5 Talking points from the epic John Cena - Roman Reigns promo on Raw

John Cena and Roman Reigns provided us with one of the most memorable Raw segments of the year when they went back and forth on the microphone during the contract signing for their match at No Mercy.

Who'd have ever thought a promo segment involving Roman Reigns would ever make so many waves?

And yet, the IWC is in meltdown over the sheer intensity of the verbal duel, one sided though it may have been.

Roman Reigns had, perhaps, his best spell with microphone in hand but was still shot down and 'buried six feet under' by John Cena, to quote Dave Meltzer and co.

And we loved every bit of it.

Whether you support Cena or Reigns or boo both of them, you can't deny that it was an awesome segment. It was as real as it gets and for the most part, seemed to be a reflection of what both men truly felt about one another.

But did it strictly abide by the WWE's script? Was it an indication that John Cena will turn heel soon, seeing as he openly mentioned it? And what off Reigns' off-the-cuff mention of John Cena's shovel?

Intrigued?

Read on as we analyze the 5 greatest takeaways from the epic John Cena - Roman Reigns promo segment on this week's episode of Monday Night Raw.

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#1 Scripted or shoot?

CM Punk wasn't the only one who waved the fourth wall goodbye

Owing to the personal nature of the entire segment, what with a few stinging waves of abuse thrown in as well, many wondered if it was scripted or a full-blown shoot.

And while it certainly seemed like the latter on first glance, Dave Meltzer confirmed that it was almost entirely scripted.

While that may be a dampener to some fans who were comparing the segment to CM Punk's infamous pipe bomb promo a few years ago, it is still a positive sign that the WWE recognizes that realism sells and are willing to employ doses of it in their feuds.

Especially with someone like Roman Reigns, who's just not getting over the way they want him to, it really helps to have someone like John Cena call out his flaws honestly.

It's almost like a session with the shrink. Vocalizing and accepting your mistakes are the first steps to getting over them.

Whether Reigns will actually get over his remains to be seen...but the fans may well get off his back about them by the time this feud is done.

In short, this may prove to be a master stroke by the WWE.

#2 John Cena's heel turn

Cena may tease it, but it will never happen

Through all of the years of duelling 'Let's go Cena!' and 'Cena sucks!' chants, and the vociferous booing that he's been subjected to, this week was probably the first time John Cena addressed his heel turn so openly.

Not only did he break kayfabe in doing it, he even broke down the way that he's been perceived by the audience pretty realistically.

While it was certainly unexpected for the Leader of the Cenation to do that, all it did was reveal the fact that the WWE has known all along that many fans wanted him to turn heel, and yet never pulled the trigger on it.

And whatever the reasons for that may be, it looks highly unlikely that they will be readdressed now, towards the end of John Cena's career.

#3 Is John Cena close to retirement?

Is the John Cena era drawing to a close?

There was a very indicative line somewhere in the middle of Cena's promo when he told Roman Reigns straight up that he's only around still because Reigns couldn't take over from him yet.

Was there any truth to that?

While Cena has transitioned into a bit part player of late, is he even sticking around only because Vince can't completely - forgive the pun - hand over the reins to Roman Reigns?

It would certainly explain why Cena was switched over onto Raw from SmackDown Live, in an attempt to hurriedly get Reigns over before he reportedly beats Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 to rubberstamp his coronation.

But if that statement did stem from truth, how long does John Cena actually have left as an active competitor in the WWE?

#4 Passing of the torch

Is this the vintage WWE passing-of-the-torch storyline?

Regardless of the nuances of what was said in the promo, or indeed, what will be in the forthcoming weeks, it's pretty clear that the whole point of this feud is for John Cena to pass the proverbial torch to Roman Reigns.

And even today, it seemed like Cena's personal attacks on Reigns did light a fire underneath the Big Dog's belly, as he responded with - arguably - his best promo till date.

Maybe it still wasn't enough to outwork one of the best mic workers of all time in John Cena but it was definitely a start.

Reigns is already gold in the ring most of the time and all he really needs to do is bring his promo game to scratch too.

And if this week's segment on Raw was any indication to go by, he may actually make some headway towards that end before this feud is over.

#5 Roman has much to learn

We can't always look away when Reigns stutters on the microphone...it's about time he learns

However much we get ahead of ourselves in expectation of what this rollicking storyline between the present and the future of the WWE may produce, it's hard to sugar coat how much more Roman Reigns needs to improve to effectively seal his spot as the next top guy.

As much badassery as he displays when working matches, he still needs to learn to work the crowd the way John Cena does.

It's not something he can ignore and it's certainly not something the WWE will be okay with him passing over.

But what better way for him to learn than to work with the master himself?

How many times have you seen John Cena enter an arena to a chorus of boos, and leave to cheers?

That's the ability that a top babyface must possess and sadly, Roman Reigns is still a far cry from it.

Will he learn quickly? More importantly, will it be enough?

Only time will tell.

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