WWE Wrestlemania 28: Why John Cena Has to Win on Sunday

It’s almost here.

Wrestlemania 28 is nearly upon us, and  that means that the bell is set to ring on the pro wrestling main event of a lifetime. The Rock versus John Cena.  Can it get any bigger than this?

The super match that was booked last year is finally going to see the light of day.  All the hype, all the talk, all the controversy—it will all be over on Sunday.

And, you better believe that the two men involved are sorry it’s here.

John and Rocky have likely had a blast this past year:  Taking jabs at each other on Twitter, having their face to face confrontations on Monday Night Raw and working the crowd into heated anticipation with every promo.  

The fun has been in the build up.  Hyping the match, pushing the rivalry and giving the crowd what they want on both sides of the equation—this is what selling a pro wrestling match to the fans is all about.

Of course, I could be wrong and both John and Rocky can’t wait for the match to happen.

After all, it’s no secret that these two guys are not exactly the best of friends.  Though they likely have some level of mutual respect for each other, that does not necessarily mean they like each other.

Unless that has all been a work.

For the better part of a year now, we have all been led to believe that there is no love lost between Cena and the Rock.  Cena’s very public complaints against Rock’s apparent lack of loyalty to the company that made him a star in the first place are well known.

The fact that Rocky has taken exception to Cena’s claims, and began calling John out online, only added more fuel to the fire.  Fans, who ordinarily would take a pause to consider the possibility that they’re being worked, immediately began to buy in.

The next thing you know, we’re two days away from Rock versus Cena at Wrestlemania.

Sounds crazy, right?  That the whole thing has been manufactured to get fans reeled into the drama, so the match can get over, and WWE can sell tickets?  Perhaps.

But, as I personally have said so many times in the past: It’s pro wrestling.  Everything is a work.  You can’t believe anything a wrestling company tells you, because so much of what we’re given is what they want us to know.  It’s that simple.

Assuming of course, that theory is as impossible as an Ultimate Warrior comeback in WWE, then what we’re left with is what we believed to be the truth all along.

John Cena and the Rock, though they are civil with each other, and comfortable enough that they trust each other with their own personal well beings in the ring, are just not very fond of one another.

Again, it’s pro wrestling.  This situation happens all the time.  Cena and Rocky are not the first two workers who personally don’t like each other, but are willing to set it aside to do business in the ring. It’s all in the name of entertainment, after all.

The fact is, no one actually knows what is really in either man’s head right now.  We listen to their off-camera rants, read their Twitter posts, then watch them burn each other on live TV, and we take that to mean that yes, it’s all very real.

And, it most likely is.

But there is also another reality at play here—another fact that is staring us right in the face.  John has said it, on more than one occasion, and I for one have no reason to doubt him.

He has to win on Sunday.

I know, I said just a few paragraphs ago that this is pro wrestling, where everything is a work.  The fact that John said this does not mean that it’s really the way he feels, or that he indeed must go over on the Rock.  Trust me, I haven’t forgotten.

And, the truth is that if he were to lose on Sunday, it would not be the end of his career.  John is a WWE lifer, a guy who is the face of the company, and that is likely not going to change anytime soon. Losing to Rocky at Wrestlemania would not be the end of the world and he would live to fight another day.

Right?

How would your opinion of John Cena change if he were to do the job to Rocky on Sunday?

Don’t tell me you hate him, that you wish he would get hit by a train and just put you out of your misery already.  It’s not about that.

And, don’t tell me you love him, that he gets a bad rap for doing what’s asked of him and for being a good guy at his core.  It’s not about that either.

Just set all of that aside for right now, and really think about it.  If Rocky goes over on John at Wrestlemania, how would your opinion of John change?

Again, John Cena is the face of WWE.  Everything begins and ends with him.  He is, as Triple H called him, their franchise player.  If he does the favor to a guy who left the company to become a big-time Hollywood star, in a match that is being advertised as "once in a lifetime," then what is that saying about John?

He is going under to someone who will not be there after the match is over.  There is no payoff at a later date—no way for John to rebound, for he and Rocky to continue their feud and even the score in a second match.

A win by the Rock would basically validate everything he has said about Cena, while in character, and out, and the statement made by his victory would be loud and clear for fans all over the world to hear.

“John Cena may be Vince McMahon’s boy, but I’m his favorite son.  Just my being here has done more for WWE than this phony could ever do on his own.  I gave the fans what they wanted.  You’re welcome.”

A Cena loss also means that everything he has said about Rocky, and himself, would also be validated.  The statement made by his loss would ring just as loudly as the Rock’s.

“The favorite son is headed back to Hollywood, and I’m still here.  I will always be here.  I am big enough, and man enough, to lay down and take the pin from this guy that I believe has turned his back on all of you.  I did what’s good for business, and I gave the fans what they wanted.  You’re welcome.”

Imagine the alternative for a moment.  What if John goes over?  You don’t need a broad statement for that scenario to make you understand the meaning behind it.

Remember, John is their boy.  Rocky is their favorite.  By laying down and taking the pin from John, Rocky is giving back to the business, and to the company, that made him.  He is admitting that yes, he is big enough, and man enough, to do the job for the next generation, the way it was done for him.

And he would be doing it to benefit John Cena.

So, forget my earlier proclamation that John has to win on Sunday.  When you look at both sides of it, how can he possibly lose?