Tonight at a WWE live event, John Cena’s match was stopped and he had to be helped from the ring to the back. There was no stretcher involved, but he could not put weight on his leg. This obviously could be a major blow to WWE’s future plans.
Of course it is too early to tell and it’s possible that he will be able to work through the injury. It could also take Cena out for a significant amount of time, which would mean a giant hole on the Raw roster. Lucky for WWE, Cena ended Raw on Monday being laid out by CM Punk and Nexus. This gives them an easy way to write off Cena and an instant rivalry to bring him back with.
Now, let’s talk about the options if John Cena is out for a significant period of time.
Triple H is the obvious one. His return is rumored to be more than imminent at this point and he will receive a major babyface reaction upon his return. It is easy to just take Cena out and insert Triple H after he has a blowoff match with Sheamus. Hunter could be a viable option, but he does not play the sympathetic babyface that gets beat down well. This will hurt the credibility of The Nexus, since they can’t get any heat from him.
Of course, the new major babyface on Raw is John Morrison. He is being given a test run, where at this point he is below John Cena and Jerry Lawler, but he is a big deal. Could it be possible that Morrison will step up here and fill this role? He has yet to cut a money promo and desperately needs that ability, but these are desperate times. This would not be an ideal choice, but if he actually stepped into the role and broke out because of it, he could finally fill the potential we have all been discussing for years.
Another option could be moving a Smackdown star that is doing nothing at this time. Could Big Show fill the major babyface on Raw role? He would not have pretty matches and I shudder at the thought on him crushing CM Punk again. He does meet the star power requirement that WWE often seems to put on their upper card guys on Raw (Nexus not included). I would hate to see them take this option, since Big Show is such an unexciting act.
Could WWE actually decide to turn someone? What if Wade Barrett came back and had an issue with CM Punk replacing him as the leader of Nexus? I don’t know if fans would buy Barrett as a babyface this soon, but he could mention that somehow he has come to respect John Cena in this feud with him. Wade Barrett is one of the best talkers in WWE right now and if anyone could make this turn work, I’m convinced it is him. I doubt WWE would do this and I hope they don’t, but anything is possible.
Of course there are a ton of possibilities beyond this list. These are the ones that I felt like writing about tonight. Where do you see WWE going with this? Is Wrestlemania is jeopardy with Cena possibly out (especially with Undertaker questionable)? Make sure to follow me on Twitter and interact with me regularly at twitter.com/itswilltime.
