WWE Extreme Rules 2012 Results: A Few Theories on John Cena's Bizarre Promo

John Cena took a exceptional beating in an even more exceptional match as Brock Lesnar took a loss in his first WWE match in eight years.  It was a transcendent match, unlike any other in WWE history with all the elements of an epic brawl—even blood. 

However it was Cena's post-match promo that left many scratching their heads after an awesome one-on-one contest. 

Saying he was "going away for a while" and "taking a vacation," Cena made a veiled reference to Vince McMahon as he stated his boss was going to fire him on-air for publicizing his pending sabbatical. 

With Cena being the WWE's perennial company workhorse, to put things lightly, the WWE can ill-afford Cena voluntarily taking time off, especially during their annual post-WrestleMania lull period. 

There are a few theories behind the WWE possibly, and rather inexplicably, soldering on without their biggest star. 

Perhaps the WWE was creating more interest for tomorrow's RAW.  With John Laurinaitis teasing a mystery conversation with Triple H, the details of which are expected to be revealed on RAW, maybe the WWE was throwing another log onto the post-RAW hype fire. 

The idea of the WWE showing enough restraint to give a superstar of Cena some much-needed time off is unimaginable, so perhaps Cena suffered a legitimate injury and knew he was going away for a while.  Cena was doing one hell of a sell job as his he dangled his left arm towards match end. 

It has also been reported that John Cena has been considerably banged up as of late, and may need some time off to recover from a slew of minor injuries to his hips and neck. 

This is the most logical theory as it is congruent with recent reports and the WWE would be wise not to work their cash cow into the ground with multiple injuries looming.

Maybe the WWE is confident enough in their current roster, supplemented by the addition of Brock Lesnar, that they feel they can book programs with Lesnar and top talents like Orton and CM Punk as Cena takes a temporary leave of absence.   

Lesnar was booked like the monster that he is tonight despite losing, and Cena taking time off can be attributed to the brutal beating he took from Lesnar en route to am improbable victory. 

The WWE certainly will not be as strong moving forward without Cena.  But with smart, strategic use of luxury-turned-possible-commodity Brock Lesnar, and an influx of young talent, they could fortify their short term business while setting up for long-term success once Cena rejoins the company. 

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