WWE TLC 2011: The Lack of a John Cena Main Event Was Refreshing

While it was a rather average pay-per-view on paper, WWE's TLC was notable for one thing: the lack of a John Cena main event.

As most fans know, per WWE storylines, a valiant Cena dropped out of a WWE title match a few weeks ago on Raw on the condition that Raw GM John Laurinaitis gave Zack Ryder a qualifying match to become No. 1 contender to Dolph Ziggler's U.S Title.

While this seemed like a perplexing decision, Cena's reasoning was that that no one in WWE had ever given Zack a fair chance and that he had been world champion enough times to give up this title shot. 

Cena's selfless sacrifice paid off and Ryder won his match with Mark Henry (although with a fair bit of help from John who interfered on Ryder's behalf). And so for the first time in years Cena was left off of a WWE pay-per-view event.

Interestingly, many expected a Cena sighting during the triple threat main event, but this never happened either.

While Cena being left off of one card may not ostensibly sound like much of an issue, it is a far bigger story than many realize.

Indeed, Cena has been a cornerstone of the WWE main events for almost seven years now. WWE owner Vince McMahon has relied on John and his impressive merchandise selling abilities to carry the WWE through a stagnant period in business.

While names have come and gone over the years (Undertaker, Batista, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, etc.), Cena's top status has remained consistent and WWE have never wavered in their pushing of him.

While Cena should be praised for his hard work on pay-per-view over the last few years (and, for all the criticism of him, he has always delivered good main-event matches), the lack of him in any high-profile matches at TLC was extremely refreshing.

First of all, it allowed the other main-event participants on Raw some time to shine. Alberto Del Rio and The Miz have both struggled in Cena's shadow over the past year, with neither managing to become the huge stars WWE hoped they would be.

Thankfully, with Cena on the sidelines for the past few weeks, both men have been allowed to flourish on WWE television as dastardly heels out to destroy new WWE Champion CM Punk.

CM Punk was also aided by Cena's absence at TLC. As Raw's No. 2 babyface, Punk needs all the help he can get to convince people he is a credible champion and the star of the show. Cena sitting this one out meant that Punk got to be Raw's top babyface and fans were allowed to get fully behind him.

Had Cena stayed in the TLC match, undoubtedly the fans would have been fiercely divided between the two stars, which would have done neither man any favours. WWE needs more than one top babyface (in case something happens to Cena, who has been plagued with back and neck injuries in recent years) and if CM Punk can step into John's spot should the need arise, he needs the spotlight to be solely on him right now.

It also served to help Cena's profile. Partly why there is resentment towards him from certain fans is almost surely because of over-exposure—he has been shoved down people's throats non-stop and taking a supporting role in recent episodes of Raw may help quell some of the fan anger and resentment towards him.

Cena's expulsion from this pay-per-view was an unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome development. In fact, at a time when the WWE on-screen product has been accused of being repetitive and stale, Cena's lack of major involvement was a nice change of pace and possibly something the booking team could consider doing again in the future.