Why John Cena Must Take Clean Loss vs. AJ Styles at WWE SummerSlam 2016

At the 2016 edition of WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, John Cena must take a clean loss to AJ Styles in their matchup.

When the two men square off again on Aug. 21, Styles will be looking to rebuild the credibility stripped from him when he was booked to beat Cena at Money in the Bank with the help of The Club’s Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Cena went on to successfully pin Styles in their six-man tag team match at Battleground in July. Heading into SummerSlam, the feud is now tied, as each man holds a victory over the other.

Now it’s time for Cena to put Styles over cleanly.

Instead of giving Styles the clean win at Money in the Bank, letting him beat Cena decisively at a marquee event like SummerSlam is the better booking decision. Not only would it be the biggest win of Styles’ career, but it would also cement his spot as the top heel on the SmackDown brand moving forward.

Bray Wyatt is an elite heel on SmackDown, but there's a lack of depth beyond him. Styles would be catapulted to the role of top heel instantly following a victory over Cena at the August PPV.

Styles needs to look stronger than ever now that Anderson and Gallows have been drafted to Raw and The Club is no longer a united entity. Beating Cena would instantly legitimize Styles to the casual wrestling fan and make him a bona fide top guy overnight.

And a top guy is exactly what SmackDown needs right now.

Cena has been a top star in WWE for well over a decade, and it’s time for him to help build another viable draw. Just as his losses to Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens helped cement their spots at the top of the card, Cena would do the same for Styles if the latter were to pull out the victory at SummerSlam.

Since joining WWE, Styles has won only two of his seven PPV matches. Add in the fact that Cena has lost clean at SummerSlam three times since 2005—the most defeats at any PPV for the veteran—and now is the right time to put Styles over cleanly.

While it’s hard to imagine Cena doing the right thing and building a star for the future, the hope is that The Face That Runs The Place understands that his role will be limited moving forward with an increase in mainstream projects, and he can help strengthen the brand before cutting back on his schedule.

SummerSlam 2016 is the perfect storm for a monumental moment in wrestling history, and Styles deserves to become one of the few men in the world to ever beat Cena decisively.

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