John Cena Will Cement His Position in the Midcard at WWE WrestleMania 31

John Cena is an old man.

He said as much multiple times during his most recent promo against Rusev on Raw. Prior to his defiant monologue, Rusev and Lana cued up a vignette of the abuse Cena took over the years.

"We wonder how a mortal man like John Cena can keep on going," Lana pondered. "His body must ache."

Lana went on to describe Cena as a man at his limits. While these jabs were storyline driven, many truths were said in jest.

WWE is finally coming to the realization that Cena is in decline. His role as a midcarder should have been cemented last year. That was the plan, as he worked with the up-and-coming Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX.

When then-WWE champion Daniel Bryan went down with an injury, Cena returned to the main event picture as an emergency replacement.

Since his one-sided loss to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, however, he is slowly returning to his previous role as a gatekeeper.

The days of Cena headlining WrestleManias and carrying the WWE are over—or at least they should be.

Like Cena, WWE is in transition. It must find out which of its current crop of young stars can be perennial main eventers.

Promising upstarts like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Wyatt are going to be pushed by current NXT "veteran rookies" Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Finn Balor. Cena's days as WWE's headliner in an emergency glass case are over.

The future hasn't necessarily passed Cena by, but it will have to get by him to make it in WWE. Cena's status as a midcarder doesn't hurt him as much as it helps WWE's transitional roster. Wins over the biggest WWE Superstar of this generation will always carry value.

Beating Cena is now a right of passage. These elusive victories are WWE's version of Andrew Luck dusting an aging Peyton Manning in the playoffs.

Unless he leaves WWE for a movie career and comes back years later, Cena should never headline a WrestleMania again. He's Superman in winter. Even in his twilight he still maintains a pivotal role of saving and preserving WWE.

Cena will further the company's brand by legitimizing its next top stars before flying off with Amy Schumer.

Can John Cena solidify the midcard by working with up-and-coming talent? Listen for more on PodNasty!

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