WWE Raw: John Cena’s Absence Hurts Feud With Roman Reigns

John Cena was notably absent from WWE Raw this week. Though it could be thought of as a way to sell Braun Strowman’s attack from last week, it actually hurts the buildup towards his epic encounter with Roman Reigns.

As WWE Raw looked to close all loose end before No Mercy this Sunday, it did  a phenomenal job of hyping the PPV. Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar made sure to make their match a must-see agenda without trading a single punch. The intensity with which both of them delivered their lines, despite not being the best talkers out there was a thing of beauty. On the flip side, somewhere else, Roman Reigns delivered another forced promo that failed to resonate with the fans.

To make it worse, without John Cena standing across from him, it was generally flat and one-dimensional. The nod to Alex Riley was a nice touch, but it was all too little too late. Had Reigns brought out this point during their first or second encounters, it would have made sense. Monday night though, it felt largely out-of-place. What the moment needed was a dose of physicality.

Except for a stray superman punch, Reigns and Cena have never engaged in direct physical conflict. While a build up of such kind could work for a feud like Styles vs. Cena, it failed in this case. With Cena vs. Styles, the feud was all about respect. Though the Reigns – Cena feud is based on similar grounds, the two of them have broken the fourth wall far too many times. This has resulted in the fans feeling an aura of hatred between the two. At least on paper, that is.

Creative should have ideally tried to build on that hatred. The WWE Universe should have witnessed a brawl between these two mega-stars at least by this time on WWE Raw. So far we haven’t, and that has seriously taken away the electricity of this match. Bleacher Report clearly summed this up,

"the result is a match that may wind up the best on the No Mercy card but one that should mean so much more than it does."

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Roman Reigns vs John Cena is a WrestleMania main-event worthy match. Instead, for all the wrong reasons, this match would end-up as another generic outing. Moreover, creative would have no one else to blame for it than themselves.

Both Cena and Reigns might absolutely nail it in the ring. They might even give us a classic. However, from a creative stand point, the match is already a lost cause; unless it results in a Reigns heel turn of some sorts. That is something I am hoping to see, and I addressed it in the ‘Bold Predictions’ post.

One can argue that Cena not being on Raw was a way to sell Strowman’s attack from last week. However, be that as it may, it was still unnecessary. Strowman is massive over with the fans and he didn’t need it at the moment. Nor did he need to come out and attack Enzo either, but that’s a whole different case.

Had Reigns at least taken a shot at Cena for not being able to survive a match with Strowman, when he has done it over and over again, it would have been worthwhile. But that did not happen either.

Next: WWE Raw Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for Sep 18

Seeing as Cena might be set to take another hiatus after No Mercy, Reigns may indeed go out on top. But the question is, to what avail? Given the star power involved, this feud could have used a bit more buildup, animosity and physicality. Ideally, Cena should have been as awoken as Lesnar was at the end of the satellite segment with Strowman. What are your thoughts on this match? Let us know in the comments section.