John Cena Should Lose to Seth Rollins at TLC

Ideally, Vince McMahon and his gaggle of writers recognize that John Cena should lose to Seth Rollins in their Tables match at the TLC pay-per-view on December 14—and thus be stripped of his No. 1 contendership status.

For one thing, another Cena vs. Brock Lesnar bout simply doesn’t sound that appealing. Lesnar and Cena have clashed in singles matches three times since the MMA fighter returned to WWE in 2012—at Extreme Rules in 2012, SummerSlam and Night of Champions in 2014—and another bout would just feel tired and predictable at this point.

Like Cena vs. Randy Orton, their program has well and truly run its course, as some fans reiterated on Twitter after Cena won at Hell in a Cell:

"

*Sigh* Cena Vs Lesnar again? Why? At least that match is over... #HIAC

— AJ-Brooks Live Tweet (@AJBLiveTweet) October 27, 2014"

If Cena loses his title shot, it will give WWE the great opportunity to go with someone new for Lesnar’s opponent at the Royal Rumble.

Perhaps someone like Dolph Ziggler or Dean Ambrose could be given the shot instead.

That person wouldn’t have to win—that’s probably too much of a stretch, and neither is truly ready for that—but even just getting to mix it up in the main event scene for a little while would help his status considerably. And at least it would give WWE a new main event program at a time when it could desperately use one.

Credit: WWE.com

It would also be compelling to see Paul Heyman getting into arguments with Ambrose or Ziggler on the mic. That’s some tremendous, must-see television right there.

Or, if WWE is truly unwilling to take a chance on anyone new, it could put newly turned babyface Orton in the title match. It still sounds a lot more tantalizing a prospect than Cena/Lesnar.

Even taking out the issue of the title shot, Rollins going over at the pay-per-view makes a great deal of sense.

The wrestler still has his Money in the Bank title shot and will likely get a run with the belt in 2015. A solid victory in Cleveland would do his career wonders—it might be the thing that would firmly establish him in the main event scene.

A loss, meanwhile, could be disastrous for his career. After the debacles with Ryback, Wade Barrett and Bray Wyatt, another promising main event wrestler should not be losing to Cena clean on pay-per-view. It wouldn’t accomplish anything at all.

The last thing WWE needs to do is sabotage yet another rising star, especially with Cena getting older. The writers can’t rely on him to carry the company any more. It’s a guy like Rollins who is the future.

And it is a Tables match. The company can script its top star to lose without even getting pinned. There's really no excuse here to not give the younger guy the victory.

At TLC, WWE has the chance to truly begin Rollins’ ascension as a viable main eventer and show that it is willing to move on from Cena as a centerpiece of the company. To not do so would feel like a deeply unwise and squandered opportunity.