John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: United States Title Ready to Move On Without Cena

With the third meeting between the two men this Sunday, Battleground's edition of John Cena vs. Kevin Owens should tell us a lot about the plans for Owens in the coming months.

The former NXT champion looks more than ready for a permanent transition to the main roster and has all the tools to succeed, both in and out of the ring.

After one win each for Cena and Owens, this third bout could easily be the final time they meet, although a defining bout at SummerSlam could also be in the pipeline.

But regardless of whether they meet again, the past few weeks have shown that the United States Championship is in its healthiest state for years and is ready to move on without John Cena. 

First things first, though: Major props have to be given to Cena for the way he's elevated the title.

When he picked it up at WrestleMania, it was limping along. Sure, Rusev's undefeated streak was making it noteworthy to an extent, but it just didn't have the prestige it should have had.

In the past few years, men such as Santino Marella and Jack Swagger held the title. Even Cesaro's victory was on a pre-show at a pay-per-view, with Rusev's success against Sheamus to pick up the title coming on a Raw Backstage Pass.

As such, the way Cena has promoted the title with his open challenges every week has been incredibly refreshing and has made people sit up and actually care about a championship that has so much history behind it.

The fact that it's probably second only to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship storyline at the moment tells you exactly how good things are for the belt.

But in the last few weeks, the signs have all started to point toward a new guard emerging to move the title forward again—and that's not just Kevin Owens' doing.

If (or more likely, when) Owens wins the title, be it at Battleground or at SummerSlam in August, he will need fresh blood, a challenge facing every new champion. Fortunately for Owens, he looks stacked out in terms of competitors—and not just average ones, either.

Cesaro is undoubtedly the man at the top of that list after putting on some incredible performances over the last few weeks. Those included not only his second unbelievable match with John Cena in the past year or so—following their epic at the start of last year—but also the match he had with Rusev and Owens on the go-home Raw before Battleground.

There's already the makings of a feud there, too: Cesaro had Cena beat recently before Owens interfered and dropped the Swiss Superman in the middle of the ring. That segment should not be forgotten, since when Cena moves onto something new and leaves Owens as the U.S. champ, it's the background needed for a great rivalry.

And such is the prestige surrounding the title at the moment: A feud against a majorly over heel like Owens would feel like a push forward for Cesaro rather than a step back. There's always a feeling Cesaro should be inserted toward the top of the card, and thankfully for him, that's where Owens and the United States Championship sit at the moment.

In recent years, a run at the title would have meant nothing more than mediocrity with little storyline engagement, but if WWE is brave enough to have him feud with Owens, it could be the start of something magical.

Don't subscribe to that notion? They've worked together before, and it's been pretty sensational: 

There's also the aforementioned Rusev too, who seems to have broken from the shackles of his desperate feud with Lana and Dolph Ziggler. He has proved in the last couple of weeks that he can still work without Lana, and his quirky promo on Owens this past week showed he has at least some level of mic skill that can be polished.

Ditch Summer Rae, return him to the monster he once was, and it'll be proof that the end of an undefeated streak doesn't have to mean the end of a push. His work has been impressive lately, and he's another up-and-comer who could add so much to the United States Championship picture.

There are more potential contenders, too. Ziggler could get involved when he returns from injury, as could the likes of Dean Ambrose, a former U.S. Champ, with the thought of Owens versus Ambrose an incredibly exciting prospect.

All those names show WWE has an abundance of exciting young talent in its possession, but sometimes they need a vehicle or a top star to help them along. The work Cena has done since WrestleMania with the U.S. title has been nothing short of remarkable, and for that he deserves a huge pat on the back.

But like every title run, it has to come to an end to allow for a fresh direction.

Thankfully, WWE can be confident that Cena can move into something different with the belief that the title will continue to grow under the stewardship of some of the company's hottest talent—starting with Kevin Owens.