WWE: 10 Reasons John Cena Is Being Left out of the WWE Title Scene

John Cena may finally be winning some of his haters over.

"The Champ" has taken a lot of criticism over the last several years for "always being around the WWE Championship" and "having the exact same gimmick."

But he seems to be changing that.

Cena did not even compete at the WWE TLC pay-per-view, he is not involved in the WWE title scene and he's showing a bit of a character change for the first time in God knows how long.

We've all speculated as to why Cena isn't in the WWE Championship picture or what it means for his future, and I'm going to do just that today.

Here are 10 reasons John Cena is being left out of the WWE title scene. 

10. Because CM Punk Is the WWE Champion

This isn't exactly rocket science.

CM Punk is the current WWE Champion, and he and Cena had a lengthy feud over the summer and into the fall that won't be replicated anytime soon.

It was arguably the feud of the year, but just because it was so good a few months ago, that doesn't mean WWE officials want to rush into another one.

Punk vs. Cena way down the road in 2012 has the potential to be yet another fantastic feud, but you don't want to throw these guys into a rivalry for the WWE Championship when their last title feud ended not even three months ago.

If Punk wasn't the WWE Champion, Cena might very well be involved in the title scene. But Punk is, so Cena is going to take a backseat until that isn't the case.

9. The Rise of Dolph Ziggler

It's fairly obvious that one of the main reasons why John Cena isn't feuding for the WWE Championship right now is because both he and CM Punk are baby faces.

But I think an even bigger factor in Cena being left out of the title scene is the rise of Dolph Ziggler.

"The Showoff" has been on absolute fire as of late, stepping his game up on the mic, in the ring and as an overall performer. He's left the creative team with almost no choice but to push him toward the WWE Championship.

Yeah, Ziggler has been that good.

I have my doubts that Ziggler will win the WWE Championship in the immediate future, but he's someone to look out for in 2012.

His star is rising, and it will keep doing so throughout the new year.

8. So Other Stars Can Get a Chance to Shine

Had John Cena been on the WWE TLC card—and more specifically, had he been in the WWE Championship match—he would have taken a lot of focus off the stars who had career-defining moments at the pay-per-view.

Zack Ryder and Daniel Bryan both won their first major championships at the pay-per-view, while CM Punk retained his WWE Championship in a great TLC match.

This was a very memorable night for each of their careers, but each of their moments likely would have been overshadowed had Cena been on the card.

Cena took a step back and allowed others to get a chance to shine, and he's done so since the pay-per-view as well. He's taken somewhat of a reduced role in order to give guys like Ryder, Punk and Bryan an opportunity to show what they can do when given the spotlight.

We've gotten mixed results because of this, but at least Cena is stepping back for once.

7. WWE Officials Listen to the Fans

Whether we think so or not, WWE officials listen to us.

We wanted CM Punk to get a push and become WWE Champion, and that's exactly what happened. We wanted Zack Ryder to get on TV and see what he could do, and now he's the United States Champion. We wanted Daniel Bryan to win the World Heavyweight Championship, and he's currently holding the title.

As much as we like to complain about the WWE—and yes, I'm incredibly guilty of this—it appears as if WWE officials are paying attention to what we write on the Internet.

That's the case with John Cena as well.

They know that we don't want Cena to always be involved in the WWE title picture, and they know we want to see him have somewhat of a character change.

And that's exactly what they seem to be doing.

6. Creative Had Nothing for Him

John Cena wasn't in the WWE Championship match at TLC and isn't in the title picture at the moment for numerous reasons, but here's one of the main ones: Creative had nothing for him.

That's not to say that creative has had nothing planned for him whatsoever. It just means that they had nothing for him in the WWE title scene.

His feud with Kane—and whatever it's building toward—is taking top priority over his title aspirations, and there is literally no reason to put him in the WWE title picture at the same time.

If Cena doesn't fit in the WWE Championship scene, then just keep him out of it.

5. He's Already Feuded with Most of Raw's Top Stars

It's hard for John Cena to always fit in the WWE Championship scene when he's already feuded with most of Raw's top heels.

He feuded with The Miz leading into WrestleMania and Survivor Series, he feuded with CM Punk at the beginning of 2011 and during the summer and he feuded with Alberto Del Rio this fall.

Other than Dolph Ziggler, Cena has already had multiple lengthy rivalries with all of Raw's top heels this year, and no one really wants to see another rehashed feud for Cena.

Until Ziggler wins the WWE Championship, then it's going to be hard for Cena to get into a WWE title feud and make it interesting.

The rest of Cena's feuds have been done before, and outside of the one with Punk, none of them really weren't any good.

4. The "It Begins" Videos

We will find out in just four days which returning WWE star is behind the "It Begins" videos.

There's a chance it's not an actual wrestler, but most indications are that it's going to wind up being Chris Jericho. With the likely return of such a prominent star, John Cena is not going to be needed in the WWE Championship picture.

If it is indeed Jericho who returns, then we're likely headed for a lengthy rivalry between Jericho and CM Punk for the WWE title.

Regardless of who is behind the videos, however, I feel pretty confident that they will have a big enough impact on Raw's main event and World title scene to keep Cena away from Punk's WWE Championship.

3. The WrestleMania Problem

John Cena has what I like to call "The WrestleMania Problem."

Allow me to explain.

It appears that WWE officials do not want the WWE Championship on Cena as he heads to WrestleMania, but it obviously would make no sense to have him lose a WWE title feud right before he heads to his epic match with The Rock.

Thus, you can't have Cena win or lose the WWE title too close to WrestleMania because it would make him look bad when he's supposed to look strong as he gets closer to his match with The Rock in Miami.

So, if you can't have Cena win or lose the WWE Championship because of the effect it will have on Cena's momentum, then you just keep him away from it.

It's really that simple.

2. To See How the WWE Performs Without Cena at the Top

I'm viewing John Cena being left out of the WWE Championship picture as a sort of "trial run" for the WWE.

Obviously, Cena has been away from the title picture in the past, but in most cases, there were other big-name stars or established veterans to fill his spot in the title scene.

That isn't exactly the case at the moment because Raw's main event is filled with largely unproven wrestlers. As good as CM Punk is, he only recently became a mainstream star, while The Miz and Alberto Del Rio are relatively new to the main event.

Thus, keeping Cena away from the WWE title for an extended period is a huge test for the WWE.

Not only does it allow WWE officials to gauge how Cena performs in a non-title feud, but it also allows them to see if guys like Punk, The Miz, Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler can carry Raw's main event.  

1. For a Character Makeover

"John Cena needs to change his character."

How many times have you heard someone say that or something along those lines? Probably a few thousand, huh?

Well, we've got good news: Cena's current storyline with Kane seems to finally be leading toward a change in Cena's character, or at least some sort of minor tweak to his gimmick.

The "Are the boos getting to Cena?" storyline is transitioning into the "Can Kane get Cena to embrace the boos?" storyline, and consider me to be a big fan of it.

The WWE has a monumental opportunity to do something great with Cena's character here, and I think that's the primary reason why he's not competing for the WWE Championship at the moment.