John Cena's Upcoming WWE Return a Chance to Legitimize League of Nations

After tearing through the low-ranking members of WWE, The League of Nations is set to face the company's alpha male—John Cena.

The villainous foursome's victims to this point have been midcarders. Sheamus and his crew have struggled to keep bigger names on their knees, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns both striking back and leaving them reeling.

Rather than hurt those two rising star's momentum, WWE will soon have a chance to elevate The League of Nations by way of stomping out Cena.

During Alberto Del Rio's bout with Jack Swagger on Monday night, WWE announced that he and Cena will clash on next week's Raw:

That will mark Cena's first match since Hell in a Cell. That night, Del Rio made his surprise return to WWE, kicked Cena out cold and snatched his United States Championship from him. After filming a reality show for two months, Cena will soon charge back with revenge on his mind.

Del Rio, though, is now a part of an international alliance of heels.

Putting Rusev, King Barrett, Sheamus and Del Rio together was a smart move, but the faction has yet to reach its potential. A part of that is that the four members are just beginning to find their identity. They have slowly morphed into a group of sadistic friends who enjoy seeing each other whip some poor soul.

But as WWE Creative Humor joked, the level of their prey hasn't been stellar so far:

On Monday night, The League of Nations left Swagger, Neville and The Usos lying. They have also converged on Ryback of late.

That's a fine start, but to be a group the audience takes seriously, it needs a more marquee victim. And it doesn't look like WWE wants to have either Ambrose or Reigns play that role for the foursome. Those babyfaces have fended off this faction en route to other feuds.

Ambrose has been tangling with Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler over the Intercontinental Championship. Reigns, meanwhile, is galloping toward a war with The Authority. Who, then, will be The League of Nations' foil?

That's where Cena comes in.

If Sheamus and company can beat down Cena, they alter the way fans see them. He is, after all, the biggest star of the past decade, a character built around being able to overcome the odds. This is the man who thwarted Nexus, The Wyatt Family and John "Bradshaw" Layfield's Cabinet.

The expectation will be that he punches and fights his way to victory over all four men. 

Going against that, though, elevates a group beginning to get some traction. The four Superstars can add quite the impressive trophy to their collection should they fell WWE's golden boy.

As Wrestling Inc pointed out, payback is coming for The League of Nations:

Cena often plays that role, but the wise move is to have him stumble here. Have him be the one in need of the cavalry. That allows someone such as Neville to have a career-defining moment, as well as allow The League of Nations to make a major statement by crushing Cena upon his return.

The storyline is ready-made.

All four men in the quartet have existing issues with Cena. Sheamus' first major feud was against him. Del Rio and Cena's rivalry stretches back years. And both Rusev and Barrett are on that long list of wrestlers who hit their apex in clashes with Cena before tumbling down the card afterward.

Cena represents the establishment, America and the old guard. The League of Nations should want to attack each of those things.

Letting them do so successively, scoring some wins over Cena and boasting about taking down WWE's top dog, makes them a more formidable, convincing group moving forward. Should WWE go against its usual dominant-Cena narrative, it has a great chance here to empower The League of Nations.

The growing empire needs a hero to topple.