Kane vs. Cena: The WWE Must Be Careful in Booking the Pair

Last Monday, Kane returned in a dynamite fashion. While John Cena was struggling in the ring with Mark Henry, the arena darkened and fire soared from the ramp.

Kane sauntered down to the wearing a mask reminiscent of Predator. As Henry looked like his life was flashing before his eyes, the "World's Strongest Man" wisely departed the ring. Cena got up in a daze and met the business end of a massive choke slam.

As Kane stood over the fallen Cena, he took off his mask to reveal another mask that's more inline with his style. The show subsequently faded to black.

Since that time, Kane's profile on WWE.com has moved from the SmackDown roster page to Raw's, house shows now have advertisements for matches between Cena and Kane, and there is speculation as far how long the two men will feud.

Ultimately, the mileage in the feud, while it is fresh, maybe short lived. Neither man really can afford a loss at this point. There is little reason to believe the feud could last past Elimination Chamber, if not blown off before.

The simple truth is the WWE needs to be careful. While perfect for a short-term program, the creative team on Raw must remember that neither man can lose.

Why Cena Can't Lose

Despite all my hope to the contrary, the WWE nearly derailed Cena's character development last Monday when they booked him to take Kane's choke slam. Cena, despite all the fan reactions to the contrary, is still booked at the top face on Raw.

Cena's match at WrestleMania 28 is already set with The Rock, so there is little for him to do right now. There is no point to involving him in the WWE Title scene as his match with The Rock doesn't require it. However, the last thing Cena needs is a loss.

The Rock's return at Survivor Series saw "The Great One" booked incredibly strong. He pinned half of Awesome Truth and gave Cena a Rock Bottom after the match. On the flipside, Cena was, more or less, booked as a clown.

When he publicly asked for The Rock's assistance at Survivor Series, Cena didn't help that perception when he visibly drooled over himself. During the build up to the pay-per-view, he came off as second fiddle to "The Great One" and was treated as such by the fans.

During the match as Survivor Series, Cena was dominated by the heels in that match and taking the Rock Bottom didn't help his case. Long story short, it left him a little short of credibility.

After Survivor Series, a logical booking sequence would have had him feud with The Miz as a hold over uniti the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber.  However, the WWE booked themselves out of the feud when they put Miz into the WWE Championship match with CM Punk at TLC.

A victorious feud with returning and monstrous Kane would go a long way towards reestablishing his credibility.

Why Kane Can't Lose

In the run up to Kane being written off TV at the hands of Mark Henry, the big man talked about how he was now the "Devil's Favorite Demon" and how he would knock off his "humanity" once and for all. After losing in a memorable TV match with Randy Orton, Kane was assaulted by Henry.

After wrapping his foot in a chair, Henry went to the top rope and nailed a splash onto the chair. Subsequently written off TV for a few months, the WWE began airing a series of videos showing Kane's old mask being on fire and serving notice to the WWE Universe that the "Big Red Machine" would be back soon.

On the December 12 edition of Raw, the final video aired. In the video, you can see various iconic images of Cena before the glass shatters (Thanks to Bleacher Report reader Michael Muys for pointing this out). At the end of the video, Kane returned in spectacular fashion.

It's been rumored that the WWE isn't high on The Miz and Alberto Del Rio as top heels for Raw. Kane, with his current gimmick, history and familiarity with the fans should fill the role pretty easily. Kane's entire gimmick is the personification of the monster heel.

To cement his role as the top heel on Raw, Kane needs to roll over his opposition. Defeating Cena would make the greatest impact and serve notice to the fans of just who he is. Losing his return feud could be a severe blow to his credibility in that regard.

Before his hiatus, Kane was a reliable upper card wrestler. Occasionally, used in main events on TV and pay-per-views, he was identifiable and useful, but the fans couldn't buy his ultimate threat to the top flight faces of the WWE. Defeating Cena accomplishes exactly what you want. It would make Kane a bad guy who can defeat any babyface at any time.

The Final Countdown

The road to WrestleMania 28 officially begins with the build towards the Royal Rumble, and then changes gears at Elimination Chamber. From that point, the card for the "Showcase of the Immortals" begins to solidify and the hype begins in earnest.

For John Cena, there is nothing for him to do until after Elimination Chamber. Before Kane returned, the prospects for Cena were simply token involvement with the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber before focusing on his date with destiny at WrestleMania 28.

For Kane, the usual course would have had him feud with Mark Henry over Henry's storyline shelving of the "Big Red Machine." This would have made him the babyface in the feud and next probable challenger for Henry's World Heavyweight Championship.

However, the lack of heels on Raw and a lack of a foil for Cena apparently changed these plans. A feud between these two keeps Cena relevant until the WWE rolls into Miami for WrestleMania and gives Kane a high profile feud and opponent to work with.

The WWE needs to be very careful with booking this feud. Neither man can afford to lose the feud and such a potentially high profile feud demands acceptable resolution.

Here's hoping the WWE hasn't booked itself into a corner.