John Cena's 10th WWE Championship reign: Who does it benefit?

[LSN80]

Yeah, I know, another Cena thread. But bear with me, I think this one could be interesting and possibly turn into a thread series if it takes off.

The purpose of this thread is to determine who benefits by John Cena holding the WWE championship. There are a number of variables that go into this, and by the end, I want to see if it's beneficial overall for John Cena to be holding the WWE Championship right now. I know he vowed that his championship match with the rock at WM 28 would be for said title, but that's ten months away. So I want to take a look at the variables in play right now to see if the title is best served on Cena. Feel free to throw in whatever criteria you like in order to come to your own conclusion.

Other Superstars: Edge in 2006. Randy Orton in 2007 and 2009. Sheamus in 2009. All of these superstars were taken to the main event level and have pretty much stayed there due to long, intense feuds with Cena, all over the WWE Championship. Cena looked unbeatable at times in all 3 feuds and yet each man found a way not only to beat him, but to be elevated into permanent main event figuresn as a result. Edge before Cena? 0 WWE Championships. After Cena? 11. Randy Orton before Cena? 1 World Championship. After? 7. The numbers simply don't lie that John Cena was a key factor into making both men sure-fire Hall of Famers some day, and the championship was elevated as a result as well.

The problem right now is noone is being elevated by John Cena being the WWE champion. Ill reserve judgment on R-Truth, but he's far from a made man or even a convincing possible foil for Cena. Miz, by orders of the Raw GM, is finished with Cena, so he's out of the title mix while Cena currently holds the belt. CM Punk feuded with Cena as he became leader of the Nexus but hasn't been near the title since coming to Raw last year, and seems further away then ever. ADR has wrestled maybe once since coming to Raw, and seems to have cooled off considerably, and it would take alot to build him as a credible threat to Cena. Rey Mysterio may possibly be the best eud out there for Cena, as the dynamic would be intriguing, but Rey's already cemented as a main eventer. Right now, I feel that in the varible regarding other superstars, it's not beneficial for John Cena to be holding the WWE Title.

The WWE Title: John Cena is a household name. He's been everywhere from Gillette commercials to Hannah Montana to the Make-A-Wish foundation. With Cena as champion, it certainly lends some mainstream value to the title. Moreso, Cena has been in numerous non-title feuds in between, and it's been ten months between title reigns. The way he won the title may not have been special, and what he's done since winning the has been quite ho-hum. But there's no denying that Cena's "journey' back to becoming WWE Champion has been a grueling one, including feuding with Nexus, losing his job, feuding with the Rock, and finally defeating the Miz, who had gotten the better of Cena for so long. The journey back and Cena's overall presence as the biggest star of the company only lends credibility to the WWE Title, so with regards to the WWE Title itself, it's beneficial for John Cena to be holding the WWE Championship.

John Cena himself: I could look no further then the match with the Miz at Over the Limit for my answer, but Ill try to go a little bit deeper then that. While some of his non-title feuds have been bad, with Big Show in 2009 coming to mind, his feud with Nexus and Wade Barrett was some of the best work of his career. Sure, he was around the main event picture, but he wasn't sniffing the title himself, and he was doing some of the best work of his career. Seeing Cena as Wade Barrett's lackey in the Nexus added a new layer to Cena's character that we've never seen before, and was perhaps his best work. His semi-feud with the Rock leading up to WM 27 could have been better, but it was still good stuff, and didnt result in Cena winning the title at first. Im not sure how much more the WWE Title can benefit John Cena himself, as he clearly to me has done some of his best work, in the past year no less, when he's been away from the title. Not the main event scene, because he's a fixture there, and rightfully so. But for John Cena himself, I think there are other things he could be doing that would be more valuable right now, and the WWE Title is a hindrance to that. I feel it's not beneficial to Cena himself for him to be holding the title.

The Fans: Some of the best work Ive seen from Cena is when he openly acknowledged that some of the fans truly despise him. It was a nice touch and added some realism to his character. But the reason many a fan hates the character is becauses of matches like he had with Miz at Over the Limit. The character that defies the most ludicrous of odds is just tiresome to most fans, even a huge Cena mark like myself at times. It's a predictable stry with a predictable ending that's largely groan enducing. I don't expect Cena to lose clean, nor should he. But there seems to be a large divide between him and the rest of the Superstars, and its difficult to picture what anyone could do that would actually bridge that gap. For me, as a huge Cena fan, that's not a good thing, because I want entertaining, relevant feuds that are believable, and theyre simply not there right now. So as a fan I find it not beneficial for Cena to be holding the title.

Im sure that there's more criteria that can be explored, but the basic idea is there. What's relevant is taking whatever criteria you choose and determining based upon that if its beneficial for John Cena to be holding the WWE Championship. I feel there are too maany holes in the roster, and Cena is almost a placeholder right now, rather then a relevant champion for the first time in his career. He does wonders for the title, but him holding it isn't doing him any favors right now, as it's the same character we've seen him play over and again, only the divide is greater now between him and the rest of the Superstars. As a result, noone is being elevated right now as a result of feuding with Cena for the title. The perfect example is R-Truth's character, which is getting over as a heel, but not as a threat to Cena's title. In a way, it feels like a disservice to me as a huge mark for the guy, and overall, I feel it's not beneficial for him to be holding the title right now. But what say you?

 

[Hazardous]

You're right in who it works for, and the works for vastly outweighs the against.

Yet, I voted no. Before I get killed in my sleep for it though, I want to say WHY I went no. The reason is the latest report on his injuries. If Cena is as banged up as they say, keeping him in the mainevent match of every PPV is not going to help any. When Cena wins a title, he usually holds it for the better part of the year correct? Well if he's Main Eventing every PPV for the rest of the year, when does the rest, and healing come into play to make sure he is 100% for his match with The Rock next year? The last match of a PPV is always the longest, and supposed to be the best match of the night, but that takes a toll on your body. What they need to do, is use this summer to build up some people in the WWE title picture. Put the strap on someone for now, and if they REALLY want Cena/Rock to be for the WWE title, then give it to him at a later point in the year. Let Cena heal up though. If he needs to take a few weeks off, or go under the knife, then now is the time to do it! Cena=ratings.. An injured Cena is no good for anyone.

 

[Zuper-Man]

How can it not be? John Cena is the top guy in WWE, and the top guy should be the champion. 10 times is a bit much, so I don't necessarily agree with the number of reigns. But, should John Cena be holding the strap? Absolutely. A lot of people will argue that he doesn't need it, he's already over, etc. The truth is, if someone needs the title to be over with the crowd, they aren't built for that particular level. When Bruno was the top guy, he had the belt. When Hogan was the top guy, he had the belt. Same with Austin, Rock, Triple H (top heel). John Cena is marketed as the face of the WWE, and it only makes sense that he is the WWE champion. Sure, there can be a few transitional reigns here and there, but the WWE championship should always find it's way back to the top guy.

 

[PhD]

I said yes because I don't really see any other realistic options on Raw at the moment. The Miz had his turn, and he's now doing a great job putting over A-Ry. All the other potential main-eventers (e.g. Truth, ADR, Swagger) are in need of a charismatic foil. Punk's contract situation precludes him being champ, although I think hands down that is the best potential main event feud on Raw. So, who else is there? Cena takes it by default.

In the last 5 years, there have been only 8 different men to hold the WWE championship. 4 are either gone or retired (Hardy, Triple H, Batista, Edge), 2 are on Smackdown (Sheamus, Orton), leaving Miz and Cena. Since Miz is the outgoing champ, and a first-time title holder, Cena gets the strap basically by default. Who was Miz going to put over as the champ, Morrison? Until Morrison does something other than cut lame jokes in his nasally monotone, Cena is the only credible face champ on the roster.

 

[Aotearoa (Bushwacker)]

Interesting 7 people voted and only 3 commented.

I think Cena as champ is a good thing. You need to build up a star huge to make them losing actually mean something. If Cena is billed as completely unstoppable then the person who does actually stop him, CLEAN, must be truly amazing. That is that truly wow moment. To stop the unstoppable. If Cena wins/loses 50/50 then who cares if you get a win over him. I reckon they should continue to build him up huge as completely unstoppable for a while. They did this with his run early on and I thought it was great. It mixed up the PPV scene a bit and gave lower a shot at the Title, guys like Umaga and you either wanted Cena to win and loved him or hated Cena and wanted whoever it was facing him to win. Either way you were into the match. And the longer he held the belt you thought maybe this will be the guy that will dethrone Cena. It puts other guys in the picture to, and even though they probably wont win they get their shot and you think well maybe they could.
I think what they are doing is great and should continue. Not to a Goldberg type legacy cause that would get stale real quick but what they are doing for now is working and should continue.

 

[owen8472]

I am sorry to say he will win for the 11th time before mania:
reason wwe want you to hope if rock wins he back for good:
Cena will not hold the title all the way to mania he has injuries he needs to heal:

I can see him losing to R-truth then have morison come back take the titlte from rtruth at money in the bank: giving cena a break having him in a tag match with morison at summer slam:

then turn heel witch is what they want for the rock to be the face in the match at mania taking the title near the end of the year from morison: then fued with al berto del rio till elimanation chamber then rock come hard into mania maybe some tag matchs with morisson both in hollywood atm make sence. the rock goes in the hall of fame with macho man everyone in a love fest with rock then he turns heel at mania so cena will be face and win the match sending the rock on his way back to holywood

 

[Crypt Keeper]

i think it's a good idea for both top superstars holding the titles currently. because the rest of the roster is young up and coming talent and whoever beats them will get some cred.

 

[classicviolence]

No.

Neither Orton nor Cena should be champion. WWE needs to continue to experiment with creating new ME stars. Sheamus and the Miz kinda worked out for WWE recently, so they need to create more stars. We all know WWE dropped the ball earlier this year with both Dolph Ziggler and his "title run" as well as JoMo.

JoMo is ready, hell he has been ready since TLC. John Morrison could be WWE's new top face for years of they let him be himself on the mic (see ECW title run) and just let him do his gymnastics thing in ring.

ADR is ready, and could be a great heel champion. Christian is the hardest working in ring wrestler in WWE currently and he should be the current WHC. (I hope he wins @ the PPV. I'll be there live for that one!!)

R Truth as WWE Champion would actually be good for WWE in the short term. It would bring attention from even the most cynical fan, and not to mention he has the tools to get the audience behind him.

Last but not least is Zack Ryder (Bear with me). Zack has the moveset, the mic skills and the gimmick to be a polarizing WWE Champion, but WWE will not pull the trigger on him either. I always said during the Miz reign, if Miz and Ryder switched positions Ryder's WWE title run would be 10x more entertaining.

On topic, No. Anybody but Cena.

 

[cm ben]

You know, I feel like it can't hurt to have the title on Cena for a few reasons. First of all, it's guaranteed to make half the audience ape-shit happy--the kids love seeing their guy up top. It also kind of adds to the realism of the show--Cena is pretty much unstoppable, so it stands to reason that he should have the biggest title more often than others.

I have a theory about this specific title run, too. Barring the possibilities that a) he might lose it due to injury, and b) that this was not just poor planning on the WWE's part, I feel like the overabundance of heels on RAW might have been a purposeful decision. Cena won the title right after Wrestlemania, and now he's going to spend almost a whole year going through a gauntlet of heels. The promo vids for next year's Wrestlemania will make him look huge going up against the Rock--he outlasted Miz and Riley, insane R-Truth, ADR, CM Punk and Mason Ryan, etc. etc. Sort of like a video game, and the Rock's the last boss for him.

So this title run could be a sort of storyline in and of itself, depending on how it plays out. I'm all for it if they do it right.

 

[owen8472]

You know, I feel like it can't hurt to have the title on Cena for a few reasons. First of all, it's guaranteed to make half the audience ape-shit happy--the kids love seeing their guy up top. It also kind of adds to the realism of the show--Cena is pretty much unstoppable, so it stands to reason that he should have the biggest title more often than others.

I have a theory about this specific title run, too. Barring the possibilities that a) he might lose it due to injury, and b) that this was not just poor planning on the WWE's part, I feel like the overabundance of heels on RAW might have been a purposeful decision. Cena won the title right after Wrestlemania, and now he's going to spend almost a whole year going through a gauntlet of heels. The promo vids for next year's Wrestlemania will make him look huge going up against the Rock--he outlasted Miz and Riley, insane R-Truth, ADR, CM Punk and Mason Ryan, etc. etc. Sort of like a video game, and the Rock's the last boss for him.

So this title run could be a sort of storyline in and of itself, depending on how it plays out. I'm all for it if they do it right.

cena has a game shirt but he not going to run a year as champ

the wwe is really high on R-Truth right now with his little jimmy gimick

with del rio out of the title picture for atlest till summer slam the next 2 PPV are make it or break it for the WWE : so cena and orton will lose there titles to pump up summer slam and surviver series: sorry all

 

[Ralf E. Chubbs]

I actually agree w/ the guy who said Truth will win it this month and then subsequently give it to JoMo when he returns... they had started a pretty good rivalry after all.

It will just be so... weird to see Truth as WWE Champion.

 

[willywonka8822]

I think its a good idea.
Cena is seen as the best in WWE so it seems that having Miz drop the title to him is smart as to not make Miz look weak.
Cena always works in WWE for marketing. In retrospect he puts the asses in the seats.

 

[whoopin' ass]

problem with using one guy to get others over is you always end up coming back to that guy. RAW has been that way for years now - want to make someone a big deal, have them beat Cena. Sounds good in theory but only if they then use that person to get someone else over. Look at Miz - won the title, beat Cena, was a big deal. eventually lost the title to Cena and is now feuding with Riley. Now, that is not a bad thing - they are using Miz to help get some new talent over- but wouldn't it be better if Miz was still the champ? think back to when Mick Foley won his first wwf championship - who did he beat? what about Triple H? neither of them beat Austin for it even though he was the man at that time. instead they beat people who had beaten Austin in the past. Austin made Rock, Rock in turn lost the title to Mankind. You didn't need Mankind to beat Austin to make his first title count. Could be the same here. R-Truth could beat Cena, Morrrison could come back and beat R-Truth. you don`t need Cena in the mix. the other problem is that the way they are booking it, you will never see another babyface champ as long as Cena is face- they don`t like to book face against face(look at Christian and Orton).

 

[TM Punk]

Let me start this off first by saying that I'm not a huge cena fan. I respect the hell out of the guy for his work ethic, but he is by no means a favorite of mine.
.
Now that that's out of the way, I think this title reign will be a very important one. I think people just need to be patient with it. Its been almost a year since he's held it, its time. Who is this title reign going to benefit? Its already benefitin r truth, he's going to get a huge rub from cena at cp, and I firmly believe that john morrison is the only thing holding truth back from main eventing summerslam.

Which brings me to john morrison. Where do I start? Everyone on here seems to think he's already the champion... most of you anyways. He's crazy athletic, he can backflip while holding a ladder, and he has great balance, great. What has he done since he and miz broke up? Won the ic belt? Great match with rey, ill give you that. He called dolph ziggler (overrated) ziggles. Yay. He has yet to be in a main event feud. Sorry, one match vs miz isn't enough. If they let him and john cena have a few matches, maybe survivor series, that'll get him there, that's what he needs.

Rey mysterio is not a main event player. Sorry. He's not. What has he ever done on raw? If you come to raw and do nothing you are not a main eventer. Let's see it. It would be an ok match.

Cm punk... need I say more. Summerslam?

They are seriously lacking in main event talent right now. Put anyone with cena as champ and it elevates them. Put people with miz as champ... ... ... not quite. I like miz, but he's not at that level yet.
This title reign could be great with some patience. The possibilities are endless. Can you imagine the suspence in the months leading up to mania? Is he gonna lose it and win it back? Will he just barely hang on at elimination chamber? Will he survive hell and then beat the man who tries to cash in mitb for the first time? Will chris jericho come back and beat him for the title just in time to face the undertaker at mania 28? The possibilities are endless. I personally have wanted a long title reign like this. And I can't wait to see the climax. Just be patient.

 

[Azane]

As much as the IWC wants to crap all over Cena, holding the title for a year makes it something worthwhile. This generation is suffering prestige on their props. The world title means less nowadays than the IC title meant 2 decades ago. Cena holding the title til WM and working a light schedule, only PPV wise means that the titles going to mean a lot through WM. There's more potential than I've ever seen in WWE's locker room, but giving everyone a title means a bunch of average stars. Giving someone a huge win over a Year long Cena reign? That could make the next face of the company.

Or we could just give R-Truth a title, and bury it more than ECW's title got buried.

 

[WWWYKI777]

I think considering that hes allegedly working through injuries and that he has to hold the title untill WM28 is INSANE hes gonna end up really really screwed up if they don't let him drop it and heal

What would the point of him holding the title for a year straight before his match even be?

 

[radec]

Cena holded the tittle to much! Ok hes the main player and his god to kids and that makes sense but in ocassions they just gave the tittle to him for hells sakes.

examples:
Vs orton he traded tittles each PPV's like 2 times for no reason, that was a waste of time right there and a waste of reigns.

Vs chris jericho, jericho was in the reign of his live. Comming out of an epic fued vs HBK victorious beating hi in his own match a ladder match. Cena comes in and in a month jericho loses the tittle just becuase hes cena. There was no purpose in dropping the tittle to cena especially in their first month.

Cena has gotten so much reigns overrall for no reason that its sick. I hate that cena is champion and i want him to lose but i also want him to retain so the tittle dosent get shitted on so its mix emotions xD if jericho comes back and beats him then its ok

 

[TM Punk]

Funny, hulk hogan held the title for 4 years and that is considered the "golden age". Cena has had it for 3 months and people are calling for his head. As great as the attituse era was, it kind of ruined wrestling in some ways.

The point of having the title until mania is... wait for it...what is he building here... I'm not sure what the word is...alas...it...is... SUSPENCE!!! They are building up to the rock through cena's quest to keep the title till wrestlemania. Will there be bumps in the road? Maybe. Will it be worth it in the end? YES! This will be an epic reign, filled with close calls and epic matches. The people who will benefit is EVERYONE!!! Why can't anyone else see the beauty in this?

 

[LSN80]

So many of you are missing the point of the thread. This isn't a "crap on John Cena" thread, or whose going to take the title from him, or who his future challengers will be. The thread is about Cena, and who benefits from him holding the title. It's a simple concept, really. Does the title benefit? Does Cena? Do his fellow wrestlers? do the fans? And etc.... This isn't about who he took the title from during their reign or who he traded titles with and B.S. like that. It's simply to examine Cena right now, and whether or not it's a beneficial situation for him to hold the title, and use criteria, whether it be yours or mine, and make a determination bsed on that. Tis all.

 

[The Holy One]

You pointed out Randy Orton, Edge, and Sheamus who benefitted from Cena winning the title. What's stopping the next person who beats him from accomplishing the same thing? I do believe the person who ends Cena's reign will be the one who benefits from Cena holding the title. I mean it's JOHN CENA, the face of the WWE, just having a competitve match with him is a big rub. Whether it's Truth, Punk, Del Rio, Morrison, etc. They'll be an instant lock at the top of the card from beating Cena for the title.

 

[LSN80]

You pointed out Randy Orton, Edge, and Sheamus who benefitted from Cena winning the title. What's stopping the next person who beats him from accomplishing the same thing? I do believe the person who ends Cena's reign will be the one who benefits from Cena holding the title. I mean it's JOHN CENA, the face of the WWE, just having a competitve match with him is a big rub. Whether it's Truth, Punk, Del Rio, Morrison, etc. They'll be an instant lock at the top of the card from beating Cena for the title.

I did. All three men benfitted immensely from winning the title from Cena. As I said, the numbers don't lie when it comes to titles won between the three men before and after Cena.

The part I asked about his fellow wrestlers, and with every other point I made, was who benefits right now. And right now, the gap between Cena and every other superstar on the Raw roster is so large that there is no perceived threat to the title. Maybe there will be in a month, two months, or even 3. It looks like theyre building a decent story that Truth can get inside Cena's head by toying with his fans, and that distraction could cost him the match, but I still don't buy Truth, or anyone else, as a threat to the title right now. I don't see how that's beneficial right now to Cena, anyone on the Raw roster, or the product in general.

 

[The Holy One]

The part I asked about his fellow wrestlers, and with every other point I made, was who benefits right now. And right now, the gap between Cena and every other superstar on the Raw roster is so large that there is no perceived threat to the title. Maybe there will be in a month, two months, or even 3. It looks like theyre building a decent story that Truth can get inside Cena's head by toying with his fans, and that distraction could cost him the match, but I still don't buy Truth, or anyone else, as a threat to the title right now. I don't see how that's beneficial right now to Cena, anyone on the Raw roster, or the product in general.

Well as proven with Sheamus, it doesn't have to take a while for someone to be a threat to Cena holding the title. In R-Truth's case however, as great as his heel character has been, at the end of the day he's R-Truth. The crowd can't take somebody who's been a dancing fool for most of his career as a threat to John Cena. I don't see anybody else who suffers from that stigma though. CM Punk who holds victories over Cena could easily be a threat to Cena after Capitol Punishment. Also, why aren't the fans benefitting from this? Kids finally get to see their hero as the WWE Champion again after 10 months of hell he was put through by the Nexus. Some might not like it but I think most are good with Cena being the champion right now. Cena might be the only one who I think isn't benefitting from this right now.