John Cena WWE: TLC Shows Why All PPVs Need Super Cena

Zack Ryder finally won the United States Championship, Daniel Bryan cashed in his briefcase and CM Punk retained. Those three results should have led to one of the year's best pay-per-views. Instead, Tables, Ladders and Chairs came up short because John Cena was nowhere to be found.

After masked Kane returned on Monday Night RAW and attacked Cena, prevailing wisdom was that there would be a late match added to the card involving the pair. It didn't happen, although three unannounced matches did occur.

Cena is a perfect example of you don't know what you're missing until it's no longer there.

A large portion of the WWE Universe has grown tired of Cena's superhero characteristics and rightfully so. No character should be able to mount such epic comebacks with relative ease. That said, he serves a very important purpose.

Just like CM Punk has become a fan favorite among older audience members, Cena gives the younger demographic reason to get involved. Without him, there was a general lack of crowd involvement throughout the night.

Ryder was sent out first in an attempt to set the tone for the night and actually did a pretty solid job. His “Woo, woo, woo” chant sent echoes throughout 1st Mariner Arena.

Unfortunately, by the time the audience watched Cody Rhodes attack Booker T backstage and endured a tag team match in which Air Boom (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne) retained, the spark was gone. It didn't fully return until the main event.

That sequence of events shows how important build-up to a PPV can be. Air Boom hadn't been featured on television much since Bourne's wellness policy woes, so when they came out the pop wasn't nearly as large as it had been in the past. Primo and Epico surely weren't going to help the cause, either.

The crowd needed something to reignite their emotion and it just didn't come until CM Punk stormed out to save the day.

That's not to say there weren't any good matches in between.

Beth Phoenix and Kelly Kelly put on the most entertaining WWE Divas Championship match in quite some time. Triple H and Kevin Nash exceeded expectations for two aging veterans. Even Rhodes and Booker T wasn't too bad considering ring rust for Booker.

However, crowd reaction is just as important as the matches themselves. Without huge pops or heat to provide an atmosphere, it just isn't the same.

And that's where Cena was sorely missed on Sunday night. Getting him involved at some point in the middle of the extended card would have done wonders to get the crowd rocking once again, while also sending the little Jimmys home happy.

Cena might be one of the most loathed figures in WWE history, but TLC illustrated just how vital he is to the company. Consider it a lesson learned for Vince McMahon and Co.