WWE SummerSlam 2018: Fantasy Booking John Cena vs. Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe and John Cena have been enemies in the ring, and allies out. Speculations about future fights between the two superstars have made a comeback. Booking the two as opponents could have implications from SummerSlam through WrestleMania 35.

John Cena and Samoa Joe could not be more different. Both wrestlers blazed a trail to the top of WWE. Cena played it close to corporate, while Joe took on the status of Indy darling. Cena made it to the top quick, while Joe slummed it up. Cena is the company’s poster boy, while Joe is known for his submission status. SummerSlam is the place to let history shine.

The two superstars were both part of WWE’s developmental territory OVW, and even trained together at Ultimate Pro Wrestling nearly twenty years ago. Their lengthy history isn’t just a team-building exercise; the potential for epic story lines is abundantly clear. WWE is not known for letting history go to waste.

Why all the sudden speculation? John Cena’s major opponent, Undertaker, is not getting any younger. While fans are not in a rush to see him exit stage left, there’s no denying the toll that training and performing takes on a wrestler’s body, especially one Undertaker’s age. When Undertaker bows out, Cena will be left searching for a new top dog to hunt down.

The current outlook of both RAW and SmackDown are frenzied. Titles are changing hands, some titles should be changing hands, and roster remixes are creating booking nightmares. Cena is still very much a free agent, which is ultimately beneficial to the company. Joe is sitting at Tuesday nights, where AJ Styles holds the WWE Championship, building his legacy against Shinsuke Nakamura. Brock Lesnar still holds the top prize at RAW, with Seth Rollins defending his Intercontinental Championship.

Photo Source: WWE.com

So, how does Cena vs. Joe happen with the mess that’s currently occurring on the flagship shows?

SummerSlam is where all the titles should switch hands, leading up to huge story lines meant to converge at WrestleMania 35.

AJ Styles and Samoa Joe haven’t seen eye-to-eye in the past. Their rivalry has dated all the way back to the early 2000’s in Impact Wrestling. Styles has been riding high as a face, and Joe hasn’t had much success as anything other than a heel. The pairing is not far-fetched, and it would give the fans an intense fight. There’s more than enough time to build that rivalry back to star status, giving Nakamura room to move inside the franchise. It’s a pay-per-view caliber fight. In this scenario, for the purpose of fantasy booking, Joe wins the match at SummerSlam, giving him the WWE Championship belt.

Cena has been know to stick his nose into building story lines between enemies. Remember Cena vs. Orton vs. Triple H vs. Big Show? More recently, Cena vs. Braun Strowman vs. Elias? Who could forget Cena vs. Rollins, Big Show, and Kane? He’s stuck his nose into matches already planned, creating a booking nightmare. He’s not afraid to take on multiple opponents at once. So, let’s not disappoint him.

Cena announces at RAW that he’s fed up with uncertain title holders, and demands to take part in a fight for the Universal Championship against the title holder Brock Lesnar. At the same time, Seth Rollins announces that he, too, is fed up with the direction the brand is going, and also demands to take part in a fight for the Universal Championship.

This build-up is stellar for other obvious reasons. Rollins has been pure gold, lately. His star is shining pretty bright for WWE, and he’s been on a can’t-do-wrong streak. He’s earned a title match for the big prize, and there’s plenty of fans who want to see it.

At SummerSlam, everyone gets their wish, and we see Lesnar defend his title against Rollins and Cena. In this fantasy booking, the fans get their wish, and Rollins wins the Universal Championship.

The obvious WrestleMania RAW build-up, would be to let Lesnar and Rollins continue to duke it out until the big show, next year. Sulky Cena, though, will reiterate his emotions to the SmackDown audience, creating a build-up for a WrestleMania caliber fight–Samoa Joe defends his title against John Cena. In the end, it will be up to the booking magicians to decide if Joe or Cena deserves to be the face of SmackDown.

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Cena is vital to the company’s image, and sending him brand diving will create enough chaos to get the viewers interested in the upcoming weeks. Both Joe and Cena have contributed to wrestling in ways other superstars have not, simply by spouting a lengthy resume. Not creating an atmosphere friendly to the idea of the two competing head-to-head is just bad business.