Should Cena remain feudless besides big events as Champ???

[That N Word]

There is a reason I say this so hear me out. John Cena has started this open challenge thing and we all know he will win due to upcoming matches on PPV.

So i'm thinking, why not have him as kind of like a TV champ. He makes his open challenges on TV and PPV.

This could make people buy, that the challenging superstars have a legit chance of winning. I would only have Cena have a PPV feud for Summerslam,NOC,HIAC SS.

Do you agree with my plan, and if not how would you handle it???

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I like the idea of using the US title as a TV title of sorts. It's something I suggest every time a WWE TV title thread is brought up.

I didn't start watching WCW until after the TV title was retired, did the guys not have feuds? I see the predicatbility, was Barrett really going to win the title when Rusev is already the number one contender? WWE booking should provide us with a feeling of unpredictability. I'm not certain how, but the way promos are delivered coupled with guys making it clear it's the title they're after. Cena's feuds tend to give the sense that the title is second to the feud. Rusev, or any other number one contender, should make sure it's the championship they're after and not the champion.

You're intentions are in the right place, WWE needs to add some unpredictability so no one smells Cena retains from a mile away. I'm not sure removing feuds is the answer. WWE won't keep Cena out of a feud. We've got some decent wrestling matches since Cena launched the US open angle, so I'd like to see it continue. The product in general suffers from a lack of unpredictability which is bolstered by constant internet leaks of results, angles, and outcomes.

 

[goalieman31]

The way the tv title always worked was on most ahows they were defended and occasionally one of the contenders would come really close to a win our get screwed and a feud would start out of the weekly defenses giving it more of an organic build. I think this could really work in Cenas case as champ.

 

[Mustang Sally]

They've taken him off the main event scene and given him something useful to do; a good vehicle to keep him appearing heroic while being kept away from world title contention until.....well, until they accomplish whatever it is they started this for, perhaps to idle in place until people are less "sick" of him; it's hard to say.

But for those good folks who might think he's been permanently demoted, prepare to be disappointed. He's still here and when something big is about to happen, he'll be involved. He won't be "feudless" for long. A company doesn't take their biggest attraction and give him nothing to do, but this whole US Title business is a good way to take the accent off him for awhile while keeping him relevant.

 

[Eyebrows]

There should be more feuds for the mid-card belts, not less. Meaningful feuds and meaningful stories.

That's part of what makes the title prestigious. You take the story element out of wrestling and what's left?

For years a major problem has been that there was no real writing for the Intercontinental and US titles. Now that they're on two legitimate main eventers there should be real effort put in to making the feuds around those belts genuinely compelling.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

They've taken him off the main event scene and given him something useful to do; a good vehicle to keep him appearing heroic while being kept away from world title contention until.....well, until they accomplish whatever it is they started this for, perhaps to idle in place until people are less "sick" of him; it's hard to say.

I could certainly see it as a bit of both really. Ultimately, if the goal of having Cena as United States Champion is to elevate the standing of the title, Cena's the best bet to pull that off. Over the past 10 years after all, nobody has gotten the sort of consistently strong build and hype that Cena has; he's been protected to such an extraordinary degree that his seeming invincibility became more of a hindrance to him as a character and a detriment to other wrestlers on the roster. That brings me to the notion that this move also seems designed to give Cena something meaningful to do while getting him good & far from the main event scene. Due partially to the almost obsessive level of protection Cena's been given by Vince over the years, a lot of people are flat out burned out on Cena in the main event picture; even a lot of people who're genuine Cena fans are bored with him as champion.

But for those good folks who might think he's been permanently demoted, prepare to be disappointed. He's still here and when something big is about to happen, he'll be involved. He won't be "feudless" for long. A company doesn't take their biggest attraction and give him nothing to do, but this whole US Title business is a good way to take the accent off him for awhile while keeping him relevant.

Yeah, Cena will be back in the main event picture at some point. At some point in the future, I see John Cena winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at least once more to tie Ric Flair's record of 16 officially recognized World Championship runs. If he wanted to back in the main event by the end of next week, I don't think Cena would have any problems pulling it off. As crazy as it might sound, maybe Cena himself has gotten bored with being in the main event picture? I know that sounds a bit off considering that everyone would like to be a main eventer, but Cena's already been a main eventer; he's been THE main eventer for a decade now and the result is that he's reached a level in his career where he doesn't really even need the main event scene to still be THE main eventer in WWE.

For right now, I think the US Open Challenge is working just fine as we've seen Cena in some highly entertaining matches, for the most part, and he's succeeding in elevating the title; he constantly puts over the title and the angle gives him a meaningful reason to be on Raw each week. I don't think most of us think that there's much of a chance of him losing to his challengers but I think it's enough for fans that Cena's out of the main event picture and is performing in some quality matches. I think the US Open Challenge thing will go away before too long, the novelty of Cena defending the strap every single Monday against a seemingly random opponent will probably lose its allure in another month or so. Even a television championship defense each week would start to get old after a while, so I think it'll end soon and we'll see Cena embark on a more traditional feud over the title shortly after his program with Rusev is finished.

 

[chuckmdubya]

I have liked the open challenge from day one. I think it does a lot for the program and has a lot of potential to do even more. Having Cena start it off was perfect. He has taken heat over the past few years for not putting guys over, but over the past year he has done that gracefully.

The open challenge match so far has always been a high quality match. The guy who loses isn't getting buried, its a hard fought entertaining match that both competitors come out of looking tough. This is a good strategy to help get new superstars over and provide a temporary boost for guys in a slump.

Recently, the only thing consistent in WWE is disappointment. This challenge give us a consistent one great match per show. I would love to see it continued past Cena's reign, and for it to be sort of a badge of honor title, given to the hardest worker, and he gets a guaranteed 10-20 minutes of air time each week that will help him grow his own brand. It must at all times be a solid all around performer, someone who can be entertaining during the pre- fight promo, put on a good match, and be proud to hold the position.
I see a ton of potential, and a way to add another dimension to the show. This act would not be permanent, eventually it would run its course and not be entertaining anymore, but it would be a good run.

 

[MartialHorror]

My problem with this is that the 'open challenge' storyline seems to have usurped the Rusev feud. We know Cena will win and that's okay, because the whole point is to allow guys like Stardust and Barrett some screen-time. But where is Rusev throughout all of this? I think he encountered Cena twice during the entire build to Extreme Rules.

 

[rmp0012002]

Not defending a belt regularly doesn't elevate that title as Cena hasn't elevated the U.S. belt one bit. Defending the belt and having good matches and feuds is what gives a belt status along with making it hard to win and not having it constantly change hands.

 

[Headman]

The feud with Rusev does take away from the open challenge in the since that we fully expect Cena to win. I would agree that his ppv matches should also be part of his open challenge at least for the time being. Before they announced the match at Extreme Rules they were kinda teasing that Rusev would accept the challenge and I think they should have went with that for a while. That way there would be the novelty of the open challenge but there'd also be the on going story with Rusev that would be tied to it. In this case both stories just seem to exist in space with nothing really connecting the two.

 

[Headman]

Not defending a belt regularly doesn't elevate that title as Cena hasn't elevated the U.S. belt one bit. Defending the belt and having good matches and feuds is what gives a belt status along with making it hard to win and not having it constantly change hands.

And Cena does all those things. Defending the title? Check. Hard to win? check. Good matches? Check. So going by your own criteria Cena is elevating the belt.

 

[Quinn30Colo]

There should be more feuds for the mid-card belts, not less. Meaningful feuds and meaningful stories.

That's part of what makes the title prestigious. You take the story element out of wrestling and what's left?

For years a major problem has been that there was no real writing for the Intercontinental and US titles. Now that they're on two legitimate main eventers there should be real effort put in to making the feuds around those belts genuinely compelling.

While I agree with your point, I have a different outlook when it comes to Cena's challenge. This challenge gives everyone in the locker room a chance to take on the face of the company. Yes, with all the merch he sells Cena is still the "face."

Cena probably has 3-5 solid years left before the torch has to be passed. Orton is in that category too. This challenge gives some of the young talent a shot to show what they have. (Facing Kane was a waste though) The match with Barrett was awesome. I know they feuded years back but in a way it was fresh. This challenge could be a great way to debut an NXT guy as well. So many possibilities if they want to give a guy some time on tv to see how the crowd reacts to him

 

[kadroan]

There is a reason I say this so hear me out. John Cena has started this open challenge thing and we all know he will win due to upcoming matches on PPV.

So i'm thinking, why not have him as kind of like a TV champ. He makes his open challenges on TV and PPV.

This could make people buy, that the challenging superstars have a legit chance of winning. I would only have Cena have a PPV feud for Summerslam,NOC,HIAC SS.

Do you agree with my plan, and if not how would you handle it???

I think it's fine. It's different compared to the recent US champs where you have a random non-title match where the challenger beats the champ or the challenger wins a battle royal and faces the champ at the PPV.

 

[Navi]

I'm a bit confused by the whole thing to tell you the truth. I understand why he was given the belt, in order to elevate it. What I don't agree with was the fact that he was the first to beat Rusev, it should have been Reigns.

I understand the open challenge he's putting out there each week, but because of that, how is he supposed to have a feud with anyone? Unless he's got something on the back burner and will wrestle twice, or the open challenge will become every two weeks, you can't really have both happening. It's sort of taken away from the Rusev feud a bit. I don't see Rusev winning at Extreme Rules, so I have no idea where that will put him.

Guess we can go along with this open challenge thing for awhile until the WWE decides who's going to be the next champ. Then we might see a feud start up, but yea still a little confused. Now that he has a shirt and all, I see him holding the title for awhile.