WWE: A Dilemma with the John Cena-Alberto Del Rio Feud?

Alberto Del Rio and John Cena will go one-on-one for Del Rio's WWE Championship at Night of Champions, but is the feud already problematic?

Alberto Del Rio capped off a very good first year with the WWE by winning the WWE title.

Now he is in a feud with the company's top star. It's a feud that some feel should have already occurred, or at least be in its final stages.

Whether a championship was involved or not, I think it would have killed Del Rio's momentum to have had him lose to John Cena early on, or to have had to cheat excessively to win. That very well could have been the case.

While it was a smart idea to hold off the feud, I personally still have some reservations.

First off, when Cena rushed into the ring to attack Del Rio (who was attacking a helpless Rey Mysterio) setting off the rivalry, I could not help but think that the magic was already gone.

They met one-on-one earlier this year. It appeared that Cena was going to win after hitting Del Rio with an Attitude Adjustment until, Del Rio's then lackey, Brodus Clay attacked Cena causing a disqualification.

I reference this match because we have already seen these two men together in the ring before.

Okay, probably not much should be read into this previous encounter. To say that this match was a preview of things to come, Cena appearing to be on the verge of victory meaning he would thereby win a long-term rivalry, is a weak prediction.

This has all the makings of a classic rivalry. However, is it still too soon?

Del Rio needs to have a lengthy title run that is not cluttered with false finishes, or excessive cheating. With a stacked Raw roster that should not be a problem.

However, if he is mainly feuding with Cena it might be problematic.

For the record, I am huge John Cena fan. I just think Cena has to face an opponent he has never faced before (on television) one-on-one, and lose fair and square.

Of course, prior to propelling to main event status, Cena lost several first encounters fair and square. He even had to cheat to win the United States Championship. There was also his loss to Bastista at SummerSlam 2008, but people only remember John Cena getting hurt, not Batista actually winning the match.

The WWE should have Del Rio win at Night of Champions cleanly; then have Triple H invoke Cena's rematch clause for the next event, where Del Rio can win by cheating, or Cena win by disqualification. There are many ways to keep the feud going.

Since it is probably inevitable that the title will change hands multiple times during the feud, at least have it occur in a manner that keeps the rivalry interesting.

Randy Orton and John Cena had a nice rivalry in 2009 that saw the title change hands back and forth. I doubt with Del Rio and Cena we will see an embrace at the end, though.

I am thinking more along the lines of a Triple H and Rock feud from 2000. Needless to say who will be who in this particular feud.

If all goes well, this should be a rivalry for the ages.