John Cena: Return of Super Cena at Extreme Rules Is an Ominous Sign for WWE

The WWE Universe thought things were finally started to change with John Cena. At long last, a character shift seemed likely after years of the same old gimmick. However, his victory over Brock Lesnar, in typical "Super Cena" fashion, proves otherwise.

It started with Kane returning in an attempt to get Cena to embrace the hate. The Rock then made his triumphant return and verbally ripped him apart. When Rocky went over clean at WrestleMania and Cena wasn't able to overcome the odds, it appeared a brighter future was on the horizon.

That feeling was amplified by the return of Lesnar. The former UFC champion dominated Cena for the better part of a month and controlled most of the match at Extreme Rules. But just when it seemed like the Cenation's leader was down and out, he quickly turned the tables and picked up the win.

It's exactly the type of match diehard fans have come to dread when Cena's involved. No matter how many times he gets crushed, he's able to act like a superhero for about 30 seconds to offset an extended beating.

Above all else, it proves the company doesn't feel it can take any risks with one of its most popular characters and that's an ominous sign. It poured untold resources into getting Lesnar to return and still wouldn't allow him to beat Cena.

If that doesn't prove the company is satisfied with the status quo, nothing will. Unfortunately, the status quo makes for boring television. Fans want to walk away with a little bit of an unknown, and that's no longer available with the colorful superstar.

He got on the mic after the match and talked about "going home" for a while, which usually means it's time for a vacation. It's ironic because he just came off a feud with The Rock where his main selling point was never missing any shows, but Vince McMahon has never let logic stand in his way.

If Cena is indeed taking some time off, Sunday night's result makes even less sense. There's no reason, aside from lazy booking, to negatively affect Lesnar for Cena's sake.

It will now take the creative team months to rebuild Lesnar's character to the point it would have reached with a victory last night. And it's still unclear how much he plans on working, so it could take even longer than that.

Just when it seemed like there was hope for the future of Cena, the outlook has become gloomy once again. "Super Cena" is back, and apparently better than ever. Perhaps those who believed something would finally change, myself included, are just suckers, but now everybody will suffer.

If the WWE didn't allow Lesnar to defeat Cena at a secondary pay-per-view when the stakes were incredibly low for Cena, it's a challenge to imagine what the future holds.

All told, it doesn't look good.