With WrestleMania 36 right around the corner, here are some opponents that WWE can give John Cena to face for a return on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, John Cena hinted at being at WrestleMania 36. When told that Randy Orton challenged him to a Mania match via Instagram, Cena said that he was “very eager to get back into a WWE ring soon.” Of course, that does not necessarily mean he could wrestle next time he’s in the ring, since Cena did not have a match last year at WrestleMania 35. Instead, he delighted the crowd with his interaction with Elias.
Cena has transitioned from a full time WWE wrestler to a Hollywood actor. He is one of the greatest to ever step into a WWE ring. Cena now finds himself is in a position where he can show up on WWE TV when his schedule permits. Since WrestleMania 19, Cena has been involved in every WrestleMania. It is fair to expect that Cena will appear at “The Grandest Stage of them All”.
One question remains to be seen: how will Cena be involved at WrestleMania 36?
It is unknown if Cena has one last great match left in him, but if does wrestle at WrestleMania 36, here are five potential men he could face.
Roman Reigns
In the last 15 years, Roman Reigns and John Cena have been the two biggest franchise players in WWE. In 2017, they gave us a small sample of what their feud could be. There is still so much meat on the bone in their rivalry. A match at WrestleMania 36 makes the most sense.
On multiple episodes of Monday Night RAW leading up to No Mercy in 2017, Cena cut promos attempting to expose the character flaw in Roman Reigns as a new top guy. That could tie into a new, current story for them, given Reigns wasn’t the wrestler then that he is now.
Though he has appeared in multiple WrestleMania main events, Roman still lacks that “WrestleMania moment.” John Cena is the perfect wrestler to provide that moment for Reigns. The story pitting the two franchise players in WWE makes the most sense on the Grandest Stages of Them All. And a moment similar to the handshake and approval that The Rock gave Cena after their match at WrestleMania 29 is the WrestleMania moment that Roman Reigns deserves.
CM Punk
Two days ago, before he returned to WWE TV for FOX’s WWE Backstage, this would have been an unrealistic opponent for Cena’s future. None of us know what the future holds for CM Punk, as far as if he’ll strictly remain a backstage analyst or if he will make an in-ring return, but if he does, a match with John Cena could be one of the matches that fans want to see at WrestleMania 36.
During their time in WWE, John Cena and CM Punk had a rivalry for the ages. Neither man, at this point in their career, need a 30-minute mat classic in order to get fans invested. Both characters are so universally respected by fans and vocally strong that the promos alone would make this the most interesting match at WrestleMania 36.
Punk is, arguably, the most popular male WWE wrestler since Stone Cold Steve Austin. Now with Punk returning after a six year absence, the excitement around whatever Punk does is higher than ever before.
Cena was one of the wrestlers that helped to establish Punk as a main eventer during the Summer of Punk.
Kevin Owens
There is the old cliché; you never get a second chance to make a first impression. When he debuted on Monday Night RAW in 2015, Kevin Owens made a tremendous first impression. John Cena was the man to help Owens look like a million bucks. The two had great promos on RAW. These promos gave Owens the instant credibility with viewers who may not have been familiar with his work.
Fast forward to 2019, Kevin Owens is miscast as a fan favorite. His best work in WWE was when he is a villain. John Cena is more beloved by the WWE Universe than ever before. That could be fans realizing the body of work that Cena produced, it could be that absence makes the heart grow fonder, or fans always desire what they don’t have.
Whatever the reason may be, this provides Owens with a perfect opportunity to revert back to a villain at the Cena’s expense. This can lead to a match where Owens becomes obsessed with ending the career of Cena. Owens can drudge up old memories of when he first debuted on RAW. How he took out Cena to begin his career, and now he wants to end Cena’s career. Cena knows how to enhance the devious traits of Owens.
Owens has been portrayed inconsistently for years now. The match at WrestleMania needs to be the WrestleMania moment for Owens. A match with Cena provides Owens with the career launching moment that so far has escaped him.
Triple H
Sometimes, the safe route is the right route. Triple H and John Cena have the equity with the fans that it doesn’t who wins or loses their match. Both are talented enough to engage the fans in a potential match.
Triple H still provides the name recognition that match John Cena at WrestleMania. Cena and Triple H can create great moments leading up to that match. The match doesn’t need to be as physical as their match at WrestleMania 22.
The story can be explained when Cena comes back to RAW. He can talk to his fans about his love for them over the years. Triple H meets Cena in the middle of the ring and talk about the career that both men had. Triple H should mention that, Cena has had a great career, Cena is one of the best ever, but Triple H was better. Triple H could want one more match at WrestleMania 36 to determine who the greatest of that era was.
The focus of the match shouldn’t be who wins. It should be the last possible time that fans can see two old cowboys gathering together for one last showdown at the grandest stage of them all.
Big E
Few WWE wrestlers have given more back to the future generation of wrestlers than John Cena. He has helped to solidify the careers of Edge, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and more. If Cena has one more match, it should take place at WrestleMania, where a wrestler goes from “he could be great” to “a main event talent”.
Neither wrestler needs to go into this match as an antagonist. The fans would reject that due to their love for Big E and Cena. The story for this match could be for Cena come back to WWE and calls Big E down to the ring. He can spend 10 minutes enhancing the career of Big E by talking about the ability that Big E has to be loved by fans. Cena can build up Big E, he can give Big E a reality check. He can mention how there is only one person stopping Big E from being a main event talent, it is Big E.
Cena has the talent to make the character of Big E taken more serious by fans. This can lead to a match at WrestleMania 36. Obviously, Cena doesn’t gain anything by winning the match. This should be Big E’s moment to shine and rise to the main event.
The two should have a match that tells the story of Big E needing to solidfy himself as a main event star by defeating Cena in the middle of the ring. This is Cena giving back to the business that made him a once in a generation talent. Big E will get his WrestleMania moment the end of the match, when Cena shakes Big E’s hand in the middle of the ring.