Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena: Why Lesnar Must Score Clean Victory at Extreme Rules

Brock Lesnar and John Cena will battle next weekend at Extreme Rules in a match that has generated a ton of hype following Lesnar's return to the WWE. In order for the match to be considered a success, Lesnar needs to pick up a clean victory, just like The Rock did at WrestleMania.

Even though The Rock made his goodbye speech a couple weeks ago before starting to shoot more movies, he's still playing a major role in the grand scheme of things. Cena constantly mentions him, which shows the company wants to keep that match fresh in the WWE Universe's mind.

After all, that match has to mean something. Why build it up for an entire year simply to let The Rock defeat Cena and move on? The wheels were set in motion for Cena's character to get a much-needed change during his feud with Kane, and the process is ongoing.

Cena was able to “rise above the hate” by defeating Kane in an Ambulance Match at Elimination Chamber, providing more fuel to the fire for those fans tired of the Super Cena gimmick. And there's plenty of them.

His loss to The Rock was the next step. When you have an invaluable character like Cena, who generates interest among the younger audience and moves merchandise like crazy, it's important any gimmick change happens gradually.

For example, when Daniel Bryan's title reign on SmackDown was struggling, he underwent an immediate heel turn and it helped him become a fan favorite. That was only possible because of his fresh main-event status. If the WWE tried a similar quick change for Cena, it would fail.

It's often difficult to look at the big picture, because the WWE loves to sensationalize every feud, as was made obvious when Cena called Lesnar's return the biggest ever. That's highly debatable, but it adds intrigue to the storyline.

When looking back, the focus becomes more clear. Cena looked as strong as ever, basically defiant, after beating Kane. After losing to The Rock, he showed some signs of breaking, but ultimately decided to remain strong.

His feud with Lesnar could finally mark the end of Super Cena. Giving Lesnar the clean victory with no help from John Laurinaitis or David Otunga would finally be a sign to diehard fans that the era of Cena's dominance has finally come to an end.

Will he ever become a full-blown heel? Probably not, because of the financial risks involved, but a shift away from the unstoppable character fans have grown to loathe in recent years would be considered a success.

If Lesnar needs help to beat Cena, like Lord Tensai did on Raw, it will not only significantly damage Lesnar's powerhouse image, but it would severely dampen the impact of Rocky's victory earlier in the month.

Even worse, a loss or wacky finish that results in neither superstar picking up the win would prove the WWE still isn't ready for Cena to change. It would hurt Lesnar's mystique, make The Rock's triumph seem meaningless (buyrate aside) and signal more underwhelming booking moving forward.

The company has gained a lot of momentum thanks to WrestleMania and Lesnar's subsequent return. It would be disappointing to see Vince McMahon blow it all for Cena's sake.