FanPost

John Cena's Time is Up, Their Time is Now

J. Meric

Excuse me while I rant for a bit.

Ever since Money in the Bank, the Internet has been up in arms about being stuck with John Cena in the main event. Some were so upset they threatened to cancel their WWE Network subscriptions. "This company sucks so bad!", they screamed. "Why don't they let someone else be a main eventer for once!?" I'm sure there were people even saying that Cena needs to pass the torch.

Something he did nearly a year ago now.

Remember this?

In case you forgot, that's SummerSlam from last year. Daniel Bryan pinned John Cena clean as a sheet in the middle of That Very Ring. Minutes later, Randy Orton and Triple H kickstarted the massively successful Authority by turning on Bryan and taking his belt away. This happened after Cena had left the ring, disappearing from sight. The next night he'd announce he needed surgery and would take a couple months off. But he didn't quite make The John Cena comeback.

When Cena returned for Hell in a Cell, he didn't jump back into the main event scene with Orton and Bryan. He instead jumped for a belt no one cared about one level below the main event. Alberto Del Rio kicking Dolph Ziggler to death for the World Heavyweight Championship was the last notable thing involving Del Rio or the title itself. So Cena won it. Why? So he could lose it to Randy Orton two months later. Cena was used as a transitional champion to make a big match seem a little bigger and to put over the heel.

Hmmm...

Bryan, meanwhile, became the legitimate top babyface of WWE and chased Orton for months. The argument that WWE wasted several PPV's on stupid finishes and nearly dropped the ball on Bryan by bringing in Batista are both valid; accurate, even. None of this involved John Cena. This was just WWE slowburning a story, and then creaming their jeans when Drax the Destroyer picked up the phone. Bryan eventually took the spot, beating all three members of Evolution in one night to win back the title he was robbed of.

Then he needed surgery. A quick look at how WWE worked this injury should tell you how panicked they were. They kept the title on Bryan for a month, coming up with angle after angle to try to avoid losing him as champion. Brie Bella was involved. It was all pretty dumb, but they wanted Bryan to have those belts. Finally they were forced to strip him. They put it off for long enough and had dug a hole deep enough, they had to get out of it. When things go wrong, you stick with the safe bet.

John Cena is the safe bet.

The longstanding rumor was that Brock Lesnar was going to face Daniel Bryan for the championship at SummerSlam. With Bryan hurt, Cena is the only guy who makes sense in that match. If their plan was always to have Lesnar leave SummerSlam as the champion, Cena is the only answer. He's a guy who can work as a transitional champion to make a big match seem a little bigger and put over the heel.

HMMMMM...

Besides, Roman Reigns is "The Guy" of the future. There's no benefit to making him a two month champion right now.

SPEAKING OF ROMAN REIGNS...

In doing a little research for this Fanpost, I suddenly recalled three more men who benefited from the events of SummerSlam 2013. The biggest rising stars in the company. The guys currently opening and closing Monday Night Raw while the champion Cena is just kinda there.

The Shield.

In July last year, The Shield was aimless. They weren't on television as much as usual, and late in the month it was reported they had heat on them backstage. Roman Reigns had allegedly gotten into a shouting match with Randy Orton. Big mistake for a new guy to challenge The Golden Boy. But with Cena gone, suddenly The Shield were back in an important angle, now the attack dogs for Triple H's regime.

They battled the natural enemy of a McMahon, The Rhodes Brothers. Suddenly Cody and Dustin were white hot. These battles included the Survivor Series match where Roman Reigns was first really made out to be a god among men. They moved on to former champion CM Punk, teasing a break up while struggling against the other guy who became a top guy by beating John Cena.

Hmmn...

Roman Reigns dominated the Royal Rumble, beating Kane's record for eliminations and becoming a star by way of not being Batista. The Hounds of Justice then tore the house down against WWE's other young trio, The Wyatt Family. They crushed relics of the past at WrestleMania 30, symbolizing the dawn of a new era.

Soon they'd be in the main event of Payback, battling Evolution for the second time. The next night, hearts were broken, tears were shed, and the plan was set in motion to make three legitimate superstars out of guys who less than a year ago "had heat" with management. Because the two stars that John Cena has already made in the last three years aren't around right now, and because they realize John Cena isn't going to be around forever.

John Cena's time is up.

Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins? Their time is now.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.