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 Tonight is WWE Night of Champions 2014 and it will feature the last BIG DRAW match that we could possibly get from the developmental system's finest from 2002. Both Brock Lesnar and John Cena joined the main WWE roster after wrestling within the Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory at the time. WWE had full intentions of splitting the roster up for the initial Brand Extension with RAW and Smackdown acting as competing wrestling entities. WWE was in a real need to thicken up the talent roster and thankfully for them, Vice President of Talent Jim Ross stocked the developmental system well. In addition to John Cena and Brock Lesnar, the WWE was able to get other talents such as Randy Orton and Batista along with other wrestlers who are no longer with the WWE (Shelton Benjamin, what an amazing talent he was, for example). Cena and Lesnar have both been incredibly important to the WWE's longevity since 2002. Granted, Brock Lesnar left the WWE during 2004 after Wrestlemania 20, but his return was needed to help boost Pay Per View buyrates and maybe to help the WWE Network sell subscriptions to watch Pay Per Views. Lesnar rejoined the WWE after a successful Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) career in which he was UFC Heavyweight Champion and a huge Pay Per View draw there. Now, he's possibly the most captivating character on the WWE and has a great mouthpiece for him in Paul Heyman. It's a no-brainer to have Brock Lesnar wrestle the company's finest, as he has only fought John Cena (now 3 times), Triple H (3 times), Big Show, CM Punk, and ending the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak in a major shocker everyone. Lesnar is now WWE Champion after destroying John Cena at SummerSlam 2014. But John Cena has given the WWE a bigger "bang for its buck" since 2002. Unlike Lesnar, who was absent from the WWE between 2004-2012, John Cena has been with the WWE the entire time. Not only that, but John Cena developed into a legitimate Main Event drawing wrestler by 2005 and has carried the WWE on his back. The merchandise and live event numbers speak for themselves, especially when John Cena has to miss a show. WWE ticket sales drop and often, WWE has to offer refunds to customers because John Cena is not on the show. It can be easily argued that John Cena is not a strong Pay Per View draw, however, but his draw is stronger towards younger WWE fans who drag their parents to live events and buy the John Cena merchandise. But in terms of pure draws where a wrestler puts more butts in seats and boosts the companies financials, only Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and the Rock have drawn better than Cena within the "Wrestlemania" era. I would argue that John Cena never had a strong #2 like Hogan had Andre/Macho or Austin had the Rock, vice versa. More importantly for the WWE, John Cena has acted as the company spokesperson for the last 10 years. WWE is a publicly traded company and they need their talent to represent the company well at various corporate events and not make bad headlines. John Cena's work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation is very important to the WWE's image especially as it tries to hide from its past. The pro wrestling world was put under a microscope when Chris Benoit murdered his family and then committed suicide during June 2007. For weeks on end, WWE's employment of Benoit and their drug policy was questioned by the media and the WWE took some major black eyes. Eventually, the McMahons were even questioned by the United States Congress because of what happened with Benoit. The Benoit murderers could have scared away many parents to force their kids to stop watching WWE wrestling, yet there was a role model that still existed on the roster named John Cena. Cena made it OK for many parents to let their kids keep watching pro wrestling. WHAT IF, however, John Cena did NOT exist in the WWE? In other words, we're taking a big eraser of time and careers to remove anything that John Cena did or said within the WWE from 2002 through now. Gone... Instead of wrestling, he could have continued with bodybuilding or do something with his exercise physiology degree earned from Springfield College. He could have done anything... Maybe, he just didn't get picked up by Jim Ross to join Ohio Valley Wrestling during 2001. Thus, he's a free agent in the pro wrestling business to go to TNA wrestling and Ring of Honor later as he worked his way up in the independent system. To start this journey, I believe that 2004 is the most important year where John Cena's career took off and long-term booking plans were put in place. In my mind, all events from the RAW roster can be retained from 2002-2004 because RAW and Smackdown were legitimately different brands. John Cena was on the Smackdown brand but he didn't make much of an impact, despite that debut match against Kurt Angle, until he dressed up as a rapper for the Halloween edition of Smackdown during October 2002. As luck would have it, rapper Eminem's 8 Mile movie came out during November 2002 and John Cena rap in Eminem's style to rip opposing wrestlers. It caught on quickly and the WWE had a goldmine on its hand. But through late 2002, he was in the midcard... During 2003, the WWE got hit with the injury bug and needed some warm bodies throw at Brock Lesnar. John Cena was chosen and his character doubled in popularity by the way he ripped Brock Lesnar on promos and showed absolutely no fear of Brock. Fans respected that bigtime and Cena would take it a step further by renaming his Death Valley Driver finisher as the "FU Drop" in response to Brock Lesnar's F5 finisher. Cena even had a Pay Per View bout against the Undertaker at Vengeance 2003. However, as a heel and still essentially listed as a midcarder who was used as a back-up for injured main eventers, Cena didn't amount to much during 2003. He lost to Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker, but at the very least, he took his medicine and was waiting for his turn. Cena would turn babyface later during 2003 and now he could not only embrace the fan reactions he was getting, but to start winning big matches as well. The first important win was defeating the Big Show at Wrestlemania 20 to capture his first United States Title. In my opinion, this is where the true effects of this "WHAT IF" column can begin. Cena had decent reigns as US Champion, but more importantly, he drew with the US Title during 2004 and early 2005. Fans were reacting strongly to him and almost immediately, WWE put in long-term plans to crown John Cena as WWE Champion for Wrestlemania 21. Shortly thereafter, WWE held a RAW/Smackdown DRAFT to trade wrestlers among the brand. RAW had the #1 pick and they selected John Cena to become a full-time RAW wrestler and with the WWE Title. The rest was history... No John Cena on the Smackdown roster during 2004, that brand is in real danger. Remember, Brock Lesnar left the WWE following Wrestlemania 20 during 2004. I believe this event occurs with or without John Cena. Lesnar was burned out from the grind of the WWE road schedule and furious that the WWE wouldn't give him preferential treatment as the top guy. Some backstage sources that I talked to at the time said Lesnar and other wrestlers were upset at the Bill Goldberg signing during 2003 which called for high money yet limited dates (RAW and Pay Per Views only). Injuries were mounting for Lesnar and yet the dates weren't slowing down. Lesnar was reportedly slated to wrestle the returning "Deadman" Undertaker gimmick after Wrestlemania and this among other creative differences over his character were the last straw for Lesnar. I believe Paul Heyman's demotion as lead writer through early 2004 had a hand in Lesnar's exit as well. I believe that Lesnar is leaving no matter what... Cena was just an opponent during 2003. Without Cena in the WWE during 2004, there's a critical weakness for Smackdown's midcard and a long-term problem without John Cena being able to move to RAW during 2005 as WWE Champion. BIG PROBLEMS for the WWE and other stars must be elevated instead. Let's look at the United States Title first... Big Show was the US Champion at Wrestlemania 20. Considering it was Big Show's only US Title reign, I don't believe long-term plans were in place for Big Show there. As 2004 would progress, WWE had interest in Booker T in holding that title later that year and Chris Benoit would return to relive the Best of 7 series that Booker and Benoit had in WCW. I believe this still happens and WWE would use the title for various developmental wrestlers thereafter. The WWE Title situation gets tricky... Does John Bradshaw Layfield hold the WWE Title for almost a year if John Cena is not in the WWE? In addition to eventually catching on as a heel WWE Champion, the WWE may have kept the belt on JBL to give John Cena a strong moment at Wrestlemania 21. But without John Cena, what happens? Does the WWE give Eddie Guerrero another chance? Sadly for Eddie, he was short in height and soon lost confidence from the McMahons after crowning him WWE Champion and celebrating him at Wrestlemania 20. I believe that Wrestlemania 21 now features JBL vs. the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 21 as a "Streak vs. WWE Title" match instead. In many ways, the rise of John Cena limited the potential that Undertaker's "Deadman" gimmick had during 2004-2005. This would force rebooking of Randy Orton at Wrestlemania and maybe we'd get a 3 Way Evolution match at Wrestlemania 21 with Triple H vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton instead. Maybe. Things get extra complicated when you consider the 2005 WWE Brand Extension DRAFT. Here are the important moves for that year: John Cena - Smackdown to RAW Kurt Angle - Smackdown to RAW Chris Benoit - RAW to Smackdown Randy Orton - RAW to Smackdown Batista - RAW to Smackdown With Kurt Angle banged up and Benoit faltering from his 2004 World Title reign, the trade was essentially John Cena for Batista/Randy Orton. What happens to Batista and Randy Orton if John Cena does not exist in WWE? If I'm right about the booking of Undertaker to win the WWE Title at Wrestlemania 21, does the WWE Title for World Heavyweight Championshp swap still happen? Undertaker to RAW and Batista to Smackdown? It could be easily argued by WWE Creative that Batista and/or Orton were needed on RAW without a draw like John Cena existing. Randy Orton, though, needed some seasoning on the Smackdown brand as well as some time to grow up due to some personal and personnel problems he was having backstage. There's a stronger likelihood that Batista stays on the RAW roster without Cena around. Batista could have been the big featured wrestler on RAW instead of John Cena, I believe. Without Cena, though, the WWE is absent in star power. Someone else from the WWE developmental system would have to be elevated. Could it have been Shelton Benjamin? WWE Creative and Benjamin could never get on the same page on angles and character development even though Benjamin was one of the best in-ring talents that the WWE had at this time. Could the WWE Creative Team taken Benjamin more seriously if they desperately needed to elevate other talent without John Cena? I believe so... Maybe someone else outside of the "Class of 2002" that came shortly thereafter come have grabbed that brass ring? Based on the way that the WWE treated wrestlers other than Batista, Orton, Cena, and Lesnar, I could seriously see WWE relying on Triple H, Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels even more than they did during the latter half of the 2000's. The Degeneration X reunion often had to take a backseat to John Cena. Without Cena, who becomes the clear #1 babyface act? Maybe even a few World Titles would go Shawn Michaels's way? My guess is that Batista benefits the most by staying on RAW and being pushed as a serious wrestler, much like he was on the Smackdown brand following the 2005 trade. It's a safe bet that the WWE would try repeatedly with Randy Orton to get him over while giving Edge many chances. Maybe Christian, too, as he was feuding with John Cena during 2005 and then went no where after Cena was traded to the RAW brand. WWE might see a need for Christian as a talent and he doesn't bolt to TNA Wrestling instead. The biggest pain, in my opinion, that the WWE would feel without John Cena was the aftermath of Chris Benoit's murders and suicide. There's a good chance that Benoit still goes off the deep end because Eddie Guerrero's passing is what reportedly caused Benoit to go into a deep depression and morph into an alcoholic. Benoit wasn't really drawing as World Heavyweight Champion during 2004 and thus his role would diminish anyway with or without John Cena. Nothing erases Benoit's concussions, either... He was a ticking timebomb that was unfortunately set to go off. As I said above, the WWE took a huge media hit for Benoit's actions. Things could get worse without John Cena... Without a squeaky clean wrestler to contrast with Benoit, the WWE could suffer serious viewer erosion with many parents refusing to let their kids/teenagers watch WWE programming. With Cena around, however, he was a clear role model that allowed them to see Chris Benoit as the exception and not the rule. WWE's public relations nightmare could get worse if they are unable to convince parents that WWE programming was OK to watch in spite of Benoit's actions. Instead, parents could see how much their kids loved John Cena and how Cena was nothing like Benoit. Didn't hurt that Cena made himself visable for the Make-a-Wish Foundation or anything with the Troops, and now, the anti-Bullying campaigns. But if WWE doesn't have that representative, they get labled harder as a company who allowed illegal drug activity and didn't take care of their wrestlers with concussions. The damage done would greatly harm the WWE Corporation. Unless another babyface rose from the ashes, who does the Rock come back to feud with and wrestle against for Wrestlemanias 27, 28, and 29? Those shows pulled in over 1,000,000 buys EACH with Rock and Cena headlining each of those shows. Can the WWE convince the Rock to return if someone like John Cena doesn't exist? Can the WWE even afford the Rock without Cena's draw pulling in revenues? Can the WWE afford the return of Brock Lesnar in 2012 without John Cena? Cena and Lesnar did remarkable business at Extreme Rules 2012... All potentially gone if Cena doesn't exist, unless, again, Batista, Orton, Edge, or someone else can draw instead of John Cena. I just don't see it, as each of those wrestlers were given opportunities to be "the guy" and they were always second to Cena. Here's the real catch to John Cena NOT existing in the WWE... WWE could be financially weaker without a draw or spokesperson like John Cena. Maybe, just maybe, TNA Wrestling becomes a stronger opponent for the WWE. Not only could TNA deem themselves as an alternative to a WWE without John Cena, but without the WWE being as lucrative as they were John Cena, TNA could become a legitimate destination for any disgruntled WWE employees. Kurt Angle's shocking departure from the WWE during 2006 would hurt the WWE much more if the WWE didn't have a draw like Cena. With a weaker WWE, it could inspire other wrestlers to jump to TNA as Angle did. And here's the real kicker... What if TNA Wrestling eventually signs John Cena? One could easily argue that it was John Cena's "Thuglife" gimmick that got him over. However, it's not like WWE taught John Cena how to rap or get over with it. It was a chance night for him wearing a costume for the Halloween Smackdown and then riding the 8 Mile wave that got John Cena over. However, it was HIM coming up with the rapping promos and executing it. Therefore, what I'm about to argue is that John Cena would make it anyway whether it was WWE or TNA. With WWE, he had the infrastructure of the marketing department and merchandise to really push the John Cena brand. If TNA had any wrestler who was unique and popular that caused people to tune into TNA wrestling, the money would flow in anyway and TNA would figure out the marketing/merchandise. Part of why TNA is failing is that they are completely unable to create that 1 unique superstar that fans must see. None of their homegrown wrestlers are unique, nor are any of their acquisitions. Weaker WWE might cause Ring of Honor to grow as well, maybe the rise of another promotion. WWE discarded Paul Heyman after the ECW reboot and he might be willing to take on a much weaker WWE without John Cena. Instead, he waited on the sidelines for a great offer from either TNA or WWE to come. As seen by the way Vince McMahon operates, once he has his Main Event Draw (see Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and the Rock), he clings onto them and every other wrestler falls in line. With John Cena as that Main Event draw, every other wrestler had to "know their role" within the WWE. In the last 10 years, rarely have we seen a wrestler get the better of John Cena. And if they do defeat Cena, they either cheated heavily or they are almost guaranteed to lose multiple times following afterward. Maybe the WWE pushes someone like CM Punk more during 2011 if Vince McMahon wasn't reluctant to give up the John Cena brand. There have been many wrestlers that the pro-John Cena booking may have buried and without John Cena around, much of that talent has a chance to succeed. It would be like the mid-1990's WWE where Vince had to try various wrestlers as WWE Champion because he never had a top drawing Main Eventer like Hogan, Austin, Rock, or Cena. Overall, here is what I'll summarize: (1) Batista has the greater opportunity to succeed as the top WWE star. He'll stay on the RAW brand during 2005. (2) WWE is weaker financially if nobody can draw like Cena. Less revenue coming in and the Benoit tragedy from June 2007 does stronger public relation damage without Cena. (3) Competition, whether it's TNA, Ring of Honor, or another promotion, has a better chance to step up and challenge the WWE because of point number (2). They might have a better chance at stealing disgruntled WWE talent. (4) Better chance for Edge, Christian, Batista, Randy Orton, many other Ohio Valley Wrestling graduates, and even the likes of CM Punk to become the top star. Hard to say whether any of those could draw like Cena, but CM Punk proved eventually during 2011-2013 that he could get reasonably close as the #2 in merchandise sales. Hey, maybe Daniel Bryan too? And finally... If John Cena isn't around and acting like a squeaky clean babyface, it might be too risky for the WWE to endure the PG Era. Granted, I've seen reports where it's the USA Network forcing the PG rating on WWE programming. However, USA Networks was also the enabler for the "Attitude Era". If having more adult themed storylines would help the John Cena-less WWE draw ratings during the late 2000's, I'm willing to bet that NBC/Universal and eventually Comcast would sign off on it. After all, if there's anything that recent history of Comcast and NBC/Universal has proven, they're whores for high ratings even if it does long-term damage to their network. Being reliant on singing competitions does not bode well in the long-run, ask FOX. In my opinion, it's a changed landscape in pro wrestling if John Cena does not work for WWE. Cena has made the WWE tons of money while also giving them a company spokesperson that they can proudly display. Especially after the Benoit tragedy, the latter point may have saved the company some serious financial damage. But John Cena DOES exist and he's going to wrestle Brock Lesnar TONIGHT at WWE Night of Champions. The real question is this... Not only will John Cena win, but will the WWE take a chance on his squeaky clean image with some sort of heel turn tonight in order to defeat Brock Lesnar? WWE has enjoyed over 9 years of Cena as the #1 guy and now, he's getting older and has neck/shoulder injuries that require attention. Could the time be now? I've argued for about 4 years now since my return to LoP that it would be foolish of the WWE to destroy John Cena's merchandise and houseshow drawing ability. But if there's not much left in the tank for John Cena and ratings/buys are declining anyway, why not? For more coverage on WWE Night of Champions, check out Mr. Tito's PHAT Night of Champions Predictions. Enjoy the show! SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. © Mr. Tito and LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com - 1998-2014
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