Roman Reigns v. John Cena (Sportskeeda)

Ever since Vince McMahon picked Roman Reigns to be the next big thing in WWE, a clash with John Cena was inevitable. While they have fought during Reigns’ time with The Shield, fans thought nothing of it. In 2017, this is what WWE considers a money fight. Of course they would be trying to cash-in off of the massive success that was Mayweather v. McGregor, and after this past Monday, they did just that.

After teasing some tension between the two last week in Brooklyn, WWE announced via social media that Cena would face Reigns at the No Mercy PPV on September 24th. Not WrestleMania, where this match seems fitting, but No Mercy. For the match to come to fruition based off of a little post and some social media jabs seemed to throw some people off. It’s definitely not the most ideal way to sell a top feud. Little did we know that in one night, everything would change.

A contract signing was scheduled for Raw, and anything could have happened. There were no physical punches between the two however, but a full-on verbal beating by John Cena. When the leader of the Cenation is actually serious in his promos, nobody can touch this man. He ran down Reigns for being unimpressive, and was able to sell the match in one 15 minute segment. While several of the lines ended up being planned, you could still feel the emotions in it. Highlights include:

1. Reigns actually forgetting his lines and Cena calling him out on it. That may have been the one part not planned out, and kudos to Cena for making that work.
2. Cena calling out Reigns again, saying that he used his U.S. Title run as a demotion while Cena helped elevate talent. If you check Reigns’ reaction, it may have actually struck a nerve. When you compare both reigns, you can see what he means.
3. The best line of the night by Cena: “I’m still here because you can’t do your job. When it comes to this yard, you probably haven’t learned it yet, there’s only one rule: step up or step aside. And over the years there’s been a few to step up, but nobody to ever keep up. And then I finally hear about this one guy. THE guy. THE Roman Reigns. THE one that can keep up. Now I look at you, and I listen to you, you should be ashamed I’m a part timer because I can do this part time better than you could ever do it full time.”

That sealed the deal for what could be an electric match between two polarizing figures. While Cena blew the roof off the place, I can’t see this ending well. Just like his match with Batista at SummerSlam or Cena’s first match with The Rock, I can see Reigns coming out on top. Think of it as a “passing of the torch” moment. WWE will do anything to protect both stars, but there has to be one definite winner. There are various scenarios to come out of this which makes things all the more interesting.

Along with Brock Lesnar v. Braun Strowman for the Universal Title, No Mercy is turning into an event fans can’t miss. Unpredictability is one of the things that can help make professional wrestling thrive. If you aren’t a fan of the matchup, that’s fine. My recommendation is to give it a chance, you may just walk away satisfied.

httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLZwB1kUXBI