WWE: Who Will Be the Superstar to Finally Score a CLEAN Victory on John Cena?

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Because I am the underdog, and that's exactly what you've lost sight of...And now you stand here and look at me as the kid that can't hang...

You, the 10-time world champion who stands for hustle, loyalty and respect. Who, from Boston, Masachusetts, lives and breathes these red colors. The same colors as your beloved Red Sox, who also portray themselves as the underdog...

What you've lost sight of is what you are. And what you are is what you hate. You're the 10-time world champion. You're the man.

Ladies and gentlemen, the champ is here. You, like the Red Sox, like Boston, are no longer the underdog. You're a dynasty. You are what you hate.

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John Cena stands today as that other WWE Champion, and also the man that has acquired a streak of refusing to be pinned, 1-2-3, without dirty involvement, thus taking a clean loss.

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You have become the New York Yankees.

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A clean victory, in its simplest form, is a victory that (usually) consists of no outside parties, entities, or figures other than those competing in the match.

Whether it’s using a weapon behind the ref’s back, or one of the competitors being distracted or bamboozled (in some way). Basically, that means that CM Punk’s victory over John Cena at Money In The Bank was NOT a clean victory, as Cena was distracted by Vinnie and Laurinitus.

Thus, Cena’s streak of undefeatable-by-clean-measures grows further. It’s becoming almost as daunting as the Undertaker’s 19-0 WrestleMania Streak. And like the WrestleMania streak, the idea of someone ending it is almost surreal—as if it’s just not supposed to happen.

If someone’s going to do it, they need to be the best, and believable to boot. So, I say we conduct ourselves a little witch hunt and scout out potential candidates. To qualify, candidates will generally be faces that are hugely over and usually boast bright futures.

Who will be the one to finally defeat John Cena cleanly after all this time?

Honorable Mentions

Triple H - He has the history and the figure, but his imminent heel turn ruins his chances.

The Miz - He’s built himself up quite a bit, into being voted the #1 Wrestler of 2011 (by PWI), but his scrawny average-joe figure and heelish ring etiquette kill his candidacy.

Stone Cold - If only he’d step back into the squared circle for one more match…

Kurt Angle - As if he'd return to the WWE.

Brock Lesnar - See above. Although he's had a "never say never" attitude, it's just not happening.

Such a depressing sight, I swear. Any who, let's go onto the bread and butter of this article. Who will be the one?

CM Punk

Our first candidate is the man who has competed evenly with John Cena (in the ring and on the mic). The man who’s selling more merchandise than John Cena. The man who’s being asked to star on talk shows over John Cena. The man who garners more cheers than John Cena. The man that the wrestling world praises more than John Cena. The man whose popularity is currently rivaling John Cena’s. The man who’s looking to be this generation’s “Stone Cold Steve Austin”, in the face of this generation’s Rock. CM Punk is the man who stands toe-to-toe with Cena, and has earned the reputation to prove it. It’s Punk’s current reputation that could make a clean victory over John Cena possible. Keep an eye out for Summerslam...

Randy Orton

Talk about an ace in the hole. If Cena ever went out on an injury, you got someone just as capable to replace him. He’s got the popularity, appear, superman abilities, and the boss’s approval. If John Cena was Superman, Randy Orton would be Batman. Both men stack so evenly now that Randy’s been given room to grow as a “superhero” by being the sole face of Smackdown. He basically is the Blue Brand’s version of John Cena, and with that, Orton automatically becomes a top contender to defeat John Cena cleanly. Down the road, past Wrestlemania 28, I could see a “battle of the icons” feud brew between the two – similar to the confrontations between The Rock and Stone Cold. And speaking of Wrestlemania 28…

The Rock

The former face of the WWE, the man who led to Cena's first direct pinfall loss at a Wrestlemania, now has his target locked straight on Cena. Rock's got the look, figure, charisma, popularity, media appeal, ring skills - everything it takes to be better than John Cena. The two icons have been brewing an intense feud since February that will most likely continue and become even bigger leading up to Wrestlemania 28. The feud will likely conclude here, as Rocky won't be going back on road with the WWE again. With that established, it seems logical to presume that Rock's match with Cena at WM28 will conclude cleanly, as this feud will need to end, and no one will be happy with a dirty/screwjob ending (both backstage, in the ring, and at home). And with that established, along with the fact that he's way above Cena's league, Rocky earns himself an insurmountably high chance of ending the Clean Streak. And speaking of streaks...

The Undertaker

Tell me how this sounds: “Streak vs. Streak – Wrestlemania 29”. Cheesy, I know. But if there’s anyone standing in line of the Undertaker’s impressive 19 and 0 Wrestlemania streak, it’s John Cena; however, that cuts both ways. If there’s anyone standing in line of John Cena’s impressive Clean Streak, it’s the Last Outlaw. God knows that we’ll only be seeing a few more matches out of Taker, most likely exclusive to Wrestlemanias. And considering that Taker’s already checked off top names like Randy Orton, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Batista, and others, the only logical contestant for Taker past Wrestlemania 28 is John Cena. Taker never plays dirty, and won’t accept an unclean victory, so which will it be? Wrestlemania Streak, or the Clean Streak? Many question if the Deadman has another match left him. Well, hopefully he's got two, because he'll need them for this hefty task.

Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is the kind of star that speaks for himself. He's a rockstar and television celebrity. He beat up Goldberg in a fight backstage. He went from a mid-carder in WCW to the top dog in the WWE, despite his smaller size. He was the first Undisputed Champion. He's had a record-shattering amount of IC Championship reigns. He became World Champion past what people though was his prime. He's beaten everyone there is to beat. He is the best in the world at what he does (sorry CM Punk). And (finally), he's Chris-f'n-Jericho! Must I go on?

Conclusions

Yep, that's it. Is there anybody you think I left out? Drop their names in the comments below. Thanks for reading (even if you just skimmed it, which we all do anyways).