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WWE Survivor Series 2017: John Cena Doesn’t Need To Appear Anyway

By Kevin Parvizi

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John Cena is the biggest draw in the company, but WWE Survivor Series 2017 is a pay per view that doesn’t need “The Face That Runs The Place” to appear.

Last year, Survivor Series was one of the best pay per views of the year, as it gave wrestling fans so many memorable moments. Natalya attacked Nikki Bella before the match, Cesaro went crazy during the tag team elimination match, James Ellsworth eliminated Braun Strowman before getting destroyed, Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt cleaned house, The Shield briefly reunited, and Goldberg beat Brock Lesnar in shockingly quick fashion.

Notice that this pay per view was a rousing success despite the absence of John Cena, and the latest rumors dictate that Cena will not be at WWE Survivor Series 2017. The WWE isn’t advertising him for the event, and they would normally advertise the man who sells more seats than anybody else in the company.

Cena’s given WWE fans plenty of big moments at “Big Four” pay per views recently. He and AJ Styles tore the house down at both SummerSlam 2016 and the most recent Royal Rumble, and who can forget his proposal to Nikki Bella at WrestleMania?

But Cena didn’t have a meaningful match at this year’s SummerSlam, nor did he have one at last year’s WrestleMania. More importantly, he didn’t have one at Survivor Series either.

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Cena’s whole gig right now is that he’s a “Free Agent”, so he isn’t restricted to a brand. After defeating Rusev and Baron Corbin in random one-off matches as a member of SmackDown Live, Cena shifted over to Raw in order to feud with the other face of the company, Roman Reigns. He put Reigns over at No Mercy, essentially passing the torch to the “Big Dog”.

Because Cena is a free agent, he doesn’t really fit in with the whole theme of Survivor Series being brand vs. brand. It’s unclear if the WWE will do another Raw vs. SmackDown theme for the Survivor Series elimination matches, because we could get some sort of a Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon storyline, given how explosive their recent feud has been.

However, the brand vs. brand five-on-five matches were so successful last year, and they are so easy to book without worrying too much about finishes or feuds. The matches last year did progress feuds between Nikki Bella and Natalya, AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose, and others, but it’s more about the in-ring action. This makes me believe the WWE will take advantage of these fun matches again this year.

Both rosters are so deep that any of the “Big Four” pay per views will have stacked cards, simply because they involve so much talent as mixed-brand pay per views. As such, they don’t need Cena on the card to sell the feud, and his relationship as a “free agent” prevents him from having a reason to be with either brand. A storyline involving both brands angling for Cena wouldn’t make much sense, since it would detract from the younger talent. And believe it or not, but that’s actually the last thing Cena seems to be interested in. I also doubt he’d want a rumored one-off feud with Bray Wyatt, especially since the two already had a much bigger program before.

Next: Who Were The Winners And Losers On NXT?

The fact that Cena won’t be at Survivor Series isn’t a huge loss, and it’s nice for him to take a bit of a break after his big match at No Mercy and jarring statement afterwards on Raw Talk. We all appreciate Cena, but Survivor Series can tell a story without the company’s most valuable performer. Now, it’s all about speculating if the format of the show will be similar to what it was last year, and, more importantly, it’s all about speculating what those non five-on-five matches will be this year.

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