Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Big Heat's Hot Takes: CENA FOR CHAMP

You know it, Cena victorious would be best for everyone
Photo Credit: WWE.com
For the past few years, it has become en vogue to hate on John Cena. Despite his numerous charitable endeavors and his seeming willingness to do whatever is truly best for the entire WWE company, the jorts-wearing superman is seen as the epitome of the glass ceiling - no matter how popular someone else may get, no one is allowed to surpass Cena. Ever.

And with Money in the Bank coming up this Sunday, Cena is one of eight competitors with a chance to win the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Ask a certain sect of the hardcore fan community who should come out of the match with the gold, and the answer will generally be Roman Reigns, or Cesaro, or Bray Wyatt. The so-called "smarks" are looking to the future, and what better chance to move ahead than by crowning a champion who has their best days ahead of them?

Well, what if looking to the future means John Cena really is the best option? BETCHA DIDN'T THINK OF THAT.

It's true, folks; to maximize long-term booking potential, John Cena needs to win the championship for the 15th time. Sure, guys like Reigns, Cesaro, and Wyatt are potentially megastars for the next several years. But Cena has the experience necessary to be a great champion now while other guys are built up.

Look at the ladder match lineup for MITB: Cena, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Kane, and Alberto del Rio are former world champs, and Reigns, Cesaro, and Wyatt are most likely future world champs. What kind of story would it be if someone who has never been champ before wins a ladder match over five former champs? It's not a definitive win for those guys - no pinfall or submission? Pssh, weak.

A ladder match victory only proves you can climb a ladder. Nothing more, nothing less. Hell, I'm a fat white guy, and I can climb a ladder pretty damn well. Put me in the match!

So do you really think it will help either Reigns, Cesaro, or Wyatt in the long-term to win a match where you have to be lucky rather than good? No way, those guys need to win their first championship via pinfall or submission to prove it. So they're out for Sunday.

Any one of the former world champs would be okay with winning a lame ladder match for the title. Since they've all held the belts before, lucking into them again is no big deal. But Sheamus is out - he's the US Champion, so unless we've figured out a way for one guy to wear three belts without looking ridiculous there's no way he'll climb the ladder on Sunday.

Alberto del Rio is the dark horse here, but come on, he's fallen into the midcard abyss. Not that it's a bad place to be, but his time at the top of the card (literally the top, since his matches for the World Heavyweight Championship always seemed to open the show) is over. Have fun with a million more matched with Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler, 'Berto. And Randy Orton can't win - he needs to be freed up for Roman Reigns, to finally put an end to that Former Shield-Former Evolution beef. And Kane? Well, unless Daniel Bryan is healed up enough to come back and immediately take the championship back from "the monster who put him on the shelf," a Kane championship victory makes about as much sense as using a flamethrower to light the candles on a birthday cake - it might seem badass at the time, but you're really just making a mess of everything.

And then there was one - Mr. Cena. It's so painfully obvious here, in light of all these other circumstances, that he's truly the only logical option for champ. Besides, it's only for like six weeks - my man Brock Lesnar is coming back to take the title from him.

And don't you want to see Cena knocked out of his jorts from an F-5? Seriously, if he needs to win the title for that to happen, I'll set up the ladder for the guy.