John Cena is once again the talk of the wrestling community, as he was the first act in the ring during the latest episode of Monday Night Raw. For nearly ten minutes Cena poured out his heart as to why he’s turned his back on the WWE Universe. It was an important moment for what stands to be the biggest angle heading into WrestleMania 41.
Cena’s abilities on the microphone are one of the most important elements that built him into a superstar for 25 years. His promos can be scathing to his opponents, while getting the fans to rage behind him. That reaction is all he’s known throughout this stretch.
Monday’s promo segment was especially important to this developing angle. Could Cena maintain the level of heat that his turn at the Elimination Chamber generated? Are fans ready to be “angry” at Cena enough to back Cody Rhodes in a match that will be one of the main events for the two-night showcase? Or will Cena Nation stand behind their guy and decide to “turn heel” with him?
For 25 years Cena has been one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling. Along the way, he’s won nearly everything available to him to win. As he did so, fans used his success as one of the biggest complaints about him. Eyes rolled as he demolished The Nexus, ended Rey Mysterio’s title run in hours, or anything else that built on the narrative of “Super Cena.”
On March 17, Cena took those complaints and fired them back at the WWE Universe, using them as the catalyst for his turn. Cena has officially given up on the idea of carrying all the weight that he took on for years, being the face of the company forever at its calling. The greatest thing about the best wrestling heels is that it is hard to ignore that they have a point until they take things too far. Cena is showing that he has a point, and his actions against Rhodes are where they’ve gone too far.
That brings the conversation to Rhodes, who was involved in the March 17 segment. Rhodes didn’t truly add much to the promo, other than finally going face-to-face with Cena. The latter didn’t respond, and that’s the moment that everyone is waiting to see. Cena does an excellent job running down his opponents after they go first on the microphone. That moment is going to come and it will be interesting to see what Cena says and how Rhodes responds to it.
Cody Rhodes versus John Cena is going to be a great moment at WrestleMania 41. It should be the main event of Night Two, especially if Cena gets the victory and takes the 17th title reign into the history books. With weeks leading into the PLE, there’s a lot of story to develop and Cena’s performance on March 17 went a long way to reaching that goal.