Where Does the WWE Go From Here?
Think of the Cleveland Cavaliers losing LeBron James for a season with an injury. Or the Dallas Cowboys losing Tony Romo, or the New York Yankees losing Alex Rodriguez. That's how big the latest WWE injury to now former champion John Cena is.
Yes, I know that there are plenty of fans out there that are thrilled that Cena is gone for the next six months to a year, but trust me when I say that losing Cena is not a good thing for the business of the sport and for the WWE. As stated last night, like him or not, Cena was the wrestler on the current WWE roster that could carry that roster. And now, just like that, he's out.
As far as Sunday goes, the obvious thought is that Randy Orton will take on someone one-on-one after seeing what ended up being a very somber Vince McMahon make the Cena announcement last night on ECW. Right off the bat the name that comes to mind is Triple H, but of course, he already has a match with Umaga planned. The other thought would be to shift Undertaker over to RAW, since he has a history with Orton, and have him win the belt. Other than those two, your guess is as good as mine as to what they might do.
You could see the nature of the injury on McMahon's face last night, and rightfully so. McMahon knows that losing a champion mid-stream like this is a killer, and while the company was able to make due with losing the Taker and Edge on SmackDown, this does not compare. Cena was the biggest crowd reaction the past two years at WrestleMania, on both a positive and negative side, and always was the one guy that carried house shows over the last two years as well. Now with him down, there does not appear to be anyone on the roster that can carry the torch quite like Cena.
The one wrestler that everyone will pine to want to try and carry the torch left behind is Triple H, and I do see how that could be an answer, but I think long-term that could be a mistake. We all know that if there is one wrestler that tends to get a bit high on the ego trip when things are going his way, it's H, and with a belt around his waist and the title of "company savior," I think that things would go from okay to bad in a hurry. Don't also forget that like it or not, HHH is much better as a heel, and he likes being heel, so a long run as a face champion till Cena returns is unlikely.
Look for the company to scramble around, and to try and find a few guys that could carry the weight of Cena. They need badly to inject some new talent and life into the roster with Cena gone, and I can see wrestlers like Matt Hardy, Mr.Kennedy, MVP and Umaga getting even bigger pushes throughout both brands, while a returning Shawn Michaels, a possible comeback from Chris Jerhico, and a comeback of Edge should help things get back to normal is some way, shape or form.
Labels: john cena injury, new wwe champion, triple h wwe champ
