My Wrestlemania Season Fears

[driver8]

I'll preface this by saying
A. I know this is all based on speculation and newz
B. I realise how smarky it comes across

Is anyone else nervous about how it seems the company is about to sacrifice the entire Punk title reign and Punk/Rock feud at the altar of having Cena beat Rock at Wrestlemania? I know it's coming from my [some would say] smarky dislike of Cena, but it just sounds like a dispiriting main event, and a way to return us to the status quo.

Couple that with the notion of Hunter getting his win back from Brock, and Wrestlemania is, for the first time in years, not looking like something I'll order.

I know Lesnar and Rock are no one's idea of the young guns who should be getting pushed, and I'm already hearing the counter-argument about using the special attractions to aid the company guys, but still, anyone else not feeling overly enthused about where this is all [potentionally] going?

[Cronant]

Is this one of those things where no matter what, if Cena wins the title any time in the future its automatically the "Status quo".

Such an overused phrase.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

I think Cena is only going to get a transitional reign at most.

[mrjl]

Jan 26, 2013 13:54:57 GMT -5 Cronant said:

Is this one of those things where no matter what, if Cena wins the title any time in the future its automatically the "Status quo".

Such an overused phrase.

definitely. At Mania Cena will have been without the belt for 18 months at least. Him as champ is no longer the status quo.

And what exactly do people mean "sacrifice"? He has to lose the belt eventually.

[Cronant]

If they want Ryback to win the WWE title this year, it'll be from Cena at Summerslam or something.

And to be honest, that's probably the best way to go, since Ryback isn't ending Punk's reign.

[driver8]

I can't speak for anyone else, but when I say sacrifice, I mean "the purpose of ending it"

Like, JBL's lengthy reign being sacrificed to give John Cena his first world title. That to me seemed almost certainly THE best possible way to end that reign.

Ending Punk's over year long reign in order to have Rock have, at most a two and a bit month reign, and then lose it to a guy who's had ten world title reigns, and whose eleventh will likely piss off the majority of the crowd at the biggest show of the year, and [imo] end said show on a sour note, is not a good use of that "sacrifice". All imo, of course.

[mrjl]

Jan 26, 2013 14:00:55 GMT -5 driver8 said:

I can't speak for anyone else, but when I say sacrifice, I mean "the purpose of ending it"

Like, JBL's lengthy reign being sacrificed to give John Cena his first world title. That to me seemed almost certainly THE best possible way to end that reign.

Ending Punk's over year long reign in order to have Rock have, at most a two and a bit month reign, and then lose it to a guy who's had ten world title reigns, and whose eleventh will likely piss off the majority of the crowd at the biggest show of the year, and [imo] end said show on a sour note, is not a good use of that "sacrifice". All imo, of course.

So Punk has to lose to a guy who has never won the belt and keep it for a year himself?

[Cronant]

Jan 26, 2013 14:00:55 GMT -5 driver8 said:

I can't speak for anyone else, but when I say sacrifice, I mean "the purpose of ending it"

Like, JBL's lengthy reign being sacrificed to give John Cena his first world title. That to me seemed almost certainly THE best possible way to end that reign.

Ending Punk's over year long reign in order to have Rock have, at most a two and a bit month reign, and then lose it to a guy who's had ten world title reigns, and whose eleventh will likely piss off the majority of the crowd at the biggest show of the year, and [imo] end said show on a sour note, is not a good use of that "sacrifice". All imo, of course.

The thing is, with JBL, you knew they were building up Cena to do the honors. With Punk, they set Punk/Rock in stone and thus made things predictable for months and almost messed over that newcomer (Ryback) in the process.

Its too late to go back, as even if Punk wins at RR, he'll still likely be dealing with Rock or Cena. (Those 3 seem pretty connected) so it is what it is.

[driver8]

I didn't say it has to literallly be an exact replica of JBL/Cena

What I meant was JBL's long reign meant that it meant something when he lost the belt. The company used that meaningful loss to boost someone who was breaking through to the big time.

Punk losing the belt to Rock [and the presumption that Rock then loses it to Cena] doesn't seem, to me, as good a use of the end of a long [longer than JBL's even] reign.

[Deleted]

Jan 26, 2013 13:54:57 GMT -5 Cronant said:

Is this one of those things where no matter what, if Cena wins the title any time in the future its automatically the "Status quo".

Such an overused phrase.

Well he never changes. It's his gimmick. And he's been on top since 2004. "Status quo" is completely valid.

[Arrow]

CM Punk has been champion for 430+ days. He has not lost on pay-per-view since Hell in a Cell 2011. How exactly is he not an example the status quo?

[mrjl]

Jan 26, 2013 14:22:33 GMT -5 @lovehater said:

Jan 26, 2013 13:54:57 GMT -5 Cronant said:

Is this one of those things where no matter what, if Cena wins the title any time in the future its automatically the "Status quo".

Such an overused phrase.

Well he never changes. It's his gimmick. And he's been on top since 2004. "Status quo" is completely valid.

he is not WWE's status quo though

[driver8]

To play devil's advocate:

Punk's only been a legitimate top guy since mid 2011
Cena's been THE top guy since early 2005

[Straight Edge Scrotum]

How about we all just sit back and enjoy it for a change?

We've known that Punk's reign has to come to an end and the big reason it's gone so long is BECAUSE of the Rock. And since it's almost a given that Rock drops it to Cena, I'm not sure how this isn't the most logical ending to Punk's reign...a reign that many people are more than ready to see come to an end.

[Hanz Moleman]

You know, I share some sentiments because I want to see new feuds on my tv, but from a business standpoint, the drawing power just isn't there in Punk yet.

I'll probably get flamed for it, but we are unfortunately in a time where the WWE are still having to rely on Cena's selling power, and plain and simple Rock/Cena II will sell like hotcakes for majority of the audience.

I need to mention though that I believe WWE is on the cusp of something really great, and that if anyone should take the title off of Punk, it should be Ryback. Fans still love him and it would show some great continuity of Ryback fighting off the Shield and finally giving Punk what he deserves. I know I would go ape if that happened.

[The Possum]

Honestly, I'm just bummed that we get around two matches from The Rock and Brock Lesnar a year, and WWE is wasting them on rematches. These guys are two of the most interesting people on the roster, and there's so many fresher options. I'd love to see Rock vs. Brock, Brock vs. Taker, Brock vs. Punk, heck even a Rock vs. Triple H rekindling. But no. We're getting dull rematches.

[mrjl]

Jan 26, 2013 15:58:23 GMT -5 The Possum said:

Honestly, I'm just bummed that we get around two matches from The Rock and Brock Lesnar a year, and WWE is wasting them on rematches. These guys are two of the most interesting people on the roster, and there's so many fresher options. I'd love to see Rock vs. Brock, Brock vs. Taker, Brock vs. Punk, heck even a Rock vs. Triple H rekindling. But no. We're getting dull rematches.

three of the four matches you listed there are rematches!

[The Possum]

Jan 26, 2013 16:16:37 GMT -5 mrjl said:

Jan 26, 2013 15:58:23 GMT -5 The Possum said:

Honestly, I'm just bummed that we get around two matches from The Rock and Brock Lesnar a year, and WWE is wasting them on rematches. These guys are two of the most interesting people on the roster, and there's so many fresher options. I'd love to see Rock vs. Brock, Brock vs. Taker, Brock vs. Punk, heck even a Rock vs. Triple H rekindling. But no. We're getting dull rematches.

three of the four matches you listed there are rematches!

Sorry, I meant recent rematches. Things have changed significantly since the matches I listed, and they would feel fresh. It's been over a decade since they occurred. We saw Brock/HHH six months ago and neither of them have done anything since, and Rock/Cena is so worn down from the year of build. Not to mention its decisive, clean finish.

["Trickster Dogg" James Jesse]

Jan 26, 2013 13:54:57 GMT -5 Cronant said:

Is this one of those things where no matter what, if Cena wins the title any time in the future its automatically the "Status quo".

Such an overused phrase.

It is.

I mean, when you stop and think about the facts that:

1) Last year, in 2012, John Cena, despite not being WWE champion, main-evented nine pay-per-views (Elimination Chamber, Wrestlemania, Extreme Rules, Over the Limit, No Way Out, Money in the Bank, Night of Champions, Survivor Series, TLC).

2) John Cena has won a major title at Wrestlemania (Wrestlemania 21, 25, 26) and main-evented Wrestlemania (Wrestlemania 22, 23, 27, 28) and, when he wasn't the main-event or when he didn't win the title, was still featured in a world title match (Wrestlemania 24).

3) John Cena is a ten-time WWE champion who has held the belt in total (across all WWE title reigns) for 1058 days.

4) John Cena, since winning his first WWE title in 2005, has main-evented the following pay-per-views:

Judgment Day 2005, Unforgiven 2005, Taboo Tuesday 2005, New Year's Revolution 2006, Wrestlemania 22, Backlash 2006, ECW One Night Stand 2006, Summerslam 2006, Unforgiven 2006, Cyber Sunday 2006, Armageddon 2006, New Year's Revolution 2007, Wrestlemania 23, Backlash 2007, Judgment Day 2007, One Night Stand 2007, Vengeance 2007, The Great American Bash 2007, Summerslam 2007, winning the Royal Rumble in 2008, Backlash 2008, Night of Champions 2008, Survivor Series 2008, No Way Out 2009, Backlash 2009, Bragging Rights 2009, Survivor Series 2009, being eliminated from the Royal Rumble 2010, Extreme Rules 2010, Over the Limit 2010, Fatal Four-Way 2010, Money in the Bank 2010, Summerslam 2010, Night of Champions 2010, featured as the guest referee at Survivor Series 2010, TLC 2010, Elimination Chamber 2011, Wrestlemania 27, Extreme Rules 2011, Over the Limit 2011, Capitol Punishment 2011, Money in the Bank 2011, Summerslam 2011, Hell in a Cell 2011, Vengeance 2011, Survivor Series 2011, Elimination Chamber 2012, Wrestlemania 28, Extreme Rules 2012, Over the Limit 2012, No Way Out 2012, Money in the Bank 2012, Night of Champions 2012, Survivor Series 2012, TLC 2012.

5) Last year, 2012, John Cena, despite not being WWE champion, main-evented, closed out, or was featured prominently on the following episodes of Raw, the WWE's flagship show:

January 2nd, January 9th, February 13th, February 27th, March 5th, March 26th, April 2nd, April 8th, April 16th, April 23rd, April 30th, May 14th, May 21st, June 4th, June 11th, June 18th, June 25th, July 16th, July 23rd, July 30th, August 6th, August 20th, August 27th, September 3rd, September 10th, September 17th, September 24th, October 8th, October 15th, November 5th, November 12th, December 10th, December 17th, December 24th, December 31st.

You see, Cena haters especially, that despite the numerical supremacy (that you people call 'facts') of how much John Cena has been featured the majority of the time as the main-event guy of WWE this past year, since he doesn't have the WWE title (which means by fiat that of course he's not the central focus of the show), or even in years past since his first WWE (because he still has a long way to go to beat all of Bruno Sammartino's records), he still hasn't been featured 100% of the time all the time because he deserves to be. So, how can we even say he's really a draw when he's not featured in several segments every week on Raw, or when he doesn't get more title shot opportunities than he deserves because he's all about hustle, loyalty, and respect, or when he still overcomes impossible odds even though he wins almost every time he goes out there. And remember that time when Jerry Lawler said we should admire Cena because he can lift heavy things?

John Cena proves that being the status quo is a kind of change. Today's different than yesterday, right? And so will tomorrow be different than today. It's John Cena's (WWE) universe, and we're just lucky enough to be able to live in it!

[Wolf Hurricane]

It's a reasonable fear, I'd say. I'm not even the biggest Cena detractor; matter of fact, I'm not even sour on the guy. However, if the whole purpose of this reign was to feed him to the Rock, then turn around and feed the Rock to Cena, that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. For one, to go through all of this just to give Cena his win back is a waste of time to me; if it was that important he go over, why not just have him go over last year? He beats Rock in his hometown at 28, turns heel, and you have an entire year of storylines right there with Cena as the top bad and Punk as the new top face. Second, to give Punk a year-long reign just to feed him to a guy who had his first match in seven years just two years ago, right after feeding him Cena (and feeding Punk to Triple H), kinda says to me "the new guys don't measure up to the Attitude Era guys.

It's almost like WrestleMania's gonna be a big reset of sorts: Feed Punk to Rock, feed Rock to Cena at Mania, Cena returns to the top of the card for the near future, Rock goes back to Hollywood, and Punk just... whatever. It's got me really unexcited about this Sunday and the upcoming months to WrestleMania.