WWE's Strange Direction For John Cena After Crown Jewel and More Reaction
Abysmal Brock Lesnar match from Wrestlepalooza aside, John Cena has been on another level since returning to his roots as a babyface over SummerSlam weekend. His matches with Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn and Logan Paul were all excellent, and now his Crown Jewel outing against AJ Styles can join that list of show-stealers.
With only four appearances left for the future WWE Hall of Famer, it's imperative that WWE maximize the time he has left, specifically by having him wrestle whenever possible. His final match set for Saturday Night's Main Event on Dec. 13 is obviously the most important, but whatever the company has planned for him at Survivor Series should also be significant.
The rumored opponent for Cena at the event—and more specifically the scenario surrounding it— doesn't make a whole lot of sense, however.
Cena could instead wind up taking part in the men's WarGames match at Survivor Series, despite not reportedly being penciled in for it as of now. Rather, the potential lineup for The Vision's team includes an interesting name that has no business being involved based on their booking over the last two years.
From The Vision's possible new member to Adam Page severely lacking credible competition as AEW World champion, these are the top takeaways from the week that was in wrestling.
John Cena Challenging for the Intercontinental Championship Is Unnecessary
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WWE appears to be going all out for John Cena in the last leg of his retirement tour, as they should be.
Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, not only will a tournament kick off soon to determine Cena's final-ever opponent at Saturday Night's Main Event on Dec. 13, but Cena is also scheduled to square off with Dominik Mysterio at Survivor Series with the Intercontinental Championship up for grabs.
While a match with Mysterio works for one of Cena's remaining dates, there is nothing to be gained from the Intercontinental title being at stake. Mysterio has held it long enough that he should eventually lose it to someone who can benefit from beating him.
Furthermore, Cena has never once cared about the prestigious prize throughout his illustrious 23-year career. The United States Championship was instrumental to his original rise and he was also known for his weekly U.S. open challenges a decade ago, but for him to chase becoming a Grand Slam champion with so little time left would be a waste of a matchup.
Mysterio winning is highly unlikely, and Cena taking the title only to drop it two weeks later in his grand sendoff wouldn't accomplish anything. It would actually make the outcome of his final farewell more of a foregone conclusion.
The days of Cena calling himself a champion are over, so WWE should stay the course with him heading into December and keep him out of the Intercontinental Championship conversation.
WWE Must Capitalize on Bronson Reed's Win Over Roman Reigns with Strong Singles Push
2 of 5Bronson Reed opened Crown Jewel in thrilling fashion with a win over Roman Reigns.
This is in addition to the Australian native pinning Randy Orton in tag team action on the Oct. 3 edition of SmackDown, as well as Seth Rollins one-on-one last year on Raw. In other words, he's finally where he belongs: among the elite toward the top of the card.
It was the only appropriate outcome after Reed lost to Reigns when they first faced off at Clash in Paris, and with it being only the second time Reigns has been pinned in a singles match this decade, it's as massive an endorsement as it is an accomplishment.
Going forward, it's imperative that Reed be in line for a strong, meaningful push on his own while still being a focal point in The Vision.
Rollins is already established, and Bron Breakker will be the future of WWE, no matter what, but this is Reed's chance to truly break through to the next level. That means being able to mix it up with bigger players on Raw more consistently such as LA Knight, CM Punk and Jey Uso.
Reed's made the most of every opportunity he's been afforded thus far. If he can't contend for the World Heavyweight Championship with it currently being held by Rollins, then a run with the Intercontinental Championship would be the next best thing.
Adam Page Is in Dire Need of Credible Challengers Beyond Samoa Joe
3 of 5Adam Page vs. Samoa Joe promises to be a must-see main event for the AEW World Championship at WrestleDream, despite it coming together on such short notice and Joe having virtually zero chance of taking the title from Hangman.
It's an indictment on just how depleted AEW's main-event scene is in the absence of Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay and MJF. Page has maintained a regular presence on Dynamite as champ and has had a handful of entertaining matches, but the lack of long-term direction could cause him to fizzle out quicker than most.
His current storyline with Joe would have been more effective if more time had been devoted to explaining the plot's progression and establishing Joe as a credible threat to the title. As it stands, it feels like a placeholder program before Page moves on to something more consequential.
AEW doesn't struggle with roster depth, so it's not as if there's a shortage of potential opponents waiting in the wings. The biggest issue is that AEW has failed to build them up ahead of time, as seen with both Joe and Kyle Fletcher at the last two pay-per-views.
The Don Callis Family, consisting of half of the heels on the roster, doesn't help, but there are other options in Konosuke Takeshita, Andrade, Kenny Omega and Mark Briscoe. All of these rivalries can be genuinely interesting if the effort is put into making them worthy of the main-event picture.
If Hangman remains an afterthought as AEW World champion, this reign will suffer from the same issues as his first.
Will Santos Escobar's WWE Fortunes Change Considerably Upon Re-Signing?
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Santos Escobar's WWE contract expiring early last week resulted in immediate speculation among fans regarding where he'd be best suited next, only for the leader of Legado del Fantasma to quietly re-sign with the promotion, per PWInsider Elite.
WWE seemingly gave up on attempting to push Escobar following his feud with Rey Mysterio in early 2024. He's primarily been a background player since then, so his creative dissatisfaction was expected.
Escobar is exceptionally skilled both in the ring and on the mic, but his booking has left a lot to be desired. Re-signing with WWE could be a sign that he was assured he'll be handled better going forward, but there's no reason to believe he'll end up in a significantly better position long-term than where he is right now.
Positioning him as the face of AAA wouldn't be the worst way to use him, but nothing will matter until he's given a real shot to show what he can do on a bigger platform like Raw or SmackDown. Repackaging him and making him more of a player in the midcard would be an ideal upgrade.
Anyone WWE chooses to retain should be seen as a sign that they have significant plans for them, rather than an attempt to prevent them from excelling elsewhere.
Austin Theory Doesn't Work as Addition or Ally to The Vision
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How this year's men's WarGames match takes shape will be a key storyline to follow in the weeks leading up to Survivor Series and who the two teams will consist of.
The reunited Bloodline battling The Vision is the most logical direction, but the bigger question is who they'll choose to recruit. Brock Lesnar forging a temporary alliance with The Vision would be acceptable considering his history with Paul Heyman, but Austin Theory doesn't work quite as well in that spot.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported that Theory is considered a strong possibility for The Vision at Survivor Series, despite not having been seen on WWE TV in many months. He also has no ties to the group outside of the little time he spent as a pupil of Seth Rollins in 2020.
While not a total lost cause, Theory has endured enough bad booking during Triple H's creative regime that bringing him back to television out of nowhere and expecting the audience to view him as being on the same level as the rest of The Vision this year is vastly unrealistic.
WarGames has the potential to be something special if executed properly, like last year's installment, but incorporating lower-level talent such as Theory will do more to hurt the credibility of those involved than benefit him in any meaningful way.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
