John Cena: WWE Stars That Must Step Up While Cena Is on the Mend

After WWE superstar John Cena underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, the questions about a timetable for his return began immediately.

While WWE.com themselves had conflicting reports about the length of Cena’s rehab process, the face of the company came out on Raw Monday night and claimed he would be ready to compete at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

There will be a few weeks where Cena is unable to perform for the live audiences, and in that time, it is imperative that some of the other WWE stars step up and fill the void left by Cena’s absence.

Each of the following superstars must bring their A-game while Cena is on the mend.

The Entire Tag Team Division

For the first time in years, the tag team division is actually heading down the right track. With the emergence of Kane and Daniel Bryan as superstars together, the company realizes the importance of giving them viable competition.

In addition to the company making the Prime Time Players look strong and teasing the eventual team of Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara, the WWE has built one of the most intriguing tag teams a fan could ever dream of; Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow.

With the Kane and Daniel Bryan segments continuing to build hype for both their tag team and the entire division, the focus on a secondary belt will help keep the pressure off CM Punk’s title run while Cena is on the mend.

Just admit it; Kane and Daniel Bryan are the best part of WWE TV.

Sheamus

In the absence of the company’s biggest face, the WWE’s second-biggest good guy, Sheamus, must step up his game no matter who he is scheduled to feud against going into Hell in a Cell.

Despite the fact that the WWE is still trying to force-feed Alberto Del Rio to us in another possible match with Sheamus for the World Heavyweight title, they must give us almost anyone else to keep Sheamus’ character from getting too stale.

As seen on Raw last night, the right answer would be the Big Show. With Show looking as strong as he ever has, allowing him to feud with Sheamus would add something new to a storyline that is dying for something fresh.

While Big Show vs. Sheamus isn’t an ideal top-tier match, it is 100 times better than another Del Rio/Sheamus title match.

Ryback

As we saw from the last segment on Raw Monday night, the injury to Cena could be the opening Vince McMahon and the WWE brass need to infuse Ryback into a main-event match.

After Punk attacked Hall of Famer Mick Foley, Ryback took center stage as the strong face that the WWE has been looking for. It is clear the company is lacking elite faces, so pushing Ryback to the WWE title scene may not be the popular choice right now, but it’s the right choice for the future.

While there is no way the company would allow Ryback to win the title, giving him the rub from a superstar like Punk is the right move.

Maybe one day Heyman will take a liking to the muscle-bound star and become his mouthpiece too.

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