John Cena Is Perfect Fit to Restore US Championship to Prominence

After being removed from the WWE World Heavyweight Championship scene for what is likely to be a good few months, John Cena's future championship prospects look perhaps more different now than they have for a good few years.

With the WWE effectively passing the baton over to guys like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan for the only major title in play in the promotion, Cena is now headed in a very different direction.

He'll compete at WWE Fast Lane against Rusev before likely continuing that feud into and beyond WrestleMania 31.

The mere prospect of Cena having to wait to tie up Ric Flair's 16 world titles is music to the ears of some WWE fans, but while he's away from the world title picture, there are plenty of things he can be doing to bring some validity back to other areas of the WWE.

Helping to put Rusev over in a solid and convincing fashion—even if he does bring his undefeated streak to an end—is paramount, clearly. Rusev has put a lot of hard work into his first full year on the roster, and having him be buried would be a disaster for the WWE's future booking.

But as well as that, there's also the potential for Cena to instill some prestige and prominence into the United States Championship. Now, that isn't to say Rusev has been a bad champion—far from it, in fact. However, there's no doubting that sliding Cena slightly down the card and having him compete for a midcard championship will do wonders for the health of every card the WWE hosts from thereon out.

One thing the WWE has been guilty of with Rusev's reign as U.S. champion is that it hasn't quite had him hammering home the anti-American theme any more than usual. Sure, he and Lana are pretty clear about their allegiances, but having them alter the belt somewhat to try to remove its identity would have been a smart and savvy piece of booking.

Regardless of that, though, there's an opportunity here for Cena to swoop in as the American hero and wear that belt with pride. It does feel like the title has lost a little bit of its importance and relevance in recent years—and regardless of what people think of him, a guy like Cena would be a decent United States champion.

What better way to give a major boost to the championship than by pinning it on the top guy? It didn't harm some of the legends of the wrestling business back in the 1990s.

From a point where Cena wins the title—be that Fast Lane, WrestleMania or beyond—you then have a valid and worthwhile feud between a pro-American and an anti-American. It's almost the rivalry Jack Swagger vs. Rusev should have been—but in the end, WWE did a bit of a botched job with Swagger, and he was quickly shuffled back down the card.

WWE Creative clearly has a lot more faith in Cena to pull this role off, and if he is the man to end Rusev's undefeated streak, there will be one major positive to draw from it.

Not only will Cena have moved out of the main event limelight to let everyone else shine, but he will have beefed up the middle of the card in fantastic fashion.

That opens the door for guys like Cesaro and even Bray Wyatt—all young, fresh heels with bags of potential—to come in and work another program with Cena for a major championship.

It was the United States Championship that effectively kicked off Cena's successful road to the top back at WrestleMania XX. Almost 11 years on from that, Cena could be the guy to give the title some fresh impetus and enthusiasm once again—even if he does end a pretty promising undefeated streak in the process.