GIVING WWE OTHER OPTIONS FOR JOHN CENA'S WRESTLEMANIA MATCH
By Doug Brown on 1/7/2009 1:09 PM
The lazy attitude of World Wrestling Entertainment never ceases to amaze me. I often stop to wonder if they are ever going to come out of cruise control, a mode they've been in since March 2001. It used to be that the play-by-play guys called the names of the moves, fast forward to 2009, and we are lucky if they call one or two moves per match. The ring announcers used to introduce where the wrestlers are from, and how much they weigh. Now, we are lucky if we get either one. Then comes the booking. Wrestlemania 25 is coming up. It's a milestone event. It's the 25th anniversary of the event that put WWE on the map. What is WWE planning? According to reports, it is going to be John Cena vs. Randy Orton....again. Never mind that they already had this match on pay-per-view, and free television several times. Heck, I even saw the match at house show. You would think that with the biggest event in the company's history to date coming up that they would bust out something new, fresh, or exciting. Well, today, I am going to throw out some ideas that give WWE time to rethink their plans for World Champion John Cena at Wrestlemania with ten new options for his match.
John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio - With Wrestlemania being in Houston, and Houston having a large Hispanic community, I think this would be a great option. You would have a fast paced, high energy match. I don't recall them ever facing each other, but if they did it was not often, and it would have been at the beginning of Cena's WWE career. I know Mysterio got pinned by John Morrison this week, but that could be quickly rectified with a win at the Royal Rumble. Given Rey's status, it would not take much to build him back up into a credible challenger.
John Cena vs. C.M. Punk - This would be a match that never happened before, and a match that would create quite a buzz in the internet community. WWE allowed Punk to win Money-in-the-Bank last year, and he cashed it in with a World Title victory. A match with Cena could be the next step in his development, and solidify his spot as a top guy. They could build it up by having him beat William Regal for the Intercontinental Title this Monday on Raw, and then win the Royal Rumble. We could then have a champion vs. champion match at Wrestlemania. You could even make it title for title with the story being that the Intercontinental Title is the only belt in WWE that Cena has never won.
John Cena vs. Kane - I still can't believe they gave this match away on free television. They could build this into a must see match. They could spend week after week of Kane playing mind games with Cena. Instead of this stupid storyline with Kelly Kelly, they could have him go after Cena's storyline girlfriend, Mickie James (we never saw a breakup), his father, John Cena Sr., and even attack Cena's rehabbing best friend, Batista, at his house. Maybe even have him attack two of Cena's mentors, Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, for good measure. Then have Cena start the comeback by showing up with his own hostage, Paul Bearer. Just keep building and building until the audience wants to see Cena and Kane get their hands on each other.
John Cena vs. Matt Hardy - It's been about five years since they faced off, so this would be a fresher matchup than Cena vs. Orton. Also it should be much better considering how far both of these guys have come in the last five years. You also have the intrigue of it being champion vs. champion. I also have to wonder with Matt, John Morrison, and the Miz wrestling more on Raw and Smackdown, plus with WWE getting their new show on WGN, how much longer the ECW brand is going to be around.
John Cena vs. Jeff Hardy - Another option, should WWE decide to go the title unification route. There is no guy in the company that is hotter right now than Jeff Hardy. If given a chance, I think they could have a heck of a match against each other, and the crowd heat would be off the hook. You could set it up with a Cena beating Matt Hardy at No Way Out, and then facing Jeff Hardy at Wrestlemania to determine who is the real champion. It would be a modern day Hogan vs. Warrior type of confrontation, and these two have more talent.
John Cena vs. Vladmir Kozlov - Kozlov would be the one opponent guaranteed to make sure Cena is cheered at Wrestlemania. Triple H brought up Rocky IV during his feud with Kozlov, but I think that analogy would be better suited to this match. Cena to me is more of a Rocky Balboa type of guy than Triple H. By that I mean, that people always seem to doubt him, and he has made a career of proving those people wrong. Plus, Cena has worked miracles with other big guys before. He thus far has been the only one to get passable matches out of the Great Khali, and Kozlov actually seems to have more potential than the Punjabi Playboy.
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - It would probably take a lot of coaxing on both sides, but this would be a great moneymaker. The sports media is smitten with UFC right now. Lesnar is a former three time WWE Champion, and the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion. It's been nearly six years since they last faced each other. Lesnar was WWE's "Golden Boy" until their fallout in 2004. With Lesnar gone, that opened the door for Cena to be WWE's new "Golden Boy." They could base the storyline around Lesnar already conquering UFC and returning to WWE to reclaim his throne, and Cena wanting to defend WWE's honor against UFC.
John Cena vs. Hulk Hogan - It's a matchup between the biggest name in the company's history, and the biggest star in the company today. No one has headlined more Wrestlemanias than Hogan, and I think he would love the chance to main event one more time at its 25th anniversary. In one of the many interviews that Hogan gave promoting Celebrity Championship Wrestling, he said he would love to get a sendoff similar to the one Ric Flair got last year. There is the question of what kind of match he could give the Champ at 55 years old, but then again no one was thinking that he could hang with the Rock at Wrestlemania 18 either.
John Cena vs. the Rock - I'm surprised the Rock doesn't come back to wrestle select matches to promote his movies. A match against the Great Khali would have been a great way to promote Get Smart. Now comes another opportunity. Both Cena and the Rock have movies coming out just prior to Wrestlemania 25. A match between the two would be a great way to promote both films. There is already built-in heat from last year when Cena publicly knocked the Rock for not giving back to the WWE fans that put him on the map. Many people have also pointed out the similarities between the two. The match could also be a way for them to pass the torch of "People's Champion" from the Rock to Cena.
John Cena and Steve Austin vs. Vince and Shane McMahon - Speculation is that Austin will be the main inductee in this year's WWE Hall of Fame. Should he also decide to give us one more match, this would be a great option. Austin was forced to retire from the ring due to his bad neck. By placing him in a tag team match, this would allow Cena to take the bulk of the bumps in the match, and allow Austin to work at less of a risk to his health. It would also allow Austin one more match against his most hated rivals, the McMahons, and give the rub to Cena for tagging with him. They could also give Austin a big sendoff ceremony as well the next night on Raw.
See, WWE Creative, it is not that hard. Just sit down and put your minds to it. Now don't get me wrong. Cena and Orton have most of the time given us really good matches, and I don't doubt that if you go through with that match, it will be good to great. However, I think the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania ought to be treated as something special, not just as another day on the WWE Calendar.
