WWE Survivor Series 2011: Why the Rock's Burial of John Cena Was the Right Move

When The Rock and John Cena teamed up to defeat Awesome Truth at Survivor Series, it was all about The Rock. While Cena has continually gotten the worst of it in this feud, their rivalry will be better for it in the long run.

Cena, unlike in any event I can remember, was completely upstaged at Survivor Series. Not only was Cena battered around the ring by The Miz and R-Truth for the majority of the match, but The Rock looked excellent and essentially did all the leg work en route to victory.

If that weren't enough, the Madison Square Garden crowd was decidedly anti-Cena. Rather than simply allow The Rock to play to the fans following the victory, the creative team decided to send Cena back into the ring. What he received for his troubles was a cascade of boos from the audience and a Rock Bottom from The Rock.

I initially thought it was a bad move to essentially bury Cena, especially with the way The Rock had previously been dominating the feud. Not only had The Rock normally come out on the winning side of their squabbles on RAW, but he Rock Bottomed Cena at WrestleMania, allowing The Miz to retain the WWE Championship.

Going into Survivor Series, I thought that Cena should essentially go over The Rock by either inadvertently or purposely costing him the match. It would have been a great way to even the score a bit, as it would have tarnished The Rock's return to the ring after seven years away.

The Rock deserved his moment, though, and his dominance puts Cena in a position he has never really been in before. The WWE will try to paint Cena as an underdog from time to time, but in actuality, everybody knows that he is going to come out on top in all likelihood.

It's tough to imagine Cena losing when he faces The Rock at WrestleMania. But the creative team planted a seed of doubt in the minds of many by making The Rock look far superior to Cena despite the fact that he had been away from the ring for seven years.

There aren't many ways to make Cena interesting at this point, but making him the decided underdog is one way to do it. In fact, I would have The Rock get the better of Cena from now until WrestleMania in each and every appearance he makes.

I still think The Rock will ultimately "pass the torch" to Cena by letting Cena go over at WrestleMania, but it's refreshing to see him face some true adversity for once. A Cena victory at WrestleMania wouldn't be quite as special if he was painted as The Rock's equal, but it would really mean something if he got the job done against all odds.

For what seems like years, people have been begging for new layers to be added to Cena's character. The majority of the viewing audience has grown tired of his "Super Cena" gimmick in which he continually overcomes insurmountable odds.

While it is possible that the crowd turning on Cena could lead to a heel turn, I don't think it necessarily has to. I'm certainly no Cena fan myself, but even I have to admit that Cena defeating The Rock as the underdog in front of a partisan crowd in Miami would be a truly special moment.