At WWE Survivor Series 2017, Jinder Mahal will battle Brock Lesnar in the quest for brand supremacy, but could John Cena get involved as the special guest referee?
It has already been reported by the Wrestling Observer News that John Cena will be the special guest referee for the WWE Survivor Series 2017 clash between Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. Fans have speculated that Cena and Mahal will battle for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34 (or perhaps another date), so when the rumors first spread of Cena being the special guest referee for this Survivor Series matchup, the assumption was that Cena will accidentally cost Mahal the match.
That seems like the obvious scenario here, and there are more indications that Cena will do something in this match. Initially, the WWE reached out to The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to be special guest referees, but they unsurprisingly settled on Cena. He’s in there for a reason, and Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that Cena is involved in this match as a referee in order to set up a future WWE Championship match between Mahal and Cena.
This confirms what many have suspected for weeks, and it would be a way to ensure that Cena’s 17th championship victory, which would break Ric Flair’s record, will be well received by everyone. Mahal’s time as WWE Champion has been received poorly by most fans, whereas Cena is more popular among even the “IWC” faithful. He received great, emotional reactions following his passing-of-the-torch match with Roman Reigns at No Mercy, so Cena is due for his 17th title sooner rather than later.
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Before he faces Lesnar at Survivor Series, Mahal will have to defend his title against AJ Styles on SmackDown Live in Manchester this coming Tuesday. While there’s hope that Styles could win the title on a pre-taped show in order to boost the ratings after last week’s lowpoint, it doesn’t seem likely for Styles to win the “numbers game” against Mahal and the Singh Brothers in a match that will likely carry a “Street Fight” stipulation.