WWE Opinion: The Case for Cena vs. Rock for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania

Last week I rhapsodized, rather controversially, about how the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series between Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk means nothing. 

Del Rio, despite being WWE Champion, has been treated like a mid-carder for most of his second run with the belt, as he rarely opens the show and is usually unceremoniously slotted in the middle of the show with little to no pre-appearance fanfare. 

The devaluation of Del Rio's character has done a particular amount of damage to the luster of the WWE Championship, as a recent clean loss to the Big Show show in a non-title illustrated an irresponsible lack of protection for the champion and, in turn, what is supposed to be the company's richest prize.  

In responding to the polarizing backlash generated by the aforementioned article, I realized two things:  A) Saying "the WWE Title means nothing" may be a tad bit of a hyperbole, and (but) B) the presence of the Rock with no interest in a WWE Championship may do just as much to hurt the WWE title in the long run as it will to help the WWE's business in the short run. 

With the Rock recently announcing that he will be joining forces with John Cena at Survivor Series to take on the team of Awesome Truth, a nice, long build towards Cena and Rock's WrestleMania XXVIII officially kicked off. 

Rock-Cena is obviously the top program in the WWE and, for all intents and purposes, their match will close the show at WrestleMania XXVIII.  But with the Rock figuring to be in and out of WWE TV and pay-per-views for the next five months leading up to WrestleMania, the WWE Championship has suddenly become the forgotten entity in the company that ironically bears its namesake. 

Come April 2nd, after Cena and the Rock do all that short-term business for the Fed, the WWE brass will likely wake up from their Rock hangover only to be left with the underwhelming talent they have in-house. 

Among the very many questions the WWE will have going forward, questions which will pertain to issues that were super-glued shut during the Rock's brief tenure, the most alarming question might sound a little something like: "Whatever happened to that belt we used to promote?"

With Del Rio figuring to be an underwhelming champion for the foreseeable future, and with No. 1 contender CM Punk still an unproven ratings draw, the WWE Championship could very well sink into the abyss during the build-up for Cena-Rock.  What's worse is the crown jewel will probably stay in the abyss for a long time as WWE enters its annual post-WrestleMania slump. 

If the WWE would like to avert such a looming disaster, it may not be out of the question to include the WWE Championship as part of the build for Cena vs. Rock and, in effect, kill two birds with one stone. 

Sure, the anti-Cena contingent will cringe should Cena walk into his seventh straight WrestleMania as either the challenger of title-holder of a major WWE Championship. 

But the result would retain emphasis on an important advertising tool for the WWE, and the WWE would have one less problem to worry about once the Rock leaves.  The WWE Championship will be all the company has to build around at ensuing pay-per-views following the Rock's departure, and if it is cast aside like Kelly Kelly's wrestling career may be in a few years while the Rock is around, this would add yet another layer of detriment to WWE's future business once the Rock has gone back to Hollywood. 

Many feel that a WWE Championship match between the Rock and Cena would give away the outcome, as there is no possible way that the Rock can win that title given the expiration date currently attached to his return. 

However, the WWE has perfected the art of the mind-boggling, last-minute decisions just to swerve fans, and the outcome of a Cena-Rock main event would not be obvious to any fan, analyst or spectator, no matter how jaded. 

There could easily be a situation where the Rock wins the title, drops the championship somehow and the WWE could dedicate its next several weeks to crowning a new champion. 

For those of you into long shots, there have even been rumors, sparked by a report from F4WOnline, of a best-of-three series between Cena and the Rock.  With the possibility of an extended stay for the People's Champion, one can hardly rule out the possibility of the Rock winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, as there would be a platform for him to formally drop it to Cena at a subsequent pay-per-view. 

With the WWE Championship in the mix, the possibilities could be as endless as they are exciting.  However, should the belt be treated as a second- or third-class citizen throughout WrestleMania season, the ensuing backlash would cripple the WWE's business for quite some time. 

The Rock is coming back to the RAW in two weeks!  Celebrate this occasion with Big Nasty and B/R as we count down his greatest moments!  Then follow Big Nasty on Twitter @ ThisIsNasty.