A Bit Bitter Sweet

[Hem]

John Cena will face Kevin Owens in a few mere hours at WWE Battleground for the US Championship where I believe, Kevin may walk out as the champion. If not then he will for sure take the title at Summerslam.

I love the idea of having Kevin Owens be a prominent heel on WWE and the current incarnation of the US title is very good. I've been a fan of his for numerous years and it is going to be great to see what Kevin Owens can do as the US Champion.

The thing that is bitter sweet is that I actually don't want to see John Cena lose his championship yet..the dude brought meaning and worth back to the title. I actually tune into RAW every week to see who answers John Cena's open challenge championship match. It has brought a new found prestige for the championship and it has shown several John Cena haters that the dude is a pretty good wrestler! I think seeing all of the the stuff with John Cena Vs. Cesaro has also made me feel like those two should enter a feud for the championship.

What do you guys think the right move at Battleground is? Does John Cena retain? If so, does he give Owens another shot or does he enter into a new feud? OR will Kevin Owens finally capture the US championship and dethrone John Cena?

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

It pains me to say this, but I'll miss the John Cena US Open Challenges every Raw. They have probably been the best part of Raw for the last 2-3 months. I will say it can be a little frustrating seeing either Cena retaining or a non-finish every week, but the payoff should be big with Kevin Owens (hopefully) winning the US Championship either tonight at Battleground or in a few weeks at SummerSlam. Owens is set to experience greatness. I could see him being the best heel in WWE for several years. Getting a win over the current face of the WWE and taking his US Championship would be an excellent start.

 

[L@RISANO]

I do wonder if this will be done after tonight, or there is another match remaining that will take place at SummerSlam, which means tonight will end in un-clean fashion.


Nevertheless, I think Cena has done more than enough for the US title and Kevin Owens can take it off him and try to keep it at a high level for a few months. I am still of the opinion that One Midcard title is enough and more personal feuds need to be developed instead something like giving Cesaro the IC title and having him vs Owens for a midcard title unification would be great, lMO.
Having 2 Midcard titles allows an already lazy creative to be even more lazy as the IC title picture has shown.


What John Cena does thereafter will be interesting, however, as I can't see him going straight back into the Main Event so soon. Perhaps, he takes some time off after SummerSlam...

 

[Stan Hansen]

I would rather they end this feud tonight and build something else towards SummerSlam. Whether Cena retains or loses it, I'd like to see it end tonight.

I have a feeling it won't, tho.

 

[Logisticalbooker86]

Nights like tonight are what make the 9.99$ network subscription model so great. I believe we are looking at a solid event where most of the big match finishes will serve as a prequel to SummerSlam.

Cena/Owens will not end in clean fashion, Cena will leave with the title so that the WWE title hierarchy is not thrown off when Balor beats Owens at TakeOver in Broooklyn.

So, you have at least a few more weeks of open challenges to look forward to and they should consider making the gimmick mandatory (possibly alternating between U.S. Open Challenge and I.C. Open Challenge). Presenting a title match every week has been fantastic television.

 

[stingray11214]

I will be shocked if KO takes the belt from Cena. Reason is that KO is scheduled to fight Finn Balor for the NXT Strap at Takeover the night before SummerSlam. Unless they are going to make the US Title the chief belt in NXT, I doubt that KO will win tonight, and then fight for the NXT strap. That is the major selling point for Takeover at Barclay's during what is going to be a HUGE weekend of wrestling events in the NYC Metro area with NXT, ROH and PWS all having events on the Saturday before SummerSlam.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

With Owens challenging Balor for the NXT Championship due to having an automatic rematch, it's an example of the potential downside of having someone featured prominently on BOTH the main and NXT rosters simultaneously. Now, this doesn't automatically mean Cena retains tonight as WWE could use the fact that Kevin Owens winning the US title and still challenging for the NXT title as a further selling point for the NXT special; after all, the novelty of Owens having done so well and making such an impact in such a short span of time while still wanting to be NXT Champion while US champ adds prestige to the NXT Championship. While Owens almost certainly won't regain the title, win or lose against Cena tonight, the simple fact that he'd have a main roster title while challenging for the NXT Championship further hypes the NXT brand. Now, I alluded to that it's an example of the potential downside, but a different way of looking at it is that it adds some degree of unpredictability to things and a little unpredictability every so often that's sensible is welcome in my eyes. Now while this whole situation MIGHT take some of the heat from the upcoming NXT special, at least to some degree, the main roster takes precedent, as it should. Still, maybe it won't take some heat off the special because I don't think anyone really expects Owens to regain the NXT Championship from Balor; I just think everyone is simply looking forward to watching a great wrestling match in this particular instance.

Cena's helped bring a great deal of relevance back to the United States Championship, which is what we were all hoping for and counting on because...well...he's John Cena and if there's anyone in WWE that's going to be booked strong, it's him. If Cena does drop the title tonight, then he's still ultimately accomplished the goal of giving the United States Championship a fresh start and a foundation for continued success for the next champion to build on; of course, it all boils down to a couple of things such as consistent booking for a strong champion, keeping emphasis on the importance of the title rather than just giving it to someone to carry around for a while and being more choosy about who they put the title on going forward.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

The open challenege works just as well if not better for a heel champion. Owens could do amazing with the weekly US open challenge, and I hope it stays going that way.


Cena has been nothing short of utterly phenomenal, and its been a great, great ride. An easy highlight to RAW and sometimes SmackDown. All good things must end, and I hope they continue to utilize Cena to the fullest of his abilities in an intelligent way.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The thing that is bitter sweet is that I actually don't want to see John Cena lose his championship yet..the dude brought meaning and worth back to the title.

Yes, but I believe the long-term plan involved Cena holding a midcard championship for a limited time.....just long enough to put some juice back into the title, and once that was done, he would move on. I was positive it was going to happen last night with Owens winning the rubber match and taking over the US belt. Instead, Cena wins the feud and now I have no idea what management has in mind.

So, okay. The 'bittersweet' moment will be delayed for a while longer and Cena will continue to hold the belt. On the one hand, this stops Cena from rejoining the goings-on at main event level, which will thrill his detractors to ecstasy, I imagine.

But remember: a result such as the Owens-Cena match last night keeps us guessing, which is always a good thing, imo. It sure fooled me.