John Cena's booking leaves no room for the evolution of new stars in WWE

John Cena with the United States title on Raw

John Cena is back on top again with the United States Championship and his U.S. title open challenge continues on WWE programming. Every time it happens, the call goes out to anyone wanting to step up and take a shot at the belt and the top guy holding it. It’s a great way to up the value of the strap and keeps Cena in the role of the fighting champion that never backs down from a challenge.

But it’s also kept him in the role of the top guy that is practically unstoppable. He rarely loses and when he does, he almost always comes back to win the feud. In a company full of veteran talents taking turns with the primary title, this is not necessarily an issue. But in a company attempting to build for the future, it has become a problem. Cena is preventing the evolution of other stars in WWE.

It seems an easy prospect to bash the face of that company. It’s something that has happened from the moment Cena took over and it appears as though it will never end. But while many of the attacks come on a personal basis toward Cena, the fact is it’s more about his nearly indestructible persona that is really not benefitting anyone besides himself.

The latest victim of Cena’s incredibly impressive booking was Kevin Owens. Owens burst onto the main roster with no warning and he did so to the adulation of fans that had been waiting for something new to come along. Owens was tough, he was confident and he had no problem confronting Cena on his own turf. Owens was a veteran of the business but he was fresh at the same time; fans could not get enough of him.

But Owens’ win over Cena at the Elimination Chamber was the only one he had, as he lost the next two. He talked a great game and looked good doing it but in the end, he was unable to get the job done. While it may have been unrealistic to expect a newcomer like KO to win the feud against Cena, it was a bit surprising that he lost in such convincing fashion. Many fans felt he represented the future but that notion was lessened to a great degree thanks to losing against John.

Seth Rollins has been proven to be underneath John as well, as every time the two face off in a straight up match, Cena wins. The point that Cena has Rollins’ number has been driven home so often that it’s evident the clock is ticking for the champ. If Seth is injured or WWE suddenly decides to change plans, Cena will undoubtedly step right in and the move will be completely plausible because he’s already proven the belt is his anyway.

Rollins has looked very good against Cena, much like Owens did but that has not equaled victory for him. In both instances, the younger star impressed on every level and gave Cena all he could handle in the ring. But it was not enough for either guy to come out ahead of Cena in any way that really mattered.

Dolph Ziggler, Rusev, Bray Wyatt, and Dean Ambrose are all examples of this same trend that WWE has followed with Cena for years now. Cena is excellent in terms of sharing the spotlight and giving a guy the chance to get over. In the short term, it’s a good move and works for Cena’s opponents because they gain credibility with fans and likely their peers as well. But when the final loss to Cena comes and that guy moves on, he never does so on a grand scale. In nearly every case, there is no forward progress made as a result of working John; evolution is not only slowed, it’s practically over.

Cena must look good all the time and that is to be expected. He should not have to apologize for that or for being the top guy. WWE makes a lot of money off him and if he lost every other feud he was in, his value would surely begin to decrease. But to believe he can’t lose a feud is one thing; to believe that WWE as a company is benefiting from John taking down every young star that comes his way is something else altogether.

For a new star to truly go over on Cena in the end signals WWE’s desire to move on and that is likely not happening any time soon. However, getting the rub from him must mean more than just looking tough during the feud only to slow down after that. Cena the character is not evolving but that is no reason why his opponents cannot.