WWE Money in the Bank 2012 Results: WWE Has Become Too Reliant on John Cena

John Cena remains the king of WWE programming, and nobody else is even close to taking over the throne. That was made clear once again at Money in the Bank when Cena won the Raw briefcase in the show's main event.

It seemed like a perfect opportunity for CM Punk and Daniel Bryan to receive top billing after an intriguing storyline that also featured AJ. Instead, that match was placed in the middle and was followed by a Ryback squash match and a typical Divas match before Cena took center stage.

More importantly, it was a poorly booked clash because none of the things they had been making a big deal about in recently weeks—like AJ's involvement—played a key role. It was just a good pure wrestling match, which should have been focus all along.

If AJ was simply going to call it down the middle, there was no reason for her to overshadow CM Punk and Bryan for the past few months.

Sheamus, who is on a run that rivals anybody else in the company this year, defeated Alberto Del Rio in an extremely entertaining match. He should have been featured more prominently, but wasn't.

Even Dolph Ziggler, one of the WWE's fastest rising stars and Smackdown Money in the Bank winner, could have been given more time to showcase his immense talent. But he was barely noticeable during the ladder match until securing the briefcase.

While it's understandable the WWE wants Cena to lead the way because he's the company's cash cow, there's no reason he has to keep stealing the spotlight from superstars who are capable of being strong supporting cast members in the grand scheme of things.

Right now, it's really Cena and then a big dropoff before anybody else. CM Punk has been the WWE Champion since last November, which would normally be accompanied by an enormous push, but he hasn't headlined a pay-per-view since December.

Cena has been in the main event of every major show since Elimination Chamber in February. That covers feuds with Kane, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Big Show and even John Laurinaitis. Only his storyline with The Rock was nowhere near as entertaining as CM Punk's with Bryan.

Again, the issue isn't the fact Cena is the top guy. Everybody knows he is and will continue to be for quite some time. But the gap between him and everybody else, which only appears to be widening, is unnecessary.

If he ever went down with injury for an extended period of time, the WWE would be in big trouble. CM Punk ensures the diehard fans would stick around, but the mainstream fans wouldn't be as inclined because he's spent so much time playing second fiddle to Cena.

Sooner or later, Cena's wide-ranging appeal will begin to wear off, and longtime stars like The Rock and Undertaker will stop showing up at WrestleMania to save the day. What happens then? The WWE will look back at shows like Money in the Bank as a failed opportunity.

It was a chance to showcase the next wave of big names at one of the year's most popular events. Yet those superstars were buried elsewhere on the card and Cena was trotted out at the end looking like a savior as usual.

Cena can be the top guy, but he doesn't have to be the only guy getting main-event treatment.