Walder’s World of Wrestling: John Cena Remains WWE’s Ultimate Go-To Guy

I believe it’s safe to assume that not a lot of fans in the WWE Universe (or the IWC) are satisfied with the way “WWE Money in the Bank” ended on Sunday night.

Jesus Christ they just can’t let John Cena not be champion for a year… Hes a terrible wrestler. John Cena Loop. Champ, not champ smh #MITB

— Ant&Ash (@YungColeUpTown) June 30, 2014

John Cena became WWE Champion for the 15th time after defeating Sheamus, Cesaro, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Alberto Del Rio and Kane in a Ladder match to close the show.

15 times as a World Champion. Only “Nature Boy” (WOOOOOO!!!) Ric Flair has more with 16, but those reigns were spread over a much longer career that included stops in WWF, WCW and NWA.

Excluding his three World Heavyweight Championship wins, Cena’s 12 WWE Championship/WWE World Heavyweight Championship victories put him head and shoulders above everyone else in company history. To put things in perspective, Cena has held the gold twice as many times as both Hulk Hogan and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

That number doesn’t sit well with a majority of you, though. Cena is only 37 years old, leaving room for him to not only break Flair’s record, but shatter it.

WWE was put into a precarious situation with their primary title(s) when Daniel Bryan underwent neck surgery, forcing him to relinquish his prized possession.

Reigns, Cesaro and Wyatt will all get their moment at the top of the mountain, but their respective builds need time and care. It would have felt rushed and uninspired had any of the three won on Sunday. Sheamus is United States Champion, essentially eliminating himself from true contention. Del Rio was filler and nothing more.

That leaves Cena, Kane and Orton. With “WWE SummerSlam” just around the corner, you want a guy with a proven track record of being box office and headlining special events carrying the strap.

That’s Cena in a nutshell. Kane was (maybe?) that guy 10 years ago. Orton was just in that spot, but fans never really bought into him being “the man.”

It’s been played out and done to death, but WWE did the right thing by making John Cena World Heavyweight Champion.

Playing things safe and by the book shouldn’t always be looked at as a negative. WWE could have taken a risk, gone against the grain and elevated Reigns, Cesaro or Wyatt to that next level, yet that didn’t happen.

Why? Cena is a proven commodity. You know what you’re going to get with the leader of the Cenation. Everyone else is surrounded by question marks that will eventually be erased. Just not today, though.

Whether you’re a fan of his or not, there’s no denying Cena’s popularity and drawing power. His (presumed) title bout with Brock Lesnar on Aug. 17 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles will be one of the most highly-anticipated one-on-one encounters we get all year.

Don’t act like you’re not going to watch it.

If you’re upset with Cena becoming champion, you need to take a deep breath and get over it quickly. You’re still going to watch “Monday Night Raw” every week, order the pay-per-views and support the company.

Nothing is going to change. Life goes on, people.

Word life.

 

Christopher Walder is a staff writer for WrestlingRumors.net. His work has also been published at Bleacher Report, SB Nation, Sports Illustrated and other online media outlets. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports.