Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena: Last-Minute Predictions for Main Event Rematch

As big as the SummerSlam match between Brock Lesnar and John Cena was, it is fair to say that their Night of Champions rematch will set the tone for the product between Sunday night and WrestleMania XXXI.

Lesnar changed the game when he defeated Cena to become WWE world heavyweight champion last month. The move was questioned by some due to The Beast Incarnate's status as a part-time performer, but he has certainly added a different dimension to the product.

Having Lesnar was a game-changer in terms of the perception of Cena as well. A revenge win at Night of Champions would be old hat, but a second consecutive loss would almost be unprecedented.

With so much riding on this one match, here are the final predictions for what WWE fans should expect to see in the world title tilt between Lesnar and Cena.

Lesnar Retains Title

One of the main qualities that has made Cena's character so successful over the years is his resiliency. The leader of the Cenation has faced some setbacks and adversity, but he always manages to battle back and return to the pinnacle of WWE. Many fans have long wanted to see Cena meet his match, though, and that may have finally happened in the form of Lesnar.

Cena was battered worse than ever before at SummerSlam, and he enters Night of Champions as an underdog because of that. Traditional Cena booking suggests that he will regroup and find a resourceful way to beat Lesnar in the rematch, but there is reason to believe that WWE is willing to do something different this time around.

Having already been world champion on 15 occasions, Cena has pretty much done it all. There is no question that WWE can always trust Cena with the top title, but the product tends to get stale when he is the guy with the belt around his waist.

Even though Lesnar is a part-time Superstar, things feel more exciting now that he is champion. Not everyone is thrilled since Lesnar appears infrequently on weekly programming and may not even compete at every pay-per-view, but there is a certain aura surrounding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship with Lesnar in possession of it.

The fact that the title is only seen on special occasions makes it that much more special. Cena is overexposed, and the championship would be as well if he was the titleholder.

Failure is something that Cena hasn't had to deal with much from a character perspective, but he came up short at SummerSlam. Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, is confident that the same result will occur at Night of Champions, according to WWE Universe on Twitter:

Giving Cena another loss to Lesnar will add another dimension to his character and perhaps force him to re-evaluate his methods. Cena desperately needs something to energize him, and another loss to Lesnar could ironically act as a much-needed spark plug.

More Competitive Than SummerSlam

Cena's loss at SummerSlam was somewhat expected since WWE needed to capitalize on the momentum that Lesnar gained by ending The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania. The manner in which it happened sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling world, however.

Aside from one or two bursts of energy, Cena was never in the match. Lesnar hit him with an F-5 right off the bat and proceeded to dominate him from bell to bell. Per WrestlingInc.com, The Conquerer completed a staggering 16 German suplexes en route to winning the title:

The SummerSlam match felt special since Cena had never been victimized to that degree. Repeating that performance at Night of Champions is certainly on the table, but it seems likely that WWE will go in a slightly different direction.

Cena will have credibility no matter what happens Sunday night, but it is difficult to imagine WWE making Cena look like a nobody at consecutive pay-per-views. Even though Cena is going to lose, he will get a lot more offense in at Night of Champions.

Some fans felt as though they were robbed of a potentially great match at SummerSlam due to the one-sided booking, but WWE can pay those fans back at Night of Champions by having Lesnar and Cena go blow for blow with the champion ultimately retaining.

Even if Cena keeps pace with Lesnar throughout the match before falling short, WWE will still be able to run with the notion that Cena is on the decline, and that should make for an intriguing storyline.

Cena Resists Urge to Cheat

WWE was forced to get creative when it came to the build toward Night of Champions since Lesnar only appeared on Raw a couple times. That left Heyman and Cena to do much of the legwork, but they were highly effective. The main story told was Heyman's desire to get Cena to turn his back on the fans.

Heyman insisted that Cena's only chance of taking back the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is to ignore hustle, loyalty and respect. Cena has stood by his ideals thus far, but the creative team would be wise to cause some conflict within Cena's conscience Sunday.

Fans have talked about a Cena heel turn for years, but WWE has resisted. If it were to ever happen, there is no question that it would one of the biggest moments in wrestling history. Heyman has even attempted to make Cena a Paul Heyman Guy, but Cena hasn't shown any interest.

As pointed out by Scott Fishman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a pairing of Heyman and Cena would totally change WWE's balance of power:

With that said, WWE's constant teasing of a change in Cena's character at Night of Champions means it probably won't happen. What WWE can do, though, is set the stage for something down the road by putting Cena in a moral predicament.

Cena could be in position to beat Lesnar by cheating late in the match. Cena would decide against it, which would ultimately cost him the match and the title. Cena would have stayed true to himself but also missed out on WWE's biggest prize.

That would then create an internal struggle within Cena that could potentially lead to a heel turn or character tweak at a later date. This match needs some type of drama, and a tease regarding Cena's character would fit the bill.

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