Natural Heel Coulmn: John Cena’s WWE SummerSlam Curse
John Cena winning at this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view isn’t as automatic as we think.
The focus of Summer Slam 2015 has been fixed upon the grudge match between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar and rightfully so. This match gives Undertaker the chance to avenge the loss of his massive WrestleMania streak by ending Lesnar’s minuscule by comparison Summer Slam streak.
However, there is another streak that could be broken at SummerSlam 2015, a streak which may have gone unnoticed. John Cena has an opportunity to end his seven-year Summer Slam slump.
It is true. Cena has not won a singles match at SummerSlam since 2007 when he successfully defended his WWE Championship against Randy Orton.
To make this slump even more devastating, his losses at SummerSlam tend to be Championship matches. This slump could be an ill omen going into his Championship match against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2015, or it could fuel Cena’s unparalleled driver to overcome odds.
Retrospectively, no one has forgotten the beating that Cena took from Brock Lesnar last year at SummerSlam. The face of WWE went to Suplex City, and came back looking like he had hosted traffic pile-up.
In 2013, though, a less obvious summer classic loss gleams in Cena’s past, a loss to the rising star, Daniel Bryan. This match should garner a bit concern for the Captain of the Cenation, as Bryan and Rollins share such similar size, style, background, and beards of course.
SummerSlam 2012 hosted a triple threat match for the gold the set Cena against CM Punk and the Big Show, and Cena was not able to overcome the triple threat rules, allowing CM Punk to continue his epic title reign.
Cena’s loss in 2011 came by circumstances too similar to this year’s scheduled bout to ignore. CM Punk was returning with the WWE Championship he had won and took in his possession when he quit WWE. Cena held the replacement title, and the two fought for title unification. This year, Cena vs. Rollins will go title for title in similar fashion.
The immediately preceding years included a win in a 14-man tag match against the Nexus, an epic loss to Randy Orton, and Cena legendary injury at the hands of Batista that resulted in yet another SummerSlam loss.
That brings the story back to the summer of 2007 where Cena defeated the number one contender Randy Orton to retain his WWE Championship. The win in 2007 represents both Cena’s last win in SummerSlam singles competition and the last time Cena left with championship gold.
Is this SummerSlam slump weighing down on Cena right now, or is it motivating him to overcome? It certainly places the spokes of Hustle, Loyalty, Respect in his first potential underdog situation in recent memory. However, that position does tend to be preferred by the current United States Champion.
Who is your pick? Will Seth Rollins squeak by with two championships, or will John Cena conquer his Summer Slump? Leave your comments in the comment section below, or on my new Twitter handle @DDTWatson.
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