Teased John Cena vs. Samoa Joe Match Is Worthy of the WWE WrestleMania 34 Stage

The first great WWE WrestleMania 34 match is already in the works. WWE planted the first seeds for John Cena vs. Samoa Joe on Monday's Raw, setting up a potential marquee meeting of powerhouses that would befit The Show of Shows.

Joe had just wiped out Rhyno in a quick bout in Memphis. He stood in the center of the ring afterward, snarling, seething, a bloodthirsty beast not yet satiated.

When The Destroyer announced his entry into the Royal Rumble, he made sure to mention Cena by name. Joe promised to eliminate the 16-time world champ from the Jan. 28 Battle Royal. 

That's surely a sign that these two bruisers will cross paths, but when? Will Joe prove to be a stepping stone for Cena en route to WrestleMania in New Orleans? That would be the wrong move.

Cena vs. Joe, The Face That Runs the Place vs. The Samoan Submission Machine, alpha vs. alpha isn't B-level pay-per-view material—it's a bout born for WrestleMania. 

The folks at Pro Wrestling Sheet are among those excited about the prospect:

The story of Cena vs. Joe would write itself. The two men trained together at Ultimate Pro Wrestling nearly 20 years ago. They were rivals in the ring and friends outside of it.

And they soon embarked on careers in two different realms.

Cena rose to the top of WWE, becoming its franchise player for almost 15 years. Joe served as Ring of Honor's centerpiece and then became a cornerstone for TNA (now Impact Wrestling) before thriving atop NXT. Now, their careers have converged.

Recounting their past and infusing reality into onscreen fiction would make for a narrative the audience will invest in.

The action promises to be excellent, too. It would be a collision of two bulls, an electric slugfest where either man's signature submission move could spell the end at any moment. 

Joe has been on a tear of late, looking like a star against Roman Reigns and in multi-wrestler matches. Cena's most recent years have seen him put on some of the best performances of his career. Putting them in the same ring would bolster WrestleMania in a big way.

At an event that may feature repeat matchups like Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle vs. Triple H, Joe vs. Cena will be a refreshing, never-before-seen contest. WWE fans have only seen those two meet in tag team action to this point, including at last year's Survivor Series.

It would be a career-changing match for Joe, too.

The Destroyer has shown himself to be an invaluable part of the red brand. He's been magnetic as a terrorizing force. He proved he more than belonged in the main event scene during the lead-in to his title clash with Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire in July. 

It only makes sense to build on his momentum, to push Joe further up the ladder. A clash with Cena at the year's biggest show would do just that.

As WWE did with AJ Styles in 2016, it can use Cena as a launching pad for a New Era megastar in the making.

There's an opportunity to create a thriller for the ages between two titans. WWE only has to make good on what it foreshadowed Monday night and save it for its grandest stage.