Brock Lesnar's Match vs. John Cena Needs a Clean Finish

John Cena has been surrounded by smoke and mirrors on pay-per-view since his one-sided loss to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.

In the pay-per-views following that memorable main event, his only clean win came at Hell in a Cell, but even that win required the use of gimmicks and weaponry to pull off.

The month prior at Night of Champions, Cena's main event rematch against Lesnar was interrupted by Seth Rollins, who was intending to cash in his Money in the Bank contract before being thwarted.

The following month, Cena was eliminated early in the Survivor Series main event thanks to a Knockout Punch from the Big Show, but the theme of over-the-top finishes in his matches continued. Sting would debut in WWE to facilitate an eventual Team Cena win.

Last Sunday at WWE TLC, Cena's victory over Rollins only came following outside interference from four individuals and a controversial finish that led to the match being restarted.

The theme bled into Raw. Rollins scored an equally controversial win over Cena in a Steel Cage match due to the involvement of Lesnar. WWE may think it's protecting Cena (and Rollins) with so many moving parts, but this formula is not fitting of the consummate heroics Cena represents on a weekly basis.

Cena's character is effective because it's simple. "Hustle, loyalty and respect" doesn't need to be explained. It's a credo that goes just as well with a clean win as it does with a clean loss—either earn a hard-fought victory or live to fight another day. How do weapons, disqualification finishes and run-ins fit into that formula?

With WWE pay-per-views already diluted by way of price point and importance, it won't take long for fans to become conditioned to the recent pattern of finishes for Cena's matches. These finishes typically do everything possible to undermine an eventual decision, which oftentimes is not rendered via pinfall or submission.

The last Cena opponent WWE wants to get cute with is Lesnar. Lesnar's feud with Cena has worked so well because Lesnar is a character who blends reality and sports-entertainment.

Just as the UFC cut and pasted WWE's marketing strategy during his run in the Octagon from 2008 to 2011, WWE has used UFC's formula to successfully market Lesnar as a cage fighter who competes inside a squared circle.

Lesnar's credibility is a direct result of his believability. The more his matches include cliches that are akin to pro wrestling, the more this realistic cage fighter loses his luster.

A string of clean victories over elite competition has made Lesnar a white-hot WWE World Heavyweight Champion. After four months away from WWE programming, another shady end to a main event match at Royal Rumble will further compromise his reign.

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