Thursday Morning Backlash: John Cena Re-Hired to WWE

Columns, Top Story

Jake Ziegler:

John Cena is officially back on the WWE Raw Roster. He was “fired” for less than a month in one of the most bitched-about plot twists of the year. People bitched that they knew “Cena wasn’t really fired,” as if they also don’t know that the Sleeper doesn’t actually put anyone to sleep. They bitched because he kept appearing on Raw anyway. Now they’re bitching because they went ahead and officially put Cena back on the roster. Where do they go from here?

Last Monday on Raw, Wade Barrett rehired John Cena, against the risk of losing all of his Nexus backup. This made perfect sense to me, as Barrett is a dastardly dude who has relied heavily on his muscle to get by, and he didn’t want to lose them. He also made David Otunga pay for inciting the mutiny, which also makes sense for Barrett’s character.

Barrett did announce that as a condition of Cena being rehired, the two will square off in a Chairs Match this Sunday on pay-per-view. It seems like if either of them simply wins the match, the story will ultimately fall flat. If Cena wins, it’s business as usual and most of the storyline meant nothing. If Barrett wins it will be good for him, but how is beating a guy in a Chairs Match worse than keeping him fired?

A popular idea going around is that the regrouped Nexus should “injure” Cena, therefore taking him off TV for a little while and building up to a big return match. I wonder if then everyone would complain that Cena isn’t “really” injured? This would really put heat on Barrett and the Nexus, and would nicely set up for a big WrestleMania blowoff. I’ve read that Barrett was in line to face the Undertaker, but that was months ago, and plans can change.

So what should they do on Sunday? Should Cena get “injured?” Or is there a better idea? Let us know in the comments!

Glazer is a former senior editor at Pulse Wrestling and editor and reviewer at The Comics Nexus.