surprised to see these two men collide in a high profile feud sooner rather later.
4. Triple H Or Randy Orton
Seth Rollins’ turn on his Shield teammates the night after Payback saw his attacks centred mostly on Dean Ambrose, giving perhaps the clearest sign that he is set for a singles feud with the former U.S. Champion as his next outing.
Following that assault, it was Randy Orton whose attention focused on Roman Reigns as the two remaining Shield members were laid out in the ring. Roman Reigns vs Triple H has been the match rumoured for Summerslam for some time now, but that does not dispel a possible Reigns/Orton programme in the interim. Reigns could well have to go through ‘The Viper’ in order to lock horns with the ‘King of Kings’. Such a scenario would surely free up either Orton or Evolution leader Triple H for a feud with Cena during the summer.
The prospect of another instalment of Orton vs Cena may not sit well with the WWE audience, but such booking may well be what is needed in order to nudge Orton back into the main event frame after the obscurity he has endured since Wrestlemania XXX. Orton was one of television’s most fascinating characters back in his role as the leader of Legacy in 2009 and 2010, but has not managed to hit the same heights since after a succession of face and heel turns. Fans would be glad to see the Orton character regain consistency and prominence if he is able to gather the same momentum he has achieved in the past.
Triple H may be the more popular option to feud with Cena having had credible matches with him in the past, and the feud itself not having been overused. There is also some logic to the possible booking of the feud, with Triple H having already targeted his hostilities towards Daniel Bryan and The Shield and perhaps next looking to undermine WWE’s most powerful babyface superstar.
3. Kane
As was perhaps foreshadowed during the Raw after Payback, Cena’s next feud could well see him go up against the ‘Big Red Machine’ as a precursor to a WWE World Heavyweight Championship programme with Daniel Bryan. Cena’s emergence as Stephanie McMahon discussed the situation regarding Bryan’s injury and the company’s top title was surely relevant and should be seen as an indication of what is to come.
Cena’s confrontation with Stephanie and defence of Bryan saw the boss unleash Kane on Cena, and with Kane set for a title bout against Bryan “should he be able to compete” at Money in the Bank, the booking options surrounding Cena, Kane and the WWE Championship appear to be rather fluid at this point.
If Bryan is deemed unable to complete against Kane at the pay-per-view, we could well see an extended Kane-Cena programme as a consequence. This could manifest as a straight feud or as a contributor to a Money in the Bank Ladder match that could potentially determine the next destination of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
At the time of writing, further interaction between Kane and Cena seems to be the most likely immediate option WWE has available to them. Cena’s strong words to Stephanie during Raw, plus the need for a clear and prominent adversary to The Authority in the absence of Bryan, mean that Cena is likely to find himself in at least a short-term feud with the ‘Devil’s Favourite Demon’. Furthermore, there is the need to build Kane’s credibility as he approaches the title match with Bryan should it proceed, so the prospect of this rivalry ticks a number of boxes and would serve multiple purposes. Though this is a rivalry that should be expected to continue, especially given the conclusion of their match on Raw, its duration and development could well be determined by the timescale of the return of the currently absent WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
2. Brock Lesnar
Since the last thing Brock Lesnar did in WWE was break The Undertaker’s illustrious Wrestlemania undefeated streak, only highest profile booking will do for the ‘Beast Incarnate’ upon his return to the company. In the modern landscape of WWE, and given Lesnar’s current positioning as a heel, the most high profile booking essentially translates as a feud with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, or the company’s biggest star, John Cena.
Lesnar and Cena have crossed paths at numerous stages of their careers, the most recent of which took place at Extreme Rules 2012. At that point, Lesnar had only just returned to the company amid amazing fanfare, yet Cena was booked to win the match and overcame the former UFC Champion on the night.
Due to the brief nature of the feuds between the two in the past, another programme between Lesnar and Cena could be interesting, and it would be fascinating to see how the company go about reigniting this feud from a creative perspective. Once again, the Paul Heyman factor would no doubt prove a major contributor to the success of such a programme, such is his ability to enhance a talent or feud at any level of the card.
With Lesnar’s stock in WWE currently so high, his next feud will be absolutely pivotal for both his character and the company moving forward. Many are calling for Lesnar to be given a long run of victories, capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and ultimately drop it to the likes of a Roman Reigns or Cesaro at Wrestlemania XXXI. Whether WWE would be prepared to engage in one sided booking for such a period of time, especially given the protection they rightly give Cena and the fact the Lesnar is a essentially a part-time attraction, remains to be seen. However, the moment could well be just right for the two to lock horns once again.
1. Daniel Bryan
The writing appears to be very much on the wall for a run of matches between John Cena and the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Bryan. The inevitability that this is in the pipeline is born from a number of factors. It is fair to say that the most prominent of these factors revolve around Cena rather than Bryan.
It was at Summerslam 2013 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles that Daniel Bryan beat John Cena, clean, to win the WWE Championship, albeit for one of the shortest reigns in history as he was swiftly attacked by Triple H and then the victim of a Money in the Bank cash-in by Randy Orton. Regardless of this, it has not been forgotten that Cena took the loss that night, and it is the belief of many that Cena will ultimately get his ‘win’ back.
Cena has not held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, or any of its prior variations, for some time now, and the fact the company have kept the title off him for so long could well be another fact that points to a likely recapture of the gold in the near future.
There has also been some intelligent foreshadowing of a potential match between Cena and Bryan on WWE television. During the episode of Raw following Payback, Stephanie McMahon questioned Cena’s defence of Bryan by declaring that Bryan was a ‘B+’ and, more significantly, “not a champion, like you…”. Such lines are rarely used without a purpose in WWE, and the company may well be beginning to subtly pave the way for a Summerslam title match between their top two babyface superstars. It may take some sophisticated booking in the interim, but the feud could well arise as a result of The Authority booking the two against one another in response to their respective rebellion in recent months.
