John Cena Final Raw Exposes WWE's Problem, Roman Reigns to the Rescue, More Reactions

The road to Survivor Series: WarGames is nearly complete, and the November 17 edition of Raw on Netflix set the stage for a big night.

Both Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns returned to join the men's WarGames match, causing chaos at ringside between all the competitors.

Maxxine Dupri pulled off a massive upset with the help of a returning AJ Lee, defeating Becky Lynch to capture the Women's Intercontinental Championship.

John Cena made his final appearance on Raw, teaming up with Rey Mysterio and Sheamus to defeat The Judgment Day.

His The Last Time is Now tournament also continued with Dolph Ziggler returning for one night to lose to Solo Sikoa while Gunther made his own return from injury to defeat NXT's Je'Von Evans.

WWE has ramped up the hype for Survivor Series each week on Raw, but could this show live up to last week's spectacle with WWE returning to Madison Square Garden in New York City?

John Cena Proving WWE Needs to Find Its Heart Again

As John Cena walked out to the cheers of a packed MSG crowd, the air in the arena was lighter than any other moment in recent memory.

Everyone in attendance wanted to see The GOAT one last time. It was an organic celebration of the veteran and his impact on the business.

The segment and match that followed furthered that celebration. Cena went through the hits with two other veterans who have defined his career: Rey Mysterio and Sheamus.

After the win, he carried The Master of the 619 all the way up the ramp, smiling wide as he savored the final Raw of his career.

This was not a moment focused on story. It was a moment in time drawing upon the natural heart of the talent involved. This was genuine joy from a man who was letting go of what he loved most.

WWE has not carried that much genuine emotion without Cena since WrestleMania 40, particularly the organic rise and victory of Cody Rhodes.

No matter how ridiculous the wrestling story, fans are ultimately rooting for the men and women behind the characters. They are seeking genuine connection and emotion.

This is the heart of professional wrestling, and WWE has lost that along the way. When Cena leaves his shoes in the ring in December, who will step up to bring that heart back?

Rhodes is still around, but he has not carried himself with genuine joy for a while. His title reigns since WrestleMania 40 have come off as too manufactured.

CM Punk is closer to that veteran joy Cena leaves with, but he tries too hard on screen to play the jaded old man when it seems he is far more content and friendly backstage.

Jey Uso is popular but cannot be his full organic self on camera due to his struggles as a mic worker. Perhaps the best answer is Sami Zayn, but his joy and love of wrestling is treated as a midcard angle rather than a central part of WWE.

The list of names goes on and on, but it does not come down to the talent as much as management and creative behind the scenes.

It is important that WWE, and in a larger sense TKO, remember what makes wrestling special. Let the men and women putting their bodies on the line each week show their true heart.

Do not let this entire sport become a corporate machine for driving advertisement over anything else.

WWE Wastes Surprise Star Returns on Forgettable Losses

When WWE first announced The Last Time is Now Tournament, the hype was heavy for a series of matches that would surprise and impress from some of WWE's best.

Instead, the tournament has been mostly pedestrian beyond a few surprise loans from TNA.

Zack Ryder made his return on SmackDown, losing to LA Knight in a decent match that hardly took advantage of the evolution of Ryder to Matt Cardona outside the WWE system.

The same was true on Monday's Raw when Dolph Ziggler made his return, losing to Solo Sikoa in a short and forgettable contest that likely convinced fans he had done nothing since his WWE exit despite winning multiple titles as Nic Nemeth.

In both cases, this was a chance to do something bold, and WWE chose the entirely pedestrian options instead.

Nothing was accomplished beyond likely appeasing John Cena's desire to give his friends one more brief spotlight.

Both matches were booked like forgotten legends had returned just to put over the stars WWE cared about more, when the goal should have been to celebrate Cena's legacy.

Knight needed to advance, but did Solo Sikoa or Jey Uso? Both are doing plenty enough as it is that they could have easily taken falls to advance the surprise stars and given them a fun spotlight in what could be their last WWE appearances.

Ziggler especially is a former multiple-time world heavyweight champion, one of Cena's best opponents and one of TNA's biggest stars right now. His usage in this spot was baffling.

WWE Has Better Options Than Gunther to Retire Cena

Now that every participant in The Last is Now Tournament has been confirmed, the vision is far clearer for who will face John Cena in his final match.

Sheamus will likely defeat Rusev while LA Knight should beat Jey Uso. Gunther is going to defeat either Carmelo Hayes or Bronson Reed, and Penta would make the most sense to beat both Finn Bálor and Solo Sikoa.

This leaves four interesting options for The GOAT's final match, and each have their pros and cons.

Gunther is the obvious option, retiring his second legend in the same year at Saturday Night's Main Event.

While he has the talent and stature for the moment, the time for this match was earlier in the year. The Ring General gains little from the spot when he needs a more focused story after just returning from injury.

Penta is a fun star, and fans have fallen in love with his style in his first year of WWE action, but he is a journeymen with little connection to Cena.

Sheamus would make sense as the final veteran throwback match. The Celtic Warrior and The GOAT have worked together for years.

Moreover, the Intercontinental Championship remains Sheamus' top goal in WWE, and Cena could give him the Grand Slam win he has sought for years. It just may not be a good enough spectacle match for the moment.

LA Knight is the closest to a perfect choice. He is flashy. Fans adore him. Cena previously teamed with Knight, trying to elevate his status in 2023. They would deliver a strong match together.

The only question is whether WWE likes The Megastar enough to put him in that spot. Despite clearly established issues with The Vision and world title aspirations, he has completely dropped out of the title picture in recent weeks.

It is possible he even loses to Jey as he has already this year since WWE has backed Main Event consistently over Knight.

The best option is no longer available, though. Cena requested that his retirement show be used to celebrate the future of the business, yet there are no NXT stars left that he could face.

With that option gone, the next-best choice is Knight, but it is more likely WWE will go back to the same well again and rely upon Gunther to end Cena's career.

Why Maxxine Dupri Isn't Ready to Be Champion

After months of build, Maxxine Dupri finally proved she could win the big one, capturing the Women's Intercontinental Championship in MSG.

Much of her journey was carefully curated and driven by the veteran work of the now-former titleholder Becky Lynch.

The Man made Dupri look better than she ever has before, and in this time, she has not had a chance to show she can do the same with other wrestlers.

The next big test is on the horizon. Can Dupri make the most of this moment?

While the Women's Intercontinental Championship is only a midcard title in presentation, Lyra Valkyria and Lynch both made it feel important.

The early history of the title easily eclipses the Women's United States Championship and even at times felt more important than the women's world titles of Raw and SmackDown.

If Lynch is not directly involved in Dupri's journey from this point on, will WWE care to give her a similar spotlight?

Can she live up to the legacies of the past champions in the ring? Dupri will need to show she can lead matches and elevate her competition.

If she cannot do that, she will likely quickly lose the gold to bigger names like AJ Lee, Roxanne Perez, Raquel Rodriguez or Nikki Bella.

Hopefully, she can prove her past struggles are behind her, and WWE will feature her championship reign consistently.

All signs point to this moment standing as a temporary high for a woman who is not ready for the spotlight.

WWE Hits the Reigns-Lesnar Panic Button to Save WarGames Gimmick

Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns are back to join a men's WarGames match that needed a spark.

The contest is now loaded with star power as CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and Reigns team together against The Beast Incarnate, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul.

However, without Seth Rollins on the heel team, WWE has entirely defined this match as Paul Heyman vs. WWE's top babyfaces.

Since The Oracle has already faced his comeuppance countless times and nothing is on the line, there is still little reason to get excited about this bout.

Perhaps the rag-tag heel team will suffer for putting too many volatile egos together, or maybe the babyface team that is near-identical to last year's winning group will fall apart due to personal issues.

Either way, the most that will be accomplished is someone pinning either Punk or Rhodes to earn a future world title opportunity.

At the end of the day, Reigns and Lesnar hardly matter to this contest, especially since The OTC is supposed to be too angry with everyone he is teaming with to agree to this match.

This is the same story year-after-year for WWE's biggest shows. Lesnar and Reigns are the part-time stars who draw the most attention to the product.

WWE will keep bringing them in to build interest in stories that are otherwise struggling before they disappear again for months at a time.

This simply is not sustainable. If the rest of the names in this match were not enough to sell the story, WWE Creative must find a way to make them feel like bigger stars.

Build the heat. Increase the stakes. Sell why fans should tune beyond the promise of a bigger star appearing once every few months ahead of the biggest shows.