WWE 2012 Royal Rumble - John Cena vs. Kane

[D-Man]

In a real-life battle of good versus evil, John Cena will face one of the gravest challenges of his career Jan. 29 when he squares off against Kane at the 25th anniversary of WWE’s Royal Rumble event. Devoid of championship implications, yet worlds removed from being a matter of simple bragging rights, this main-event-caliber showdown had been constructed around a single, base emotion: hate.

Now that Kane’s plan to “spread the hate” has ensnared Cena’s good friend Zack Ryder, however, another emotion has potentially been added to the mix for the Cenation leader: guilt. With Kane having attacked and seriously injured the United States Champion, Cena heads into the Royal Rumble event painfully aware that his rivalry with Kane has already brought harm upon one close ally.

Long before Ryder became entangled, though, this was a matter all about hate. On one side of the equation is the righteous Cena, who proudly advocates a “Rise Above” mentality whenever the topic is broached. On the other side is hate incarnate, the restrengthened Big Red Machine, who has been a destructive force without peer since resurfacing – with mask – last December.

Although these two Superstars have faced off before, their upcoming bout at the Royal Rumble is made unique by this compelling piece of subtext, which, it must be noted, came about because of the WWE Universe’s mixed response to Cena.

For years, Cena has served as WWE’s ever-so-marketable face. As such, there have been precious few moments in time when his back hasn’t had a bull’s-eye on it. Fragmented by dueling chants of “Let’s Go Cena” and “Cena Sucks,” the WWE Universe has grown accustomed to seeing the polarizing Superstar turn back one opponent after another.

The Devil’s Favorite Demon, though, appears to have shaken Cena to the core with his message of hate. Originally intent on convincing Cena to “embrace the hate,” Kane insisted for weeks that the Cenation leader tap into a thread of DNA that may not even exist.

His endeavor has proven fruitless, as the diplomatic Cena continues to hold firm in his belief that the WWE Universe should be free to cheer or boo whichever Superstars they see fit – even him.

Cena’s principled ways, however, have come at a high cost - in this case, repeated attacks by Kane that have spilled over to include Ryder. Seemingly conceding that Cena is unlikely to stray from his beliefs, The Big Red Machine now says he’s out to ensure that Cena suffers the consequences of rejecting hate.

Though Cena barely thwarted Kane’s devious plan to drag Ryder into hell on the Jan. 2 Raw SuperShow, luck was not on his side, or Ryder’s, a week later when Kane used Ryder as bait to lure Cena into a trap.

​

It was announced tonight on Raw that John Cena and Kane are going to have a match at the Royal Rumble PPV. So, that takes both of them out of the Rumble which "conveniently" takes him out of the WWE title picture at Wrestlemania and "ironically" gives him another reason to face the Rock.

I see nothing special about the match. Unless a stipulation is thrown in, no one will even know it exists. Sorry but I feel Kane's return has been lackluster, at best, and I'm more interested to see if Cena's character is going to evolve any more. I know they're trying to tie that into the storyline but there's a problem: no one cares about what Kane says. Lets just get past this so we can slowly see Cena continue to creep toward the dark side.

Discuss the match in here.

 

[Suxen Redael]

I care with what Kane says.

If I didn't care, I wouldn't listen

If I didn't listen, Swagger's beatdown tonight would not have made sense.The entire time, I witnessed Cena embracing the hate. He looked menacing, showed heel-like tactics, and I expected him to destroy Swagger even more, why, cause we HATE Swagger. I expect Cena to win at RR, but not before embracing his hate for Kane, which will show a new side (or old I should say) of Cena. This match should be a No Holds Barred match. Just to give John more ways to "embrace the hate".

 

[a7xfan93]

I care with what Kane says.

If I didn't care, I wouldn't listen

If I didn't listen, Swagger's beatdown tonight would not have made sense.The entire time, I witnessed Cena embracing the hate. He looked menacing, showed heel-like tactics, and I expected him to destroy Swagger even more, why, cause we HATE Swagger. I expect Cena to win at RR, but not before embracing his hate for Kane, which will show a new side (or old I should say) of Cena. This match should be a No Holds Barred match. Just to give John more ways to "embrace the hate".

He showed heel-like tactics? please tell me what heel-ish thing he did? was it beat down an already heel? was it stand up for Ryder?

AS FOR THE DISCUSSION, I don't expect much from this match. At most I expect either a double count out, or another DQ (like they've been doing at the House Shows).

 

[LilShippy97_WWE]

It was announced tonight on Raw that John Cena and Kane are going to have a match at the Royal Rumble PPV. So, that takes both of them out of the Rumble which "conveniently" takes him out of the WWE title picture at Wrestlemania and "ironically" gives him another reason to face the Rock.

I see nothing special about the match. Unless a stipulation is thrown in, no one will even know it exists. Sorry but I feel Kane's return has been lackluster, at best, and I'm more interested to see if Cena's character is going to evolve any more. I know they're trying to tie that into the storyline but there's a problem: no one cares about what Kane says. Lets just get past this so we can slowly see Cena continue to creep toward the dark side.

Discuss the match in here.

uhh... They are both still able for the rumble match. They talked about it all night. Everyone that fights at rumble is still eligible in the Rumble match.


As for the angle.. i deffinently disagree with you. I love this angle and it's the number one angle on Raw... ( although after tonight with the Johnny Ace/Punk angle is close )

 

[Khalifa]

You're right D-man. Kanes return has just been disgraceful. They are trying to make him like what he use to be but are doing a stupid effort at that. The storyline between Cena and Kane isn't even all that good if you ask me. It is also disappointing that they have taken Kane out of the Rumble, hopefully he can still go in there because the Royal Rumble is definately more exciting with Kane in the Rumble.

It would be logical for Kane to win here. They are trying to make him a force again (well a force with a mask on) and there is no reason for Cena to win here. Cena doesn't need any momentum leading into Mania to face the rock but Kane needs this win to keep his gimmick stronger than ever. If Cena wins here, we riot .

 

[The Ram]

Well first off what I dont like about this fued is how it feels like it's coming out a comic book. Like kane is the super villian trying to turn cena (the super hero) to the dark side. But at the same time I do kind of like how kane has like triggered things to make cena snap, like injuring ryder in the first place, which caused him to lose his title, which caused him to get hurt, which caused cena to turn into the hulk. But as for the match... eh I'm expecting it to be an ok match not a show stealer especially since the rumble is almost always the show stealer due to the shocking returns and the shocking winners. But this feud should be over soon unless they decide to hav kane kind of tie in with the rock and cena's fued

 

[JDtheDrunk]

We all know how this will end. Cena will conquer Kane at the Rumble and prevail over his inner demons, and all the kiddies around the world will squeal with glee.

 

[thebarber]

Im expecting Hane and Cena's feud to end at the Rumble. Kane will hopefully get beat, thus having him enter the Royal Rumble and going ape shit. Im hoping they commence an immediate program with Kevin Nash, have them eliminate each other and fight all the way back to the dressing rooms. Let these guys occupy each other for a match at Wrestlemania. Nash could even have some of his buddies help him in the fued. Cena on the other hand, well he gets the victory and he can be in the Rumble too, but hes not going to win it and have Jericho or somebody who needs elevating eliminate Cena from the Rumble

 

[Notorious718]

Does this match really take both of these guys out of the Royal Rumble match? Unless it's been announced otherwise, I'm sure they can both still compete in it. As far as this match goes, I think this could be decent. I haven't seen many Cena matches I haven't enjoyed so I don't really expect this to be horrible but I don't expect it to be spectacular either. It will serve it's purpose which will to presumably further evolve Cena's character as we continue to ponder the potential Cena heel turn. Obviously, Kane has more to gain from a win here especially since he just return... he'll need the momentum much more than Cena does. I think it depends on how long WWE plans to run this feud. If Cena and Kane do indeed compete in the Royal Rumble match, I can see the loser of the one on one encounter gaining a measure of revenge by eliminating the winner in order to further the feud. Maybe have it run through Elimination Chamber.

 

[XXJJ]

I dont think their is any doubt Cena wins this match.

Kane can still enter the rumble. But I hope they dont put Cena in the rumble. Entering the Royal Rumble is suppose to be about getting a title shot at WM. Putting Cena in it would just make it a joke. Everyone knows what he is doing at WM.

 

[Pedigree1]

Sorry D-Man i have to disagree i think Kanes return has been good really good!! Hes the monster we all love just give him time a slimmed down monster i saw him at a house show this past weekend he looked good!! As far as the match goes Cenas slow turn to the dark side i shall say you can see it more and more each week!! Beating down swagger the way he did he never does that!! He was going to smash swaggers head with the steel steps but kanes music stopped him from doing so!! Embrace the hate Cena!!

 

[Nico]

Hmm, it sounds good. However, if it isn't a No Holds Barred match I will be very disappointed, because I'm pretty sure it will end in a DQ for Kane, maybe he chokes John Cena like he always does or something like that, so let's hope it's a NHB match.

 

[Ellye]

I'm wanting to see Cena let it all out on Kane.
Let Cena hit Kane with chairs, stairs, tables, chains, lead pipes, sledgehammers, titantrons, whatever.

In the end, Kane is show laughing. He has triumphed. Cena embraced hate.

 

[The Crock]

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with this match. The whole Kane/John Cena thing has been dragging on, but I liked what happened on RAW -- John Cena wailing away on Jack Swagger, with Kane approving of Cena "embracing the hate." Yeah, the storyline is a bit dumb, Cena has been angry/aggressive plenty of times before, but it's a solid hold-over feud until John Cena can begin building towards his match with The Rock at WrestleMania 28 again. I agree that this latest Kane return has been underwhelming. I've never been a fan of him returning to the mask and it really hasn't done anything for him, thus far. It added some shock value during his initial return, but it seems like they didn't really know what to do with Kane so they just threw that together. I have not been a fan of this.

For the match itself, I'm looking for John Cena to win here. The WWE will, in all likelihood, want Cena to look as strong as ever heading into his match against The Rock -- so, I see no reason why Kane would go over. I'm sure Cena will pull out some weapons and whatnot, as that's been the focus of the storyline, but I see this being filler more than anything. The Royal Rumble is all about the Rumble itself, so this isn't going to be anything special.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

This is just a filler plain and simple. We have seen plenty of Cena/Kane matches before and none of them where anything special so I doubt this one will be just decent. That is pretty disappointing considering both of these guys are good in the ring, it's just that they don't seem to have any chemistry together.

I predict Cena to win, this feud will end in the Elimination Chamber match with the elimination of Kane be Cena or whoever Kane's Wrestlemania opponent will be. This entire feud has acted as the bases for a Cena character switch-up (notice how I didn't say heel turn) before the build-up for Cena/Rock continues some time soon. While we all know what Cena is going to spend the next 2 months doing, I believe Kane's agenda is still a mysterious. Either way, this will be decent but I hope to be pleasantly surprised and I suspect Cena wins, Kane attacks him, the feud ends in the Chamber match next month, then it is time for the great one to return.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I recall reading something a few weeks back stating that some wrestlers would be pulling double duty competing in singles matches and in the Rumble match itself. I haven't really heard WWE address this one way or another, but I'd say that it's probable as I just don't see Cena being left out of the Rumble match.

I've enjoyed the Cena vs. Kane program thus far. It's different from what we've come to expect from Kane and that's not a bad thing. We've seen Kane as your typical, near unstoppable monster heel, we've seen him as a hate filled monster that just lashes out so seeing him as this hateful guy lashing out at a beloved babyface for being who he is via physical assaults and taunting words that carry a heavy ring of truth works for me. Kane speaks well on the mic, I think a lot of people are forgetting some of the solid gold promos he cut back in the summer of 2010 especially, and it's interesting to see ultimately where Cena will wind up.

This should be a good, solid physical match. I think it'd work best if there was some sort of no DQ stipulation in place because it's obvious that the direction the feud has gone has taken it into a very personal place for Cena's character. I'll be a little surprised if Cena walks out the loser but, depending upon what they ultimately have planned, I think a loss here would be beneficial in the long run. If the idea is to turn Cena heel or to at least give him a much darker overall image, then his inability to beat Kane could be used as part of the "weakness" in Cena that Kane has mentioned and that "embracing hate" might be the only way for him to get his edge back.

 

[DJ Kyo]

Kane will win this match almost guaranteed, and here's why: Undertaker

At this point, I'm fairly certain we are going to see Undertaker vs. Kane III at Mania. For the simple reason that the "dark" Kane it back and more powerful than ever. Remember when Taker and Kane fought at WM20, it was the unmasked/weaker Kane, so the darker Kane never got a chance for revenge. That's the only story that makes any sense for keeping taker away for this long.

Kane will win and Taker will come out the night after to "return Kane to hell" where he belongs. It will be a great ending for Taker's career at Mania as well. 20-0 and Kane does something to send Taker to hell after the 1-2-3.

Cena will finish his heel turn by the end of the Rumble and will be all set for FACE: The Rock vs. HEEL: John Cena.... Cena losing this match to Kane will especially fuel more hate because he lost to who's been hurting him and his friends the past several weeks. It makes perfect sense.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I want to get excited about this feud, but I just can't. Kane's return really hasn't done anything for me, and the return of the evil masked monster has felt pretty dull. The possibility of John Cena "embracing the hate" really doesn't feel realistic anymore. I almost believed in the possibility of a heel turn after the Piper's Pit segment on Raw a while back. Piper's mic work was outstanding, Cena looked uncomfortable during this segment, he was bothered by Piper's comments, and you could clearly see this. But since then, all of the teasing for a Cena heel turn has cooled of a lot, and this storyline with Kane has lost a lot of steam. I'm just more convinced Cena will remain face, as the weeks pass by, and I don't have any real interest in this feud anymore. Yeah, Kane's return at the Slammy's was a nice surprise, but the overall comeback of the Big Red Monster hasn't felt exciting or entertaining, and for me, the nostalgia of Kane wearing the mask again wore off pretty quickly.

This could be a solid match, and there's a good chance a No DQ stipulation will be added at some point. The rivalry between Cena and Kane has become serious and personal, so I'm sure these two will want to beat the hell out of each other, when they finally square off. Cena should win this match, and I don't think he'll give into Kane's attempt to lure him to the dark side, because in the end, John Cena will rise above the hate. I just hope this feud ends in the near future, because I'm more interested in the direction of Cena's character after this pay per view. Wrestlemania is right around the corner, and Cena's focus will solely shift towards The Rock soon enough.

 

[samyouwell]

Kane will unfortunately get beat by Cena, UNLESS something miraculous happens e.g The Rock returning but i doubt that will happen.
Cena will not enter the rumble if he wins but Kane will if he loses, think about it, Kane has entered in 13 rumbles consecutively. WWE are not just going to scrap that record?? It will probably be a boring match, most matches at the rumble are boring anyway besides the 30-man match.

 

[Loveless]

I'm wanting to see Cena let it all out on Kane.
Let Cena hit Kane with chairs, stairs, tables, chains, lead pipes, sledgehammers, titantrons, whatever.

In the end, Kane is show laughing. He has triumphed. Cena embraced hate.

Basically this.
In this situation Cena is Luke Skywalker and Kane is Palpatine. Kane doesn't win by winning the match, he wins by corrupting Cena. If Cena wins clean then this whole angle has been a waste of time and Kane goes back to being an afterthought. Cena wins by vicious means or Kane wins by DQ, either way Kane is leaving smiling.

 

[Robbo89]

there is no way that this will end any other way than a no contest, Kane has just recently returned as this "monster" heel so if he loses to Cena, he looks weak and has lost all the hype that has been created since his return. If Cena loses then his momentum at the start of the Road to Wrestlemania will be effected. Also take into account that if Kane loses then everybody will be saying "super cena has done it again" but if Cena loses everybody will be saying "there is no way he can beat the rock". Its a very tough one to call but i'm going to stick my neck on the line here and predict this.....

Cena to win.....Due to outside interference/distraction by the Undertaker. We all know Taker usually returns around this time of year ready for his WM match, and if this is to be Takers last Mania, his final match should be against his Greatest rival...Kane.

Kane will control most of the match, he'll gesture for the chokeslam, the lights will go out and a vignette starts playing on the tron. Kane will be distracted and Cena hits an AA for the win. Thus giving Kane a storyline heading into Mania without him looking weak by losing clean. Also Cena will have gained momentum as his path to his WM match begins.

 

[stephenjpunk317]

I put together a blog post stating my thoughts on each Rumble match, and here's how I see this one unfolding. I think it's going to be a no contest of sorts, and it just feels like this has no meaning or direction in the long run.

John Cena versus Kane
Not sure which direction this one goes because ultimately it doesn't matter. This is almost a match thrown together with no direction in my mind. I think Cena is not going to "embrace the hate", and will overpower it come time to face the Rock. I still will state that the match between Rock and Cena will end like Hogan and Rock, where Hogan turned back to face, and give the Rock the mutual respect handshake. I may be completely wrong, but that's getting away from this match. I think the build of it has been good and different. We've seen the aggressive Cena, and that's cool. We've seen Ryder get choke slammed twice by Kane, and that spot through the stage was great. We don't see that often or ever, so that was a good change of pace. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends in a double disqualification or just ends in no contest somehow making it that there's no winner in this match because truly this match doesn't need to happen. Prediction would be Cena wins if there's going to be a winner.

 

[LSN80]

With the discussion going in that every WWE superstar is eligible to wrestle in the Royal Rumble, this doesn't necessarily preclude Kane or John Cena from pulling double duty there. Unless one of them is story-line injured, I'd say that it's very likely that both will be in the Rumble.

Last year, we saw the losers of both World title matches perform in the Rumble. Both Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton were in the Rumble, and did pretty well for themselves. Thinking back in time, The Hardy's and Dudley's would be in tables matches at the Rumble, and go on to perform in the Rumble later that night. So while Cena has made no mention to the Royal Rumble, I'd be very surprised if we didn't see both Cena and Kane in the Rumble.

As for the match itself, I think the build here has been very good. Dating back to the "This is Your Life" segment before Survivor Series, they've been attempting to show that Cena isn't as impervious to the boos from fans as he's stated. This continues with Piper's Pit, and has transitioned fully to Kane with him being direct about Cena "embracing the hate." And this Monday night on Raw, Cena looked like he snapped, didn't he? While the face he made seemed contrived and over-the-top, the point remains.

The other thing that lends itself to intrigue is that it will be Kane's return to the ring. Wisely, WWE has held his return to the ring until the Royal Rumble. While I doubt anyone will be buying the Royal Rumble to see the return of Kane to the ring, it's a nice incentive. I'm certainly interested to see how Kane looks in the ring, It's not as if this will have the impact of Undertaker or even Chris Jericho's return to the ring, but it's still something anticipatory, nonetheless.

I see this match ending in DQ, with Cena snapping on Kane. They've done a nice job of having Ryder and Eve alike blame Cena for the issues created by Kane, which has shown a nice bit of psychology with regards to putting an edge in Cena. We have John Cena, who gave up his WWE Title shot to get Ryder a US Championship shot, being blamed for Ryder's problems? Nicely done. Along with the continued taunting from Kane, that should even be enough for even the unflappable John Cena to go off.

It was smart having Cena not talk before the Rumble, as his body language told the better story as Ryder was being loaded into the ambulance. This should be nothing less then an all-out brawl, one that ends with Cena wearing Kane out with a chair. Kane's mystique since his return has been that he's been virtually indestructable since his return, so him being beaten down with a steel chair wouldn't harm that. It would also continue to further the belief held by many that Cena is headed towards a heel turn, which is a smart move. Combine that with the continued dynamic between he and Ryder, and all the elements are there to make the average viewer believe it.

While I'm generally against the idea of matches on PPV ending in DQ, I think that's the appropriate ending here. Kane wins by DQ.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Just to correct you, LSN, but the Dudleys never competed in a Rumble.

This has DQ written all over it. I don't think Cena losing would hurt him but I see no chance of that happening. I can see Cena going off on Kane with some chair shots causing a DQ. Then Kane can eliminate Cena from the Rumble. Should be a decent match, though.

 

[#hamler]

I'm with everyone else here, a disqualification result seems likely. With Kane on a rampage and Cena seemingly embracing the hate, this match just screams no contest. With the way John Cena looked last week on Raw, Kane attacking Zack Ryder has gotten to him; Cena looked pretty pissed. Who's to say Cena doesn't finally embrace the hate against the big red monster to shut him up once and for all? The aggression Cena showed against Jack Swagger is what I'm totally expecting to see delivered to Kane. But, with Wrestlemania coming up, this feud needs to end quickly. The Rock and Cena both need about a month or two to pick up where they left off and that means Kane needs to get out of Cena's way. What a better way to do that than have Cena kicking Kane's ass and embracing the hate?

Hamler's Prediction- Kane will defeat John Cena via disqualification.