Credit: WWE.com
John Cena will, of course, take on Brock Lesnar for the WWEWorld Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions.
But what could Vince McMahon and his writing crew have in store for the star after the pay-per-view?
Safe to say, Cena probably won't leave Bridgestone Arena with the belt.
After all the great work WWE has done in building up Lesnar's ability as a dominant monster heel—he ended The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak and essentially squashed Cena at SummerSlam—it is far too soon to end his reign. From a booking standpoint, it makes no sense whatsoever.
Credit: WWE.com
One potential opponent for Cena following the Nashville show isRusev.
The former NXT star is fairly over with fans right now as a decent—if rather one-dimensional—anti-American heel character. His gorgeous but evil manager Lana is also proving herself to be quite the find. Despite her inexperience she has emerged as one of the best female talkers that the company has.
Honestly, both of them might be too good for the mediocre and predictable material with which the writers often burden them. And after a string of dull feuds with the likes of Big E and Jack Swagger,Rusev surely deserves to move up the card and enter into a long-term storyline with Cena.
Credit: WWE.com
Of course, one potential problem is Cena's bad track record when it comes to working with newcomers. Wade Barrett and the rest of Nexus were not helped at all by their program with him in 2010.
More recently, guys like Ryback and Bray Wyatt were also damaged somewhat by working with him.
The booking team has been extremely protective of its top star in the past. This may not bode well for Rusev's blossoming act if he were to start a program with him.
Then again, WWE's booking of Cena at SummerSlam—as noted, Lesnartotally obliterated him in their match—probably does indicate a change in its mentality towards him. Maybe Rusev can benefit from working with him after all.
Credit: WWE.com
Seth Rollins is another potential opponent for the 12 Rounds actor. Rollins probably won't be cashing in his Money in the Bank title shot anytime soon—both he and Lesnar are heels, so it doesn't make sense—and a program with Cena could help prepare him for his eventual main event spot and title run.
It would make for an interesting feud. Rollins is flourishing as a heel character right now and could help revive Cena's character. The in-ring work would likely be very good too.
Should John Cena's role in WWE now be to put new guys over?
Again, there is the danger of WWEscripting Cena to squash him, but as mentioned the writers may have learned from past mistakes. Let's hope so. A feud with Cena could do wonders for Rollins' credibility, but only if he's booked right.
Following Night of Champions, there are a few directions the company can go in with the former WWE champion. But no matter who gets picked to be his next foe—Rusev or Rollins or someone else—ideally the writers will recognize that the smartest way to use the aging star is to put new people over, helping secure the company's future in the process
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