D-Man's "Reason" Why John Cena's Most Recent WWE Title Reign Only Lasted Two Weeks

[D-Man]

I just finished reading the latest installment of the Cashbox on the Wrestlezone News Page and I must say it was a fantastic and entertaining read. For those who missed it, a reader submitted an email to Chris Cash about their "reason" why Alberto Del Rio recently lost and won back the WWE championship. It may have been one of the funniest emails I've ever read.

Let's face it... people were pissed off when John Cena won his tenth WWE championship at the Night of Champions PPV. Like, REALLY pissed off. Honestly, I was one of those people. Then again, I'm one of many professional wrestling fans who crave the type of change that CM Punk has been cutting recent promos about. Seeing John Cena win another world title (especially from a first-time champion and up-and-comer like Alberto Del Rio) just made me roll my eyes. And although I understand why Cena is constantly at the top of the mountain, that doesn't mean I always want to see it happen.

I know, I know... "ZOMG CENA HOGZ DA BELT AND HOLDZ TALENT BAK!!" Right? Wrong. John Cena (as much as many of you care to disagree with me) is the best total package in the WWE. He sells tickets, merchandise, rap albums, movies, is a role model to youngsters, a supporter of our armed forces, and is a damn good professional wrestler. As much as I hate the same face being in the WWE spotlight, he deserves every minute of it. But what the hell was the point of having him win the WWE title from Del Rio only to lose it two weeks later?

My answer is one word: Unpredictability.

Del Rio just won the WWE championship at Summerslam. Most smarky viewers would think that he would never lose it in his first title defense, right? More to the point, with Cena winning the title back from him at Night of Champions, even less people would believe that Cena would just lose the title right back to Del Rio at Hell in a Cell, right? I guess we were all wrong. The WWE is finally being successful at bringing unpredictability back to their sport because, with all of this happening, now we don't have a clue as to what the results of PPV matches are going to be. In turn, it will make more of us buy these PPV's in order to see the results.

All of your BS conspiracy theories about John Cena, Vince McMahon, the Five Moves of Doom, and the Lochness Monster don't hold any water, anymore. All of you are over-thinking things while the WWE is using a simple formula; they're outsmarting us.

 

[Matth3w]

See, the thing is, its a Catch 22: people want unpredictability, but they want the title to have 'prestige' and 'value' through long reigns. I'm not one of these people, but there are many on here who whinge.

Personally, title changes have gotten to the point where I don't care who holds it. I start to care when someone I'm a fan of holds the belt (Miz, hopefully Zack Ryder soon with the US title).

I think there should be world title changes on TV every now and again, not just on PPV. that might get more people tuning in. Say, Del Rio could've had his rematch the following night on RAW after Summerslam and won. The triple threat still could've happened at HIAC, making Del Rio retain.

 

[akrassikauda]

All of your BS conspiracy theories about John Cena, Vince McMahon, the Five Moves of Doom, and the Lochness Monster don't hold any water, anymore. All of you are over-thinking things while the WWE is using a simple formula; they're outsmarting us.

Two quotes Vince McMahon is known for "Keep it simple stupid" and "Anything can happen in the WWE"

Who would have guessed that Ricardo would lure Cena outside just for Del Rio to lock him out and throw the key under the ring Nobody, thus keeping things fresh and unpredictable. I was shocked shocked that Cena won his tenth title so quick then lost it even quicker back to Del Rio instead of Punk. Then the beat down from Miz and Truth was more unpredictable. they are out smarting the smarks and I'm loving it.

The smarks get their wish no title on Cena but some still hate on it because it wasn't Punk it was Del Rio. Smart move by giving them half of what they wanted (unless your a Del Rio fan) and keeping the main storyline alive at the same time plus with what happened on RAW keeps us fans guessing What's going to happen next.

Brilliant.

 

[alexikosalov]

No. Just because it's surprising to you, doesn't mean it's unpredictable to everyone else. How many times does Cena have to win the belt before your all like "whoa! I didn't see that coming!" lol

 

[Foshinzo]

I just finished reading the latest installment of the Cashbox on the Wrestlezone News Page and I must say it was a fantastic and entertaining read. For those who missed it, a reader submitted an email to Chris Cash about their "reason" why Alberto Del Rio recently lost and won back the WWE championship. It may have been one of the funniest emails I've ever read.

Let's face it... people were pissed off when John Cena won his tenth WWE championship at the Night of Champions PPV. Like, REALLY pissed off. Honestly, I was one of those people. Then again, I'm one of many professional wrestling fans who crave the type of change that CM Punk has been cutting recent promos about. Seeing John Cena win another world title (especially from a first-time champion and up-and-comer like Alberto Del Rio) just made me roll my eyes. And although I understand why Cena is constantly at the top of the mountain, that doesn't mean I always want to see it happen.

I know, I know... "ZOMG CENA HOGZ DA BELT AND HOLDZ TALENT BAK!!" Right? Wrong. John Cena (as much as many of you care to disagree with me) is the best total package in the WWE. He sells tickets, merchandise, rap albums, movies, is a role model to youngsters, a supporter of our armed forces, and is a damn good professional wrestler. As much as I hate the same face being in the WWE spotlight, he deserves every minute of it. But what the hell was the point of having him win the WWE title from Del Rio only to lose it two weeks later?

My answer is one word: Unpredictability.

Del Rio just won the WWE championship at Summerslam. Most smarky viewers would think that he would never lose it in his first title defense, right? More to the point, with Cena winning the title back from him at Night of Champions, even less people would believe that Cena would just lose the title right back to Del Rio at Hell in a Cell, right? I guess we were all wrong. The WWE is finally being successful at bringing unpredictability back to their sport because, with all of this happening, now we don't have a clue as to what the results of PPV matches are going to be. In turn, it will make more of us buy these PPV's in order to see the results.

All of your BS conspiracy theories about John Cena, Vince McMahon, the Five Moves of Doom, and the Lochness Monster don't hold any water, anymore. All of you are over-thinking things while the WWE is using a simple formula; they're outsmarting us.

Well, I don't know if they're outsmarting us as much as they're trying to dupe us, which is very different. A fool will always bring you down to their level, even if it's just for five seconds. I'm not saying those at WWE are fools. They've stayed at the top for so long because of the fact that they know how to market. But, does successful marketing always equal intelligent business moves? No, not at all. Look at WCW: they brought in the Cruiserweights, which made Eric Bischoff look like a genius, but when those wrestlers got over, yet never pushed ahead of the older, expiring talent, Bischoff revealed to everyone that he wasn't a wresting genius at all. Bischoff got lucky. I'm not saying this title switch is anything of that magnitude, but I am saying that the WWE seems to be the opposite: they're intelligent, but they make foolish decisions.

However, one thing that WWE is doing that resembles WCW, at least by your explanation, is the unpredictability factor. The Russo method is based all around unpredictability; swerving the Internet. If WWE tries too hard to trick us, then that will always backfire on them. It's a horrible decision, and I think they'll regret it. Is it why they had Cena put on a two week title run? Probably, but that doesn't make it a good decision. I'd rather it have been a stupid decision than something they did deliberately.

 

[MarcoMarquez]

The WWE is gaining it's unpredictably back but how are you going to say you didn't see someone( R-Truth and Miz) interfering in the match? The WWE isn't going to give Cena his title back for a long time coming this will make it gain its unpredictably, heres why 1) CM Punk is the top dog now, he's number one in merchandise, has an edge on the mic, leader of the new WWE's "reality era" 2) Vince has finally seen the light; The light is that every true WWE fan is getting bored of seeing Cena as the champ, sure he's a role model to the kids but he can still be a role model WITHOUT the WWE title around his waist, heres the thing i'd like to see, throw the US title BACK on Cena, make the title important, have him with the title until royal rumble( loses it to an upcoming star) get him ready for his match against the Rock, In the process of doing so bring back stars that people want example Chris Jericho, Have him be revealed as the "mystery" gm of Raw or a factor in the Survivor Series match, guaranteed no one will see that coming. Bit by bit the WWE is getting back to where it was years ago, lets just hope they don't drop the ball with these storylines

 

[Headman]

My theory is the WWE wanted to punish Del Rio for his work visa issues, but weren't mad enough at him to kill his push all together. I can't think of a single other reason to do this that would make sense.

 

[Blazinstar88]

It would also be unpredictable if Cena lost a match cleanly every once in a while...not taking anything away from WWE...for the most part they have stepped up their game

 

[dansaun77]

actually, you are a SMARK. The sole reason Del Rios won the belt again is because WWE are about to hit Mexico and they wanted Misterio holding the title when they went down there. With Misterio having surgery, it was decided that Del Rios would have the belt put on him so they had a solid fan following for the tapings in Mexico. WWE have readily admitted Del Rios is not up to being the number one heel in the company, and is slated to drop the title back toCM Punk at Survivor Series. End of story

 

[Azane]

I'll actually agree quite a bit, last year was fairly predictable outside of the Nexus, there weren't many surprises in the main PPVs, this year, I've been wrong 6 or so times on ppvs, and I'm usually batting 85%+ on guessing matches. I had Punk or Cena at about 60/30% and only gave Del Rio a distant maybe. This year's been a lot more volatile, I didn't Expect Mark Henry to win, I expected Del Rio to win earler in the year, and I had no idea Edge's retirement was legit(Granted this one wasn't so much WWE's control)

I like the roller coaster ride, I find myself analyzing less when wrestling doesn't make sense, and I actually enjoy it to a point. (Russo booking on the other hand...)

Hot potatoing the title, and the current WWE 24/7 era kind of force them to keep the trend rolling, year long reigns don't work as well now as they did last decade. With the internet and smarks abound, you're not going to get another Hulk Hogan that has nearly unanimous fan support for a year, so they need to bounce it around, or it gets stale seeing 2-3 shows a week with the same champion.

These forums also have a huge hind-sight issue, you already have people saying "I knew it was going to happen all-along" When I doubt many people pegged this one right (I really didn't expect a 14 day Cena reign, especially with how much they hyped his 10 time credentials on RAW)

 

[Gman35]

actually, you are a SMARK. The sole reason Del Rios won the belt again is because WWE are about to hit Mexico and they wanted Misterio holding the title when they went down there. With Misterio having surgery, it was decided that Del Rios would have the belt put on him so they had a solid fan following for the tapings in Mexico. WWE have readily admitted Del Rios is not up to being the number one heel in the company, and is slated to drop the title back toCM Punk at Survivor Series. End of story

Wait?? It has been said that Del Rio is dropping the belt to Punk at Survivor Series? Where was that?? Oh yeah, the dirt sheets right? Look, I am a true WWE fan, yup, I wasn't sure why they had Cena win the title and hold it for two weeks, and for the one that said that WWE wasn't mad enough at Del Rio for his visa issues, how was that his fault? It wasn't. We can thank our government for that. Having Mysterio with the title for that long until Mexico would have been a stretch, WWE knew he had a problem going on with his knees. Chances are, he wouldn't have made it to the Mexico shows, and he didn't. I like Del Rio with the title, hopefully he gains momentum for his heel persona, but who knows. Things drastically change during the week. I don't see Punk with the title until maybe December, or January

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I don't think that unpredictability was the reason for the quick title changes. It's not the WWE's style to be unpredictable just for the sake of being unpredictable and they sure as hell do not care about fooling a bunch of internet people. Also it is not as if the product is lacking any unpreditability with this Conspiracy story going on.

The ratings were going down a bit when Del Rio was champion and that could have been a reason. But I feel that the real reason was to explain things in a better manner. Cena winning the title from Del Rio meant that Del Rio could ask for a rematch as he had a rematch clause. Cena would not have had the same rematch clause as he was not the last man to hold the title before Del Rio. The idea was always for Del Rio to be champion by the end of HIAC.

Now I do know that the rematch clause is more of a plot device rather than some tradition that has to be honored but Triple H has shown that he is interested in paying attention to even the smallest details like when Punk returned after MITB. So maybe that was the reason. Either way it does not make much of a difference to the story, does it?

 

[Shotlycrue]

The light is that every true WWE fan is getting bored of seeing Cena as the champ

This is what pisses me off most about the IWC. Who the fuck are you to determine who are "true" wrestling fans? You are bored of seeing Cena as champ. Ok, fine, good for you. I am bored of seeing Cena as champ. Ok, fine, good for me. Some people love Cena, they want him to never lose the championship. So, by your logic, anyone that likes John Cena the wrestler is not a "true" wrestling fan...What a crock of shit.

Back to the topic at hand...

The reason that Del Rio lost to Cena in the first place was because the plan was always to have CM Punk v. Del Rio v. Cena at HIAC. If Del Rio retains at NOC then Cena has no claim to the match @ HIAC and then you have just ADR v. Punk. Bottom line. If Cena's not in that match then he's not beat down by Miz & Truth. If Cena's not beat down by Miz & Truth then he doesn't have much of a reason to get involved against them @ Survivor Series. If he's not involved @ Survivor Series he doesn't team up w/ The Rock. If he doesn't team up w/ The Rock, the feud towards WM doesn't build.

It all leads back to the match between Rock & Cena @ WM.

 

[Alastor]

You guys think way too much. Maybe Del Rio losing it is so that both him and Cena can chalk 1 additional reign. Del Rio can now be a 2 time champion. Maybe they wanted Del Rio to lose the money in the bank winner tag so they let him win the title in a legit match.

 

[TellMeWhy]

This is such an apologists thread. When TNA switches titles from hand to hand like this, it's considered hotshotting. When WWE does it, it's bringing back unpredictability. D-Man, you and your double standards are something else. WWE has been changing both world titles like a ****e this year. It seems like they have a mentality that the more world title reigns you are, the greater you are. WWE isn't going to any extent to please any of you or outsmart any of you. They just have shitty booking.

And stop with the Cena brings money nonsense. I talked to a guy I know over the weekend, and Cena holding the WWE title brings no difference to the ratings or anything else. How can he be a draw when pay per views are shrinking and when WWE is pulling lower attendance? Stop finding excuses to pacify why it's ok for Cena to keep getting the belt? My friend was telling me that Cena is on this pedestal by "smarks" that he doesn't deserve to be on. He sells some merch but even Punk has overpassed that and outside of merch, Cena isn't drawing anyone else to watch the product.

 

[flawd101]

wwe has been great the past few months. if you are hating you should just stop watching becasue they will never make you happy. adr/cena/punk looks to only just be starting and all of them will trade the title back and forth. forget the past, they are currently selling these 3 as the best. iwc seems to worry about what will happen next instead of what is happening right now.

when was the last time cena lost clean? he is the best and whenever someone does beat him clean it will be huge. cena is an amazing, once a decade character. in 10 years when he is hof cena we will all love him. that being said, i do love to see him lose. he is the yankees of the wwe. he has the most fans but also the most haters. people will cry when he wins and loses. he is why wrestling is great. when his music hits i know im in for a show.

 

[Radio GaGa]

I hate to quote cena, but I think it's just what he said it was. There was a confusion around the title and HIAC was a problem solver. Now, that ADR is champ, he will work a program with punk for a long time.

 

[Heavens Vibe]

Or maybe Del Rio has been held back too much because of all the issues going from Edge to Punks rising, that WWE wanted to make him a 2 time champion but they also want Cena to beat Flairs record so they killed two birds with 1 stone?

I dont really mind as long as its still somewhat interesting and I dont look into the side issues or why decisions are made, maybe i will enjoy it more unlike those who have to know everything as to why and how all choices are made, and then are dissapointed because they've ruined the story for themselves...

 

[Mustang Sally]

"ZOMG CENA HOGZ DA BELT AND HOLDZ TALENT BAK!!"

The OP should re-name himself the Z-Man. It rhymes, no?

But he's right; unpredictability is the key. For my part, I can't think of a time I was wrong in so many instances about what I felt sure was going to happen, from HBK losing the second WM match to Undertaker......to Alberto Del Rio winning it in the first place......to Punk beating Cena in Chicago and leaving the company in possession of the title. There have been tons of other lesser events I've guessed wrong about, too........and it's great! Reading this forum, many of the posters use 20-20 hindsight to tell us they knew all along what was going to happen; but I call bullshit. Things have been switched up so often I doubt their claims. Creative is doing a great job.

Still, when it comes to John Cena, WWE has to balance unpredictability with marketability. The performer who gets the biggest crowd reaction and sells the most merchandise is usually the champion; the company is shorting itself by keeping the title belt from him for too long. At the same time, while we know the championship is eventually going to find it's way back to Cena, the programs themselves always defy predictability. WWE keeps coming up with new and interesting ways to keep the title belt moving around.

I thought inserting Del Rio into the title picture was an inspired move. It seemed we were going to be treated to the predictable when Punk returned; a Cena-Punk feud that would take us into the new year. Instead, a third party entered the scene, and he wasn't one of the same-old guys: not Undertaker, not Triple H, not Randy Orton.

Lots of people on this forum appreciate the new blood, while others hate Del Rio's insertion into the title chase. ("He nevah even had a reel fued with nobody! What da fuck is he doing hear?")

Keep mixing it up, WWE. The storylines are better than ever.

 

[shitsngiggles]

I think they wanted Del Rio champ, needed punk in the mix to keep him at the top and having Cena there added a draw.

Not being funny but these 3 guys are all going to be the top faces sooner or later. They can't make Cena heel until after WM28 or maybe even never. I can't see it happening. They're not building up anyone to replace him as the kids face.

Del Rio can't be a heel it just doesn't work, he is an intense guy but his smiling just makes you laugh at him. He just doesn't look mean enough.

Here's what I think:

CM Punk the adult face of the WWE
Cena the kids face of the WWE
Del Rio the Latino face of the WWE

Unless they can find another talent or people to switch with these guys then that isn't going to change.

Del Rio may still be a heel but I can't see it lasting for very long.

Like people said, they want the MITB title gone from Del Rio, Cena to chalk up another title and they needed Punk to keep momentum with his being the new top guy.

It all makes sense going forward. We already know Cena Vs Rock is happening at WM28 and they don't want it to be a title match. Punk is clearly going to be either defending a WWE title or going to win a WWE title you can feel it coming. Probably ADR Vs Punk or maybe someone else we'll have to see where things go.

 

[D-Man]

It looks like I've got a lot of posts to reply to so let's get started, shall we?

But, does successful marketing always equal intelligent business moves? No, not at all.

Of course it doesn't but you're missing my point. In this case, it IS a smart business move. Fans don't purchase PPV's because they're so used to a champion winning a title and think they have no chance of losing it at the next PPV because of past history. WWE wants to keep us on our toes so they're changing this. How is that bad business?

The WWE is gaining it's unpredictably back but how are you going to say you didn't see someone( R-Truth and Miz) interfering in the match? The WWE isn't going to give Cena his title back for a long time coming this will make it gain its unpredictably, heres why 1) CM Punk is the top dog now, he's number one in merchandise, has an edge on the mic, leader of the new WWE's "reality era" 2) Vince has finally seen the light; The light is that every true WWE fan is getting bored of seeing Cena as the champ, sure he's a role model to the kids but he can still be a role model WITHOUT the WWE title around his waist, heres the thing i'd like to see, throw the US title BACK on Cena, make the title important, have him with the title until royal rumble( loses it to an upcoming star) get him ready for his match against the Rock, In the process of doing so bring back stars that people want example Chris Jericho, Have him be revealed as the "mystery" gm of Raw or a factor in the Survivor Series match, guaranteed no one will see that coming. Bit by bit the WWE is getting back to where it was years ago, lets just hope they don't drop the ball with these storylines

What does ANY of this have to do with my point? This is a perfect example of the fans' ignorance that's spreading like wildfire throughout the internet. First of all, I wasn't talking about the interference in the match. Secondly, thanks for proving that you can read WZ's headline stories when you say that Punk is going to be the WWE's top star. But who is sick of Cena being champion? You? Me? We're small fish in a HUGE pond. Fact of the matter is that the great majority of fans love John Cena. We're the minority here, so get off your soapbox.

actually, you are a SMARK. The sole reason Del Rios won the belt again is because WWE are about to hit Mexico and they wanted Misterio holding the title when they went down there. With Misterio having surgery, it was decided that Del Rios would have the belt put on him so they had a solid fan following for the tapings in Mexico. WWE have readily admitted Del Rios is not up to being the number one heel in the company, and is slated to drop the title back toCM Punk at Survivor Series. End of story

Ok, so I'M a smark and yet you just gave us all a news report verbatim from dirt sheets on the internet. Does anyone else see the idiotic irony here? I need a good laugh... thank you.

I don't think that unpredictability was the reason for the quick title changes. It's not the WWE's style to be unpredictable just for the sake of being unpredictable and they sure as hell do not care about fooling a bunch of internet people. Also it is not as if the product is lacking any unpreditability with this Conspiracy story going on.

They're not doing it for the sake of doing it. If you read my initial post, you'd see that I gave distinct reasoning behind why they're doing it... For years, fans have gotten used to one person winning a title and having a very low percentage of them losing the title at the following PPV. Beyond that, there was an even LOWER percentage chance of them regaining it at the following PPV, especially off the WWE's top babyface star. When was the last time you saw this happen in the WWE? Exactly my point.

The ratings were going down a bit when Del Rio was champion and that could have been a reason.

Gee.. this MUST be true! Take the title off the guy to give it back to him two weeks later. That'll sure sway the ratings!! /sarcasm

This is such an apologists thread. When TNA switches titles from hand to hand like this, it's considered hotshotting. When WWE does it, it's bringing back unpredictability. D-Man, you and your double standards are something else.

Dude... seriously? When did I ever say TNA's change of titles was called "hotshotting"? Matter of fact, when, even for ONE second, did I mention TNA in any of this thread? You're another guy that needs to get off his soapbox. If you can't discuss this topic without bringing TNA into it then don't reply. This is a WWE discussion in a WWE section. Keep it that way.

WWE has been changing both world titles like a ****e this year. It seems like they have a mentality that the more world title reigns you are, the greater you are. WWE isn't going to any extent to please any of you or outsmart any of you. They just have shitty booking.

Or maybe they're bringing realism to their title by treating like a boxing or MMA championship in which the title can change hands at any time (thus, making things unpredictable). But I guess it's much easier to go with the easy argument; the WWE booking is shit.

And stop with the Cena brings money nonsense. I talked to a guy I know over the weekend, and Cena holding the WWE title brings no difference to the ratings or anything else. How can he be a draw when pay per views are shrinking and when WWE is pulling lower attendance? Stop finding excuses to pacify why it's ok for Cena to keep getting the belt? My friend was telling me that Cena is on this pedestal by "smarks" that he doesn't deserve to be on. He sells some merch but even Punk has overpassed that and outside of merch, Cena isn't drawing anyone else to watch the product.

You "talked to a guy." You're kidding with this argument, right? And this "mystery genius" said Cena doesn't draw? This isn't even worth arguing against. That's how asinine you sound.

when was the last time cena lost clean?

Although it was a dusty finish, the answer is Summerslam. I'm just sayin.

he is the best and whenever someone does beat him clean it will be huge. cena is an amazing, once a decade character. in 10 years when he is hof cena we will all love him. that being said, i do love to see him lose. he is the yankees of the wwe. he has the most fans but also the most haters. people will cry when he wins and loses. he is why wrestling is great. when his music hits i know im in for a show.

As much as I agree with all of this I don't want other posters to drift off-topic. This isn't another argument about whether Cena is good enough or whatever. It's about the fact that WWE is changing title holders for no other reason than to bring unpredictability back to the sport. Their storylines have been brilliant, as of late, and this momentum continues with the way they're handling the world title situation. Eventually, I'm sure the amount of title changes will slow down again but for right now, I never have a clue as to how a PPV will end. That's the way things SHOULD be.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I had the thought that WWE may have a timetable set in the near future for either Cena breaking Flair's world title record or Cena and Orton competing for a world title that would break Flair's record (maybe WM 29) and that is why we are seeing so many title changes now.

Unpredictability may be WWE's concern but I don't feel like it is one of their bigger problems. I'd rather see them focus on better storylines, more compelling superstars and engaging the live audience. All in all though, I have really enjoyed the product lately.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

They're not doing it for the sake of doing it. If you read my initial post, you'd see that I gave distinct reasoning behind why they're doing it... For years, fans have gotten used to one person winning a title and having a very low percentage of them losing the title at the following PPV. Beyond that, there was an even LOWER percentage chance of them regaining it at the following PPV, especially off the WWE's top babyface star. When was the last time you saw this happen in the WWE? Exactly my point.

I think that something similar did happen with Cena and Orton in 2009 when they traded the titles for 4 successive PPV's. It has happened with Edge and Cena, it has happened with Hardy and Punk, it has happened quite a lot in the past five years.

But that is not exactly my point. My point is that with the highly unpredictable conspiracy theory storyline going on, does WWE really need to inject even more unpredictability into the main event scene? I guess not. Also, the thing is that there is not much to the result of NOC anyway. People would have been happy with Del Rio retaining and people were OK with Cena retaining as well. You can't really take the internet flaring up over Cena's win as an indication of anything. The standings remained the same, no matter who won the feud was going to continue.

So I feel that the reason why Cena won is that WWE wanted to get to the main event at HIAC. HHH even explained it on Raw after NOC which only reaffirms what I am thinking. Both Punk and Del Rio got their rematches at the PPV which would have only been possible had Cena won at NOC. If Del Rio would have won, that would have disqualified Cena from getting a rematch because the match at NOC was his rematch clause. I know its only a plot device but Triple H has shown that he wants to explain even the smallest things in great detail. Maybe the rematch clause will be a bigger deal in this era. It certainly looks that way.

Also it made Del Rio look even more despicable when he snatched Cena's title away from him by locking him out of the cage. It gave him more heat than simply retaining the title would have.

 

[D-Man]

My point is that with the highly unpredictable conspiracy theory storyline going on, does WWE really need to inject even more unpredictability into the main event scene? I guess not.

I can answer this in only one way - Why not? The reason why television shows such as Lost, Prison Break, and 24 were so successful was because they were so endlessly unpredictable. Each twist and turn opened their own twists and turns and the shows kept us guessing as to what would happen next. At any time and during any angle, a HUGE change could occur. Why would the WWE rob themselves of this pleasure by not injected more unpredictability into their storylines?

So I feel that the reason why Cena won is that WWE wanted to get to the main event at HIAC. HHH even explained it on Raw after NOC which only reaffirms what I am thinking. Both Punk and Del Rio got their rematches at the PPV which would have only been possible had Cena won at NOC. If Del Rio would have won, that would have disqualified Cena from getting a rematch because the match at NOC was his rematch clause. I know its only a plot device but Triple H has shown that he wants to explain even the smallest things in great detail. Maybe the rematch clause will be a bigger deal in this era. It certainly looks that way.

Also it made Del Rio look even more despicable when he snatched Cena's title away from him by locking him out of the cage. It gave him more heat than simply retaining the title would have.

I think this is a very good assessment. I also believe that my theory and your theory could be combined to make even MORE sense than fans saying garbage like "Cena hogs the belt" and all of that other bullcrap.

 

[shitsngiggles]

I had the thought that WWE may have a timetable set in the near future for either Cena breaking Flair's world title record or Cena and Orton competing for a world title that would break Flair's record (maybe WM 29) and that is why we are seeing so many title changes now.

Unpredictability may be WWE's concern but I don't feel like it is one of their bigger problems. I'd rather see them focus on better storylines, more compelling superstars and engaging the live audience. All in all though, I have really enjoyed the product lately.

Interesting idea.

How many titles is Orton currently on? Not sure about WM29 though. 18 months to win 6 titles might be a push or ruin it. Maybe WM30? Orton and Cena still have plenty of time left in them both.

EDIT: Just checked on wikipedia looks like Orton is on 9. Could be a race to 17 storyline perhaps.

Cena is on 10 Orton on 9, Orton could get his 10th then Cena the 11th etc. etc. leading up to them both being on 16 and one of them as the champion, the other challenges to see who is the best and who can beat Flair's record.