26/11/2017
WWE's Plans For John Cena: Will He
Appear At Clash Of Champions?
John Cena's forgettable appearance at
Survivor Series could be the last time we
see him on WWE TV this year.
According to the November 27th edition of
the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, "The
Champ" is not currently set to appear
on SmackDown's Clash of Champions pay-
per-view on December 17th even though the
show takes place in Boston in Cena's home
state. His next scheduled WWE match isn't
until December 26th at the Madison Square
Garden live event, where he's currently
penciled in to face Roman Reigns.
WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?
The booking of Cena at Survivor Series was
quite strange as, for the first time in recent
memory, he seemed like a complete
afterthought in the 5-on-5 match and could
have just as easily not been in the match at
all.
Now, it's unclear how Cena will figure into
plans for The Royal Rumble and
WrestleMania season. Initial reports
indicated that we might be getting Cena vs.
Jinder Mahal at WrestleMania 34, but that
was before Mahal dropped the WWE title,
which presumably changed plans for all
parties involved. With many of WWE's top
stars seemingly having 'Mania matches
lined up for them (Roman Reigns vs. Brock
Lesnar, etc.), it will be interesting to see
what role Cena has both before and at
WrestleMania.
Cena was previously booked for live event
matches against Samoa Joe (and there's a lot
of history there), so that's a possibility. But
after WWE already did Cena vs. Braun
Strowman, Shinsuke Nakamura and Reigns
over the past several months, there isn't an
obvious feud lined up for him, at least in
terms of one fans are clamoring to see. It
does seem likely that he'll be an entrant in
the Royal Rumble, but he doesn't quite
figure into the WWE or Universal
Championship plans until next summer at
the earliest.
Still, Cena is a known draw and live event
attraction, so we can rest assured he'll have
a role on the road to WrestleMania. Barring
something crazy like a match with The
Undertaker happening, however, he may be
relegated to what will be considered a
midcard match, much like he was at
WrestleMania 33 when he took on The Miz
and Maryse in mixed tag team action.
CHECK THIS OUT
Triple H Set To Face Both Kurt Angle And
Braun Strowman?
WHAT'S THE DEAL?
Triple H could compete in two blockbuster
matches in early 2018.
According to the Wrestling Observer (h/t
Cageside Seats), Triple H may be set to face
Kurt Angle and Braun Strowman at WWE's
two biggest pay-per-views of the year:
WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?
Although Strowman is well on his way to
becoming one of WWE's biggest draws , he
hasn't had that career-defining win or
moment that has solidified him as a star
that WWE will build its future around.
Now, he finds himself in the early stages of
a babyface turn and is adjusting to a new
role that will result in him being pushed
differently. Thus, WWE has made the wise
choice to involve Strowman in the ongoing
battle between Triple H and Kurt Angle, two
bona fide legends who, at this point, have
more name value and are more
recognizable than Strowman is. Although
Strowman is getting closer to those stars, he
will benefit tremendously from working
with them at WWE's most important time of
the year, WrestleMania season.
Since there are virtually no indications that
WWE will stray from its plans to do Brock
Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal
title at WrestleMania 34, Strowman vs.
Triple H is about as big of a match as "The
Monster Among Men" is going to get, and
things could certainly be worse for him.
Triple H has spent the past two
WrestleManias putting over Reigns and Seth
Rollins, respectively, which helped cement
both of them as two of WWE's most high
profile stars.
The same logic applies to Triple H vs.
Strowman, the latter of which will get a
huge "rub" (as they say in pro wrestling) by
working with two legends who have been
known ratings draws in the past. And if
Strowman defeats Triple H at WrestleMania
like most assume he will, that could set him
up for a great post-WrestleMania run where
he finally reaches the promised land and
becomes world champion.
CHECK THIS OUT
Finn Balor's Royal Rumble Match With
Brock Lesnar Reportedly Scrapped, But
Why?
WHAT'S THE DEAL?
It looks like we won't be seeing "The Demon
King" vs. "The Beast" after all.
According to the Wrestling Observer's Dave
Meltzer (h/t SEScoops) , Finn Balor is no
longer scheduled to face Brock Lesnar at the
2018 Royal Rumble, and it's because of
Vince McMahon:
A report from Sports Illustrated adds that
Balor was never considered as a potential
Lesnar opponent and that McMahon finds
him "bland:"
WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?
Balor isn't "over enough?" That's certainly
debatable.
If you consistently watch WWE
programming, you'll probably notice that
Balor typically generates some of the best
and loudest reactions in the company.
That's why he was probably one of WWE's
best merchandise sellers last year , may
currently be No. 4 in that category ( based
on WWEShop.com advertising ) and was the
second most popular new star to debut last
year , behind only AJ Styles.
If that doesn't qualify as being "over," what
is? It sure seems like McMahon simply isn't
a big fan of Balor, similar to what we saw a
few years ago when the boss labeled Cesaro
as "boring" and then derailed his singles
push because of it. That would explain why
Balor vs. Lesnar didn't happen at Survivor
Series as was initially planned , and it
would also explain the up-and-down
booking of Balor, who defeated Styles at TLC
last month only to be squashed by Kane the
next night on Raw.
This is one of those situations where it's
hard to envision what McMahon is thinking
because everything, from crowd reactions to
merchandise sales, indicate that Balor is
probably one of the most over stars in the
company. The problem isn't Balor, who was
actually leading WWE's poll that asked fans
who they wanted Lesnar's next challenger
to be. It's that Lesnar has been booked to be
so invincible that virtually no one is viewed
to be on his level.
Now, that will leave WWE in a bit of a
pickle at Royal Rumble because there are
very few realistic options to take on "The
Beast" at that pay-per-view, which could be
without a marquee world title match
because of it.
CHECK THIS OUT
Latest Update On Lesnar's Potential Role
At Royal Rumble
WHAT'S THE DEAL?
With Balor apparently no longer in the
running, WWE now has the tough task of
finding an opponent for Lesnar at the Royal
Rumble in January.
According to the latest edition of
the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, "The
Beast" is still scheduled to wrestle at Royal
Rumble, but it's unclear who his opponent
will be or if he will even defend the
Universal Championship. Although the
reports lists Bray Wyatt, Jason Jordan and
Samoa Joe as potential opponents, there is
no obvious opponent lined up for Lesnar.
WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?
Here's the problem with booking Lesnar to
be so dominant: There aren't any realistic
opponents left for him to face.
He's already mowed through most of WWE's
top stars, including Dean Ambrose, The
Undertaker, Goldberg, Braun Strowman,
Samoa Joe, Cena and many others. As a
result, stars who haven't been pushed as
well as those aforementioned names, such
as Balor, simply aren't formidable
opponents for Lesnar, who needs to face
fellow behemoths or strongly pushed stars
(like AJ Styles) to make his matches matter
more. Thus, WWE finds itself in a pickle
because Lesnar has faced essentially every
possible opponent (aside from Reigns, who
he'll likely face at WrestleMania 34)
on Raw.
Unless WWE decides to have Lesnar take on
a SmackDown star like Nakamura, there
simply aren't many dream matches left for
Lesnar, and although he's still considered to
be one of WWE's two biggest draws , his
drawing power is limited when his potential
dream opponents are limited as well. That
makes you wonder if WWE, which has
recently been in cost-cutting mode , will
even want to bring Lesnar back when his
contract expires after WrestleMania 34,
especially after he's hinted at leaving
anyway .
He is WWE's highest paid star , but the
stagnant WWE Network subscriber
count suggests he's not having the impact he
should be in order to justify his hefty
salary. It looks like Lesnar's monster push
is all about his eventual loss to Reigns, but
with such a small slate of potential
opponents for "The Beast" remaining, that
may be the only real thing his push is
accomplishing as WWE's lackluster booking
has failed to build up other credible
opponents for him.
CHECK THIS OUT
WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
WWE is set to have just 14 pay-per-views in
2018 (down from 16 this year) and has now
made Money in the Bank a dual-branded
show, both of which are wise decisions on
their part. Check out the full schedule
below, courtesy of PWInsider.com:
Raw viewership was up by 43,000 viewers ,
which is actually a very disappointing
number given that it was the post-PPV show
after a loaded Survivor Series event.
Likewise, SmackDown was up by roughly
55,000 viewers , which is a great sign
because the show did very good viewership
the previous week.
Batista is interested in a WWE return and
would even want to work live events as
long as it leads to a program with Triple H.
However, his movie schedule and the
possibility of an injury may prevent that
from happening.
The Miz dropped the Intercontinental title to
Roman Reigns because he'll be taking a
lengthy hiatus to film a movie, which will
apparently be the latest installment in The
Marine franchise . There's no word on how
much time he'll miss, but as arguably the
best heel on Raw , it's safe to say he'll be the
one who's missed by the red brand.
AJ Styles' contract is up in early 2019 , but
given how popular he's become, expect a
hard push from WWE to re-sign him,
possibly to a deal that sees him work fewer
dates.
The latest Wrestling Observer
Newsletter reports FS1 has actually had
discussions with WWE, which is taking in
$180 million for its TV deals this year ,
about the network being a potential landing
spot for WWE's next TV deal after the
current one expires in 2019. That could
certainly result in a unique scenario
because FS1 is the current home of UFC.
It looks like WWE may have scrapped Jason
Jordan's push as the Raw superstars has
failed to get over with the crowd and may
be replaced by Strowman in midst of the
HHH/Angle drama.
Former WWE star Jack Swagger said his pay
fluctuated along with his start-and-stop
pushes, so for those who think wins and
losses don't matter in pro wrestling, there's
your answer.
WWE has scrapped the popular WWE
Network show Bring it to the Table , the latest
victim of the company's widespread budget
cuts.
WWE could soon start airing a weekly show
for Facebook Live that may either focus on
a dual-branded or mixed tag team match
concept. Either way, it looks like the
company is serious about branching out and
using nontraditional avenues to air its
content.
Vince McMahon apparently called up five
female wrestlers from NXT (and brought
back Paige) because he believed both
women's divisions were "stale." There's
certainly some truth to that, and now that
the women's division is loaded with talent,
might we see the first-ever women's Royal
Rumble in January?
It looks like there is no longer heat on
Kevin Owens but is still heat on Sami Zayn,
so it'll be interesting to see how that affects
their TV roles going forward.
Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school
teacher by day and a sports writer by night.
He’s a contributor to the Forbes
, where he primarily
covers WWE. You can follow him on Twitter
.
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Forbes
There's a good reason why John Cena wasn't
highlighted so much. https://t.co/UGJPeSv9VI
— WWE Fanatic () November
23, 2017
“
Credit: WWE.com
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