John Cena vs. Seth Rollins Is Chance to Truly Elevate the WWE World Champion

Dismantling a wounded hero in John Cena on a major stage is exactly what Seth Rollins needs.

After so many months of the WWE world champ relying on his cronies, the company can create the powerful, career-changing image of him standing on his own, hoisting up two title belts, a broken Superman at his feet.

This is how to shoot Rollins upward, to have his reign help carry him to WWE's top tier.

It's an opportunity that looks to be on its way. On Monday's Raw, Rollins called out the man whom he left with a severely broken nose last week. The smug champion called for a title-versus-title match at SummerSlam, with both the United States and WWE World Heavyweight Championships on the line.

For the majority of Rollins' time as titleholder, he's been portrayed as a chicken-hearted sneak, a man who whines his way out of trouble or else calls upon his posse of corporate goons. There's heat to garner from a character like that, but WWE has been too heavy-handed with this.

There haven't been nearly enough moments where, after being cornered, Rollins starts biting his way free. As a result, he's come off as a guy who doesn't deserve the title.

Credit: WWE.com

Yes, there have been cowardly, run-first champs in the past, but they didn't lose to a diminutive security team, tap out in non-title action or—as Rollins did at Battleground's climax—seem so unimportant in their own main event title match that they didn't appear in the final moments of a pay-per-view or even garner a mention from the announce team.

Up until last week, Rollins' sole signature moment as champion was trouncing Dean Ambrose at Money in the Bank in a measured, weapon-assisted beatdown of his old partner.

Then came the overly stiff knee to Cena's face in their bout last Monday. The big story coming out of that is how Cena's face looked like something out of a horror movie afterward thanks to a nasty nasal fraction.

WWE wisely had Rollins brag about the blow on Monday's Raw. He said he relished hurting his foe and fondly remembers the nose cracking under his knee.

This helps portray Rollins as heartless as he's taking joy in leaving his opponent hurt. It also has him looking dangerous, something that's been too rare for the champ thus far. He may be a conniving little cockroach of a man, but tangle with him and you could end up with a gnarled appendage on your face.

Credit: WWE.com

And now if this Rollins vs. Cena battle actually happens, WWE can follow that up with similarly beneficial violence.

A win over Cena remains one of the most powerful tools in the company's arsenal. That's how CM Punk ascended WWE in 2011, what kickstarted Daniel Bryan's rise to the main event and what had fans buzzing about Kevin Owens from the get-go.

Now it's Rollins' turn.

When the two feuded at the end of 2014, it was Cena who came away victorious again and again. He beat Rollins at TLC 2014, in two Handicap matches despite being outnumbered and last December on Raw even though J&J Security were swinging away at him in the ring.

That helped push Cena back into title contention as 2015 began.

The focus now should be on elevating Rollins. Giving him the world title and all the spotlight that comes with it has certainly been a boon for him, but how WWE has booked the reign has limited the championship's effect on him.

SummerSlam offers an opportunity for Rollins to not only defeat Cena but hurt him. The WWE's golden boy will be fresh off recovering from nasal surgery. He may even be wearing a protective mask.

Here's a chance to have the sympathetic babyface suffer at the hands of a vicious heel.

Credit: WWE.com

Allow Rollins to outsmart, out-move and outlast Cena. Allow him to add a whipping of a superhero to his resume. Allow him to end the match with two championships in his grip, becoming the first man to hold both the U.S. and WWE titles at the same time.

That's a distinction that will leave Rollins looking like a world-beater. That's not something Cena needs at this point as a top star with more world title reigns than anyone not named Ric Flair.

The emerging Rollins should leave fans with the image of him as double champion—as a Cena slayer.