WWE Extreme Rules: Why John Cena Will Win the Triple Threat Steel Cage Match

This Sunday marks WWE’s third annual Extreme Rules pay-per-view.   The event will feature a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship as its main event.  

Sunday will also mark the end of The Miz’s first WWE Championship reign and the start of John Cena’s eighth.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Miz fan and my feelings toward Cena are neutral at best, but I think that with the recent roster shake-up, the length of Miz’s title reign and the length of time Cena has been without the WWE title, that The Miz’s time as WWE Champion is about to come to an end.

Extreme Rules will take place just six days after the WWE draft, which occurred last Monday.  As we all know at this point, Alberto Del Rio, the current No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, was drafted to Raw. 

Though I can’t see Del Rio walking out of his ladder match with Christian as the World Heavyweight Champion, regardless of what happens at Extreme Rules, Del Rio will be appearing solely (in theory) on Raw.

It had been rumored in the weeks leading up to the WWE draft that Del Rio would be moving to Raw, as a match between him and John Cena is currently planned for SummerSlam. 

When the move occurred, the set-up looked even more promising.  Now that this match looks very likely to occur, WWE is going to need to eventually put the title on either Cena or Del Rio. 

With the current trend of WWE leaning toward longer title reigns (114 days for Edge, 154 days for Kane and 159 and counting days for The Miz) and only 105 days between Extreme Rules and SummerSlam, it would make sense for a new WWE Champion to be crowned this Sunday.

The Miz’s reign as WWE Champion is the longest in three years, and it is the sixth longest reign in the past 10 years, no small feat for a first time champion.

Now with the loss of Alex Riley to SmackDown and the arrival of Alberto Del Rio on Raw, it just seems like The Miz’s time as the top heel, and champion, on Raw is up.

This is also one of the longest spans of time that John Cena has gone without either the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship. 

The only time that Cena has been without a title for a longer period was back from October 2007 to November 2008, and Cena was out with a torn pectoral tendon for a large part of that duration.

We are also entering one of the slower times of the WWE season.  With the aftermath of WrestleMania dwindling down, many casual fans are going to need a reason to keep watching.  Those same casual fans tend to favor the babyfaces, particularly John Cena. 

What better way to keep them watching than to give Cena the WWE Championship and keep him in the main event of each upcoming pay-per-view?

Regardless of how you, me or anyone in the IWC feels about him, John Cena is the face of WWE.  He has been without the title for 314 days and counting now, so it almost seems like an absolute certainty that he will be walking out of Extreme Rules as the WWE Champion.

Though, losing the title may not necessarily be a bad thing for The Miz.  After dropping the title, he could have the perfect opportunity to turn face, something that many of us have been waiting to see.

If Miz drops the title to Cena, who then begins a feud with Alberto Del Rio, a feud with someone like CM Punk would be the ideal time to get the entire WWE Universe behind him. 

The Miz already has a loyal following among the older WWE fans, but it wouldn’t take much to get the younger audience behind him as well. 

His mic skills and charisma could easily be used to talk down a heel like CM Punk and have the entire crowd cheer for him.  With Raw’s No. 2 babyface now on SmackDown, the window of opportunity is now wide open.

Oh wait, I guess I have been neglecting to mention someone.  John Morrison is in the Steel Cage match for the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules too, but I think his chances of actually winning are miniscule at best.

John Morrison hasn’t done anything recently to warrant putting the WWE Championship on him.  His match at WrestleMania didn’t blow anyone away, and the only person that was talked about after the match was Snooki.

Plus, if there is any truth to the recent rumors about his backstage attitude regarding Trish Stratus, I don’t think that WWE would even think of giving him his first WWE Championship reign right now.

Even though this is going to be a triple threat match, there’s really only two competitors.

If you asked me, this is what I would predict to come over the next several months.  John Cena will walk away as WWE Champion at Extreme Rules.  The Miz will likely get his rematch at Over The Limit. 

After a failed attempt to reclaim the title, Alberto Del Rio will step in to face the champ and The Miz will begin a feud with CM Punk, turning face in the process. 

Del Rio will become champion at SummerSlam, giving The Miz the opportunity to take center stage as the fan favorite against him in the months that follow.

Of course, things are likely to change, superstars may get injured, there will be a Money in the Bank winner to worry about and WWE is generally unpredictable anyway. 

But I don’t see Sunday ending any way other than Cena holding the WWE Championship high as our screens fade to black.