John Cena has transcended what it means to be a WWE superstar. Make no mistake about it, Cena was never supposed to be THE MAN in the WWE. A combination of luck and opportunism led to the John Cena era.
But it looks as if Cena’s time is up.
Ever since Wrestlemania 30, there has been a genuine attempt at reducing Cena’s time in the main event. Since he beat the Rock at Wrestlemania 29, Cena has faced Wyatt, Rusev and the Miz and Maryse in an inter gender match in the proceeding Wrestlemanias.
Meanwhile, Roman Reigns has owned the main event spot at the biggest wrestling event in the calendar. In between the mega events, Cena has been mixing it up with the young talents in the locker room.
His fantastic run as the US Champ served this purpose perfectly. Meanwhile, Cena also helped AJ Styles bed in to the WWE. Yes its true.
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While the snarks will always look down upon Cena, there is no doubt that his feud with Styles is one of the reasons why the WWE universe started showing love to AJ.
Another thing that Cena has improved upon is the quality of his matches. Over the last six years, Cena has truly developed in to a fantastic wrestler, providing stellar matches with almost everyone that he steps in the ring with.
His matches against Kevin Owens, Bray Wyatt and recently AJ Styles have been some of the best matches of his career. It would be ridiculous to say that he was carried by the other wrestlers, as he played an equally important part in making the match a fantastic one to watch.
This year’s Royal Rumble was a big moment not just for Cena, but also for the entire wrestling industry. He finally tied Ric Flair’s record for the most number of title wins after beating AJ Styles in what is surely one of the best matches of the year.
Now the big question. Should Cena break the record? While there are many who say that Flair’s record should never be touched, there are others who say that Cena has deserved the record.
Hogan, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Rock and Triple H all played a major part in making the WWE what it is today. But no one has had the longevity that Cena has had. In what was the worst period for wrestling, Cena carried the company on his shoulders for almost a decade.
Some say that the WWE should have made other stars. Maybe they tried and failed, but the point is that it was left to Cena to steer the ship. And he did so magnificently.
The record and the passing of the torch are the only two things left for Cena to accomplish in the WWE. I believe he will break the record and eventually lose the title to Roman Reigns in what could be a defining match in history of the WWE.
Cena has done great so far. But his time is coming to a close, and the way he says goodbye would be the last act of someone who could possibly be one of the greatest names to ever step into a wrestling ring.
