John Cena is the WWE’s franchise player.There is no one even close. Even Stone Cold and Hulk Hogan had competition for their spot. Cena is all alone. CM Punk is a capable replacement, but after a crazy two years as champion and top heel, he’s off licking his wounds. Because of that, the original news of Cena’s possible Achilles tear in late April scared the WWE and its fans silly. Although we now know it was a heel injury that he can deal with an injury to Cena wouldn’t destroy the company.
The over-abundance of heels is already a problem in WWE. If Cena did ever get injured, why not exploit that? Let The Shield and other dominant heels just take over the show in Cena’s absence. Then when Cena comes back, let him get right in the thick of it. Dean Ambrose has had match time with Undertaker and Kane the past few weeks. Why not get him in a feud for the Intercontinental title and put Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in a real feud for the Tag Team straps? Although titles are merely props in pro wrestling, they can do wonders for a young performer’s credibility. vena’s injury opens the door for some major card restructuring that was bound to happen anyway.
There would be a larger problem however if Cena was injured, especially now. Cena is the reigning WWE Champion. If they are ever in a situation where he can’t defend the title due to injury, rather than have him lose the title, he should vacate it instead. Ryback is not ready for a title run and giving it to him would hurt the validity of the strap. Even if he wins it in a tournament, it’s better than Cena putting him over. He’s not in that league yet. Don’t push it when you don’t have to. Still unable to cut a solid promo, Ryback has potential, but it needs to be cultivated more. Like Sheamus and even Alberto Del Rio, a WWE title run too early could hurt more than it could help.
There’s plenty of things they could do when he comes back as well. A title tournament also allows Cena to come back and win the title “he never lost.” This could set up an interesting match for a pay per view once he is able to return. At the same time, a tournament also forces them to develop new talent. While Sheamus, Big Show, Mark Henry, Randy Orton and Del Rio are capable champions, it’s in the company’s best interest to develop stars the likes of The Shield, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan and Antonio Cesaro. These are the guys that fans come to see in the ring and the same guys that need mic time and creative storylines to get over.
Things none of them are really getting at this point.
The WWE needed years before they could develop a suitable replacement for Hulk Hogan. While Cena still has plenty of gas left, even if he’s not injured, this is the time to explore the possibilities of the company at least having an heir apparent.
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