Cena Injured.... What now? ****Keep it in here!****

[BestSportsEntertainer]

WWE just can't get a break here lately. As if Rollins, Orton, Bryan, and Cesaro being out wasn't bad enough, now Cena is out.

He's arguably their top star (for now), and everyone knows he was a top priority in having a big, marquee matchup for WM. Probably against Reigns or Lesnar.

Still this is one of the most talented rosters WWE has ever had. They can still have a good show and probably sell out. Here's my card (just the main matches).

Roman Reigns vs. Triple H - WWE Championship

Brock Lesnar vs. Kevin Owens

Undertaker vs. Sting (Assuming Sting is healthy)

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho - IC Championship

Wyatt Family vs. League of Nations - Eight-Man Tag

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I think most people in this thread are overreacting. WWE is still in good shape for two main reasons.

1 - The brand is the draw, not the wrestlers or the card.

2 - WWE still has a lot of talent (Reigns, Lesnar, HHH, Owens, Taker, Ambrose, Jericho, Wyatts, LON)

 

[harrythem]

I saw a very good answer to this problem in someones signature on another page:

Conor McGregor

If they could get him involved in something a la Mayweather vs Big Show from WM24 (hell, even use Big Show again if they want) that could draw a lot of eyeballs to the event. Could even go with Sheamus if you want an all-Irish situation.

Or even getting him involved in something with Reigns to give him a main-stream rub.

It just might, with the right storyline, get extra eyes watching Mania which, if they are being forced to showcase guys that're meant to be the future, could somehow lead to one of them getting that connection with the masses..

Either that or this Mania could end up being almost as much of a wet fart as WM9/11 was

 

[MERPER]

I think most people in this thread are overreacting. WWE is still in good shape for two main reasons.

1 - The brand is the draw, not the wrestlers or the card.

2 - WWE still has a lot of talent (Reigns, Lesnar, HHH, Owens, Taker, Ambrose, Jericho, Wyatts, LON)

Disagree whole-heartedly on No. 1. People go to see their favorites and many favorites are out of action. Without the top stars, the product is pretty much unwatchable every week.

While I like Reigns, Lesnar, Owens and some others the company hasn't handled many "second-tier" guys well and failed to build NEW stars. Which has left them in a world of hurt when the established stars get hurt, grow old and can't do what they used to do.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Well, Wrestlemania will sell. Question is how good because it isnt Rock/Cena match but it would probably be Reigns/HHH at this point. And that wouldnt sell as good as Rock/Cena had eventhough Wrestlemania 29 was one of worst in history in my opinion. So yeah, wrestlers and card are draw. Otherwise anyone could just take Cena's place and be no1 draw and merchandise seller of WWE with same amount as Cena does now. And that is quite impossible to happen.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I'm surprised so many of us are talking (perhaps unintentionally) as if the sky is falling. I think the biggest takeaway here is we may be robbed of ever seeing Cena vs Undertaker at WrestleMania.

It's WrestleMania. It'll sell out. It'll make a lot of money. Here are the things I would do to sell the show, regardless of wether or not John Cena is healthy. You have to pass the torch here.

1) Put over the guys that will show up the following night on Raw, not the ones who leave.

2) A young guy retires the Undertaker.

Book it as a career threatening match against either Wyatt, Ambrose, Reigns, or Owens.

3) Someone pins Brock Lesnar.

Brock beat Taker at Mania 30 and I think the idea was to rub the Streak off onto Brock so that he could eventually be pinned by someone else, ultimately transferring that to the next generation while Brock held the present. WWE needs stars now, and there's absolutely no better time. Owens, Reigns, Ambrose, or Wyatt, whomever doesn't work with Taker.

3) high stakes main event.

Roman vs Triple H shouldn't be just for the title. Roman should be champion, but there needs to be something else in play. Possible options could include but not be limited to Hell in a Cell, title vs career, title vs COO position, title vs Authority's power. A special guest ref could be work here. Austin, Michaels, and McMahon are all too obvious.

4) let the women shine.

Bring back the women's title, advertise the title match as a main event, actually revolutionize the division. Bring back Trish, Madusa, someone in the corner of the babyface to match Ric Flair and offer in story logic to rechristening the divas title. At the very least change the strap.

Look at what Bayley and Sasha achieved in NXT. Make this an ironwoman match, make it huge make it big.

5) two diva matches

one for the title, another to steal the show.

6) let the tag titles shine

Book a TLC match with Dudleys, New Day, and another team.

7) clear Daniel Bryan

The tin foil hat wearer inside me has always thought they've been saving Bryan for after the Rumble, but now that the Rumble is for the title, that changes things.

There's so many things you could do with him. vs Undertaker, vs Lesnar, vs Triple H, vs Reigns for the title, vs anyone. You could even turn him heel. How crazy would that be?

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Time to break out the legends at Wrestlemania...

HBK vs Ricky The Dragon Steamboat

Boogeyman vs The Undertaker

Bob Backlund vs Superstar Billy Graham

Chris Jericho vs Dean Ambrose

Jake The Snake vs Brock Lesnar

25 Man Elimination electric cage of hell Main Event that lasts 2.5 hours. Surprise entrant..Jesse The Body Ventura Winner.... Gene Snitzky...( New Champion ).

 

[d_henderson1810]

Now that Cena is out of Wrestlemania...

Where does the WWE go from here?

Taker needs an opponent. Brock needs an opponent. It wouldn't make sense for HHH to be on the card if he wasn't involved with Reigns.

Do they start doing super pushes that give some new guys the ball (Wyatt, Owens, Ambrose, etc.)?

Do they make calls for Batista to come back?

What is Orton's status?

Do they finally allow Daniel Bryan to come back?

The Cena injury has a lot of ripple effects. How do you think the WWE responds as far as the Wrestlemania card (being that he was likely to face Taker) and beyond?

I'm tipping that Triple H will win the Royal Rumble and the WWE Title going into Mania, and Reigns will get his rematch against Triple H at WM32. Otherwise, I would like to see Reigns v Ambrose for the title.

I'm worried that they will pair up Undertaker v Brock one more time, since neither has an opponent.

Or maybe they could have Taker fight Bray Wyatt again, but put something at stake this time. Maybe, if this is Taker's swansong, have it be a "Career" Match, Bray wins, Taker passes the baton, and Bray becomes the 21st Century version of the Undertaker.

Kevin Owens will get a match
Dean Ambrose will get a match
The League Of Nations will get a match.

I would love to see New Day (c) v Lucha Dragons v Usos v Dudleyz in a Fatal-4-Way Ladder or TLC Tag-Team Match for the WWE Tag-Team Title.

There should be a Triple-Threat WWE Divas Title match, Charlotte (c) v Paige v Sasha Banks. You could even pull the trigger here and have "The Boss" win the Divas Title.

There'll be an Andre Battle Royal again, either on the card or the Kickoff show.

Would like to see Goldust v Stardust.

If Bryan comes back, they might have him fight Sheamus again.

 

[L@RISANO]

Huge blow to have John Cena out injured for Mania season, given I was really entertaining the thought of either Cena vs Taker/Reigns at Mania. Both would have been of huge interest to casuals, and especially for me personally, since all 3 guys have been huge favourites of mine since I started watching WWE nearly 2 decades ago.


I am now hoping that:

1) Sami Zayn makes a return at the Rumble and immediately goes after Kevin Owens(who has established himself in the Upper Midcard undoubtedly), it is a blood feud that has a back story on the Main Roster itself, in addition to NXT and even before that, thus, it is the perfect way to get both guys over with the casual fanbase during the RtWM.



2) the Wyatt Family gang up on Brock Lesnar during the Rumble match and eliminate him. Thereby, we get the Beast Incarnate vs the Buzzards. Also, due to him being outnumbered, it could be the perfect way to have Lesnar pinned by Bray Wyatt and allowing the younger guy to step up as the next Main Event Heel post-Mania...


because
3) Roman Reigns should once and for all, end the Authority angle by dispatching Triple H at WrestleMania 32 with the WWE WHC up for grabs(I'd say HHH wins the title at the Rumble, given Cena is now out injured).



Fantasy Card:

Roman Reigns vs Triple H(WWE WHC) w/the Rock as Special Ref

Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs Bray Wyatt w/the Wyatt Family

the Undertaker vs ???(Suggestions would be welcome at this point)

Dean Ambrose(IC) vs Chris Jericho

Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens

 

[Aquaman6686]

1) Put over the guys that will show up the following night on Raw, not the ones who leave.

2) A young guy retires the Undertaker.

3) Someone pins Brock Lesnar.

4) high stakes main event.

5) let the women shine.

6) two diva matches

7) let the tag titles shine

8) clear Daniel Bryan

1 - Yes and no. The veterans should win some, and the rookies should win some. Putting over young talent exclusively is killing WWE.

2 - NO. Absolutely not. After sacrificing his entire legacy to stroke Brock Lesnar's ego, Undertaker absolutely NEEDS to go out on a high note. Whoever his opponent may be, Undertaker needs to win in convincing fashion, then retire the following night.

3 - Yes. Brock Lesnar should lose, but it's not going to be some massive "passing of the torch" moment, because Lesnar doesn't have a torch. He's simply not around enough to have that level of importance. Beating Brock Lesnar shouldn't be treated as anything special.

4 - What's the point of putting the Authority's power or something like that on the line? Dolph Ziggler already destroyed The Authority and they were back in like a month. They're not going away until Triple H retires, and he's not ready to go.

5 - The Divas match should be a multi-woman match featuring younger Divas against older ones, maybe Paige, Becky Lynch, & Sasha Banks vs. Trish Stratus, Lita, & Alundra Blayze, and have the younger Divas go over after a hard-fought match.

6 - No. Charlotte should be nowhere near the WrestleMania card. She's terrible. Unless Nikki Bella is healed up and can take her title back to finally get her WrestleMania moment, Charlotte does not deserve a spot on the card.

7 - Yes. With the card so low on star power, a multi-team WWE Tag Team Championship match would help. The Dudley Boyz need to win the titles here. No tag team title has changed hands at WrestleMania since 2001 (excluding the title unification at WM25, which was a dark match so it doesn't count anyway), and the Dudley Boyz need to win the titles before their split.

8 - Yes. With so many top stars injured, WWE NEEDS Daniel Bryan right now. I'd have him open the show in a Submission Match against Alberto Del Rio for the United States Championship and win the belt, so the card starts off with a great moment and a huge pop, since the night will be ending with a disappointing LOLRomanWins moment.

 

[Navi]

Man, I said it in the spam thread, but are people really wringing their hands over Wrestlemania?

If you're worried about the actual product, that's fine. But the truth is, Mania is going to do just fine on business. Mania is the draw to Mania now; do you think people that are diehard fans are not going to go to Wrestlemania?

Of course they are. And with that in mind, I dare say the card doesn't matter. At least to WWE. It can matter to you, but that doesn't mean a damn thing to WWE

While I agree that a normal Wrestlemania would see itself, this can't really be considered normal. Most of the main event talent that people actually pay the money to see is out for the foreseeable future. Last year they just had one guy Jey Uso out, this year it's a completely different story.

Cena, Orton, Cesaro and if the main page is to be believed, Sasha Banks all have shoulder injuries. Wade Barrett isn't being used. Sin Cara might or might not make it back in time, so there goes the Lucha Dragons. Daniel Bryant still hasn't been cleared. Their top heel Seth Rollins has a torn ACL and isn't expected back till Summerslam. Sting and Tyson Kidd may never wrestle again. Natayla has a broken ankle and Nikki Bella is trying to avoid having surgery. That's a hell of a lot of star power missing in action.

Like I said on another thread, I feel bad for those that remain. They are carrying a heavy burden on their shoulders, and morale must be horrible. Fans want to come and see their favourites and most of the fan favourites that people will invest their money on aren't going to be there.

Yes Reigns, Ambrose, Owens, Taker and Lesnar will be there, but they can't replace who's missing. Not by a long shot. If this trend continues the main event will be Ambrose fighting a barbed wire fence match with an escaped certified lunatic from the nearest asylum, and Owens will be going against a guy for the last seat at the local all you can eat buffet.

There is no way you can spin this other than to say it's awful news, and let's hope and pray for their own sakes, everyone else can stay healthy.

 

[Navi]

The story is now that Cena has a torn labrum, hope I spelled it correctly, and he'll be out for about 6-9 months. The main page is saying that while he won't compete at Mania he will show up and be part of the show in some form. No word was what his involvement will be though

 

[Rocky84]

Daniel Bryan vs Brock Lesnar (c)
Sting vs Undertaker
Samoa Joe vs Roman Reigns
Kurt Angle vs HHH
Finn Baylor vs Bray Wyatt
AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens
Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks vs Paige vs Charlotte (c)

Now that's (half) a card that's realistic. Sting has been out since September, and Mania isn't until April. That's 6 months. I'm sure he's gotta be cleared by then. Add in Austin, Rock, HBK, Cena and some other celebs in some segments or involved in some storylines and that could be a sick Mania....

No more of this Reigns vs HHH, Reigns vs Brock, Owens vs Brock, crap...please.

 

[lil steroid meat]

I saw a very good answer to this problem in someones signature on another page:

Conor McGregor

If they could get him involved in something a la Mayweather vs Big Show from WM24 (hell, even use Big Show again if they want) that could draw a lot of eyeballs to the event. Could even go with Sheamus if you want an all-Irish situation.

Or even getting him involved in something with Reigns to give him a main-stream rub.

It just might, with the right storyline, get extra eyes watching Mania which, if they are being forced to showcase guys that're meant to be the future, could somehow lead to one of them getting that connection with the masses..

Either that or this Mania could end up being almost as much of a wet fart as WM9/11 was

Lesnar vs. McGregor would absolutely be a great co-main event for Mania.

They can definitely salvage this if they get Bullet Club, Batista, Goldberg, McGregor and Bryan in some matches. They really actually only need McGregor and Bryan.

 

[Doctor Awesome]

Lesnar vs. McGregor would absolutely be a great co-main event for Mania.

There's one big problem here, Conor McGregor is the current UFC Featherweight Champion. No way in hell Dana White allows him to take part in a match...especially with 280lb. Brock Lesnar who once worked for Dana White. Last year Ronda Rousey got way more physical than her boss wanted her to be and all she did was yoke up Stef. Maybe have the guy do a backstage segment w/Sheamus or Balor if he's on the card.

Star power not competing only does so much. There are plenty of guys on the roster to build up and give solid story lines to (in theory), knowing that this years unique RTWM gives guys a chance to shine bright if they kill it. some guys who would have otherwise been relegated to the Andre Battle Royal. The memories at WM are always in the ring, not Flo Ridaaaaaaaaaaaas performances, Burt Reynolds' ring announcing or yet another "celebrity" doing something pointless for the show.

Although, having Jeremy Piven come out and announce the record-setting crowd here in Houston for Wrestlefest at Houston's Cricket Wireless Stadium might get a laugh or two...

 

[mont3818]

Four hell freezes over matches that would SEAL THE DEAL:

Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock II
Sting vs. Undertaker
Kurt Angle vs. Daniel Bryan
and.......Steve Austin vs. CM Punk!!!

I'd pay the full fair non-Network Pay-Per-View price if these three were to happen. These would easily make WM32 the greatest of all time. Either way, Trips and Vinnie Mac need to start making LOTS of phone calls starting nowww. Batista, Goldberg, etc. I'd like to see Kevin Owens and Cesaro showcased somehow, hoping Cesaro returns soon enough... he should be push when he does come back. They're so lacking right now and Cesaro has some hardcore fan cred. And imagine a Bray Wyatt babyface turn?? It would be great, fresh matches there too.

Others I'd be happy with:
Dean Ambrose defends the IC Championship against Chris Jericho in a Ladder Match
Alundra Blaze defends the Women's Championship against Paige
The Wyatt Family vs. The Bullet Club
Batista vs. Sheamus
maybe Samoa Joe vs. Kevin Owens

 

[MERPER]

These McGregor posts are hilarious.

First off, after Rousey's defeat, McGregor is the biggest draw in UFC and there's zero chance Dana White lets him do WWE.

Second, he is having a title match on March 5 so there's zero chance he could do anything for the event until after that. Meaning less than one month for him to get into a storyline and learn WWE moves/style.

McGregor is a fighter, he's never done wrestling before. It's not like Lesnar whose background is in wrestling.

 

[sMark]

So many great matches in this thread, WWE can book a Mania right now.
But, we all forget that the likes of Big Show, Kane, Ryback and Henry all should be on the WM card as well. Other than Battle Royal, do you guys see them being used in anything else without making WM worse?

 

[Gio 8]

I know he is just back from injury but seeing as it's something that Owens likes to mention all the time, would now be a good time to rebuild the Owens vs Zayn rivalry from NXT? Owens likes to remind people that it was him that injured Sami Zayn, storyline wise anyway, so with a couple of months build it could come to a head at Mania.

Have Owens lose the feud to Ambrose then have him enter the Rumble and tear people apart then while he stands in the middle of the ring with bodies all around he waits while the ten count happens and Sami comes out next.

 

[laodaron]

The story is now that Cena has a torn labrum, hope I spelled it correctly, and he'll be out for about 6-9 months. The main page is saying that while he won't compete at Mania he will show up and be part of the show in some form. No word was what his involvement will be though

I had orthoscopic labrum repair in 2011. The PT for a regular person that isn't in shape is about 6-9 weeks, and about 3 months for total use of the shoulder again. Unless he's getting a completely new shoulder, there's no way that just a torn labrum is 6-9 months.

 

[laodaron]

So, there's plenty of talent if the WWE choses to use it, the caveat is that they have to borrow a bit from TNA.

Joe
Styles
Bully Ray

Maybe more.

I really think that at/by the Rumble, we have to see a Dudleys breakup, and Bully Ray needs to come from the ashes as an upper midcard heel. You can do just about anything with Joe and Styles, but Styles to be on the main roster ASAP.

Main Event Title Match: HHH v. Reigns
Main Event Non-Title Match: Taker v. Wyatt 2
Main Event Non-Title Match: Lesnar v. Nakamura 2
Midcards: Bully Ray v. Ziggler
Midcards: Ambrose v. AJ Styles
Tag Title: Bullet Club v. Usos
Divas Title: Becky v. Charlotte
Divas: Sasha v Natty

Andre Memorial: Anyone else.

 

[King26J]

Sting vs. Taker? The dream match people have wanted to see for years?
Assuming Sting is healthy enough for Wrestlemania.

 

[d_henderson1810]

1 - Yes and no. The veterans should win some, and the rookies should win some. Putting over young talent exclusively is killing WWE.

2 - NO. Absolutely not. After sacrificing his entire legacy to stroke Brock Lesnar's ego, Undertaker absolutely NEEDS to go out on a high note. Whoever his opponent may be, Undertaker needs to win in convincing fashion, then retire the following night.

3 - Yes. Brock Lesnar should lose, but it's not going to be some massive "passing of the torch" moment, because Lesnar doesn't have a torch. He's simply not around enough to have that level of importance. Beating Brock Lesnar shouldn't be treated as anything special.

4 - What's the point of putting the Authority's power or something like that on the line? Dolph Ziggler already destroyed The Authority and they were back in like a month. They're not going away until Triple H retires, and he's not ready to go.

5 - The Divas match should be a multi-woman match featuring younger Divas against older ones, maybe Paige, Becky Lynch, & Sasha Banks vs. Trish Stratus, Lita, & Alundra Blayze, and have the younger Divas go over after a hard-fought match.

6 - No. Charlotte should be nowhere near the WrestleMania card. She's terrible. Unless Nikki Bella is healed up and can take her title back to finally get her WrestleMania moment, Charlotte does not deserve a spot on the card.

7 - Yes. With the card so low on star power, a multi-team WWE Tag Team Championship match would help. The Dudley Boyz need to win the titles here. No tag team title has changed hands at WrestleMania since 2001 (excluding the title unification at WM25, which was a dark match so it doesn't count anyway), and the Dudley Boyz need to win the titles before their split.

8 - Yes. With so many top stars injured, WWE NEEDS Daniel Bryan right now. I'd have him open the show in a Submission Match against Alberto Del Rio for the United States Championship and win the belt, so the card starts off with a great moment and a huge pop, since the night will be ending with a disappointing LOLRomanWins moment.

Bryan v Del Rio would be interesting, but fans will be upset unless D-Bry is in the main event winning the title. Anything else won't do for the Bryan sycophants.