Ramifications of SmackDown Selecting John Cena in 2016 WWE Draft
John Cena is going to SmackDown, and that’s one of the best things about last night’s WWE draft.
This draft was a chance for WWE to march into the New Era. The end result, however, was mixed. On one hand, Raw drafting Finn Balor in the first round was a fantastic choice, especially if the rumors of Roman Reigns’ fall from grace are true. Balor’s wild demon makeup and flashy aerials make him a bold, new face for Raw. On the other hand, Raw drafting Big Show and Sheamus as fifth- and sixth-round picks, respectively, was bizarre. They smell of politics rather than merit because there’s nothing particularly "New Era" about either of those two.
But one veteran performer deserved his early pick. SmackDown drafted Cena in the second round, and among all the veteran superstars, he’s the only one who still belongs near the top of the pecking order. Randy Orton is too injury prone. Brock Lesnar may have the intimidation factor, but unlike Cena, Lesnar doesn’t show up for work every week. And unlike his aging contemporaries, Cena has gotten better with age, as his feud with Kevin Owens in 2015 demonstrated.
What’s more interesting about the Cena pick is the choice of brand. Sending Cena to SmackDown has short- and long-term effects, all of which are positive. They show that WWE is trying to transition into the future, even as it stubbornly holds on to the past.
Cena has his loyal #Cenation by his side; wherever he goes, a significant percentage of the fanbase follows him, and ratings will also follow.
SmackDown has languished in mediocrity for years—a product of being taped on different networks and different days in multiple time slots. WWE needs to stack SmackDown to escape the perception that it is the B show, and it's done that.
The most prominent performers on SmackDown are all proven crowd-pleasers. AJ Styles is over with the smarks. Cena has been over since returning from injury. Shane McMahon is over with everyone. And general manager Daniel Bryan is an instant pop; all he has to do is show his face on the ramp, and the crowd throws babies in the air.
Wrestling fans, however, are fickle. It’s one thing to get people to watch SmackDown once; it’s another thing to retain that viewership over time. And that’s where Cena will shine because he always approaches his job in the right way.
In an interview after SmackDown, Cena pointed out that he has an illustrious, career-defining history with SmackDown. Lest we forget, it was on SmackDown that Cena first debuted to the WWE Universe. His christening match against Kurt Angle turned heads; it was so impressive that The Undertaker shook his hand afterward.
Two years later, The Doctor of Thuganomics clinched the U.S. title at WrestleMania XX. A year after that, he won the WWE Championship from JBL at WrestleMania 21. It was a brutal, vicious feud, culminating in one of the bloodiest matches in WWE history at Judgment Day. All of these memorable, historic moments happened on “the B show.” Cena knows firsthand how to take advantage of a low-stakes situation and spin it into a positive.
The 15-time world champion speaks openly about his changing role in the company—as the gatekeeper to main event status and an example for younger guys to follow. SmackDown provides the perfect opportunity for him to continue that work, first by deepening his engrossing feud with Styles. Perhaps after he’s done with that, he can pair with Apollo Crews. Or feud with Baron Corbin. Or even manage American Alpha. Maybe he can team up with another veteran and wrestle the Vaudevillains.
SmackDown is currently filled with guys who are comparatively unestablished and do not fit into any of the current storylines. And in 2015, Cena’s U.S. Championship Open Challenge provided the blueprint for elevating these mid-carders to prominence and making the audience care about them. Hanging tough with Cena (or, dare we say, winning against Cena) can be a defining moment in any young wrestler’s career.
Cena is on the less popular brand by design; that’s how much the WWE brass believes in him. If he can recreate the vitality and intensity that once elevated him into the stratosphere, it would be incredible. And just as Cena was elevated by Angle with a single well-fought match, there is a prime opportunity for another rookie to make a name for himself in the coming months. The only question is who.
