WWE Raw: John Cena vs. Zack Ryder Sparks Start of a Beautiful Trend

Last night on Raw, we were given the classic contest of John Cena vs. Zack Ryder as part of interim general manager John Laryngitis' "social experiment" revolved around John Cena. 

If John Cena won the contest, he would be put into the WWE Championship match at TLC.  If Zack Ryder won, he would get another United States Championship match. 

One glaring issue for both men is that they are best friends; they respect each other, root for each other and appreciate each other.  Needless to say, this fact alone made for both men to feel uncomfortable with the situation.

Lucky for us, that did not put any sort of damper on the match itself.  Both men put on a classic technical battle, with each man enjoying momentum throughout the contest. This was the first real display of Ryder's technical wrestling skills and he did not disappoint. 

Ryder went toe-to-toe with one of the best in the business and looked great in doing so. Not only did he put up a heck of a fight, he made himself appear to be a legitimate all-around wrestle, not just one for entertainment purposes. 

In the end, Cena was victorious, earning a chance for the WWE title.  Unfortunately for Ryder, that meant he would not receive a US title shot. 

This story is not about the events that occurred after the initial bout.  Rather, it is a look inside what this match could possibly represent for the future. 

Let's be honest, there are only so many combinations of matches between the current heels and faces before it starts to become repetitive. 

CM Punk can only face Alberto Del Rio and Mark Henry can only take on Big Show so many times before we start to say "enough already."

Some would say the easiest option to change up the scenes would be to turn some people from their current standings of heel or face.  In actuality, that is not the easiest option. 

What's the easiest option?  Allow faces to take on faces and heels to take on heels more often.

Hear me out on this one.  One of the biggest factors that contributed to how great the CM Punk/John Cena matches this summer were was that they were both loved by fans. 

There was no possible way for either man to have his usual type of match where the heel completely overpowers the face for the majority of the match, only to have the face come out victorious in the end.  Why? Because there was no clear-cut heel or face.

Having those two faces in a contest together forced them to engage in one of—if not the best—match of the year.  Both Punk and Cena proved why they are in the wrestling business.  Technical wrestling was the calling-card for this face-face feud, peeking the interest of fans all over the world. 

Typically in a face-heel type of feud, the heel is supposed to control much of the match, maybe have the face get some good, clean strikes in at the right time, heel retakes control only to have the face muster up the strength to fight back and instantly make the contest 50-50 again. 

When two faces go at it, it's anybody's guess as to who will be seen as the dominant one, making the outcome become even more intriguing.  There are no brutally physical attacks for no reason other than to punish the opponent, there is just good clean wrestling; something all fans love to see.

While the classic heel-face feuding system will never die, why now allow for more faces to challenge faces and more heels to challenge heels to spark the interest of the audience. 

If Cena's match against Ryder was any indication, we could be in for some great matches on free TV, rather than having to wait for pay-per-views and pay $50 for them. 

By going this route, creative has more freedom when booking contests and gives us as fans better potential matches.

Imagine the possibilities.