Will the World Heavyweight Championship regain relevance through John Cena?

When Vickie Guerrero announced that Alberto del Rio would be facing John Cena at Hell in a Cell (HIAC), the first thing that fans might have thought would be – Is he going to be back so early?

Beside the fact that John Cena is going to return earlier than expected, the more pertinent question is: How important is Cena’s comeback at HIAC for the WWE?

The way things are going at the WWE right now, it looks like the storyline for the WWE Championship is sorted. The Corporation angle, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan’s feud and the inclusion of both Shawn Michaels and Big Show into the mix has everyone hooked up. Add to that CM Punk’s feud with the Paul Heyman guys, the Rhodes brothers and the Shield’s feud, and it seems all loose ends have been tied. In fact, even the Divas’ division has a legitimate feud and storyline after ages!

But it is the World Heavyweight Championship that does not have a meaningful storyline. Sure, Vicky Guerrero, del Rio and Damien Sandow are trying to sell the story to the crowd, but there is a clear lack of star power to draw the attention of the crowd. The audience at the arenas seem to be switching off during the World Heavyweight segments, and the stars are not getting the necessary reaction.

And that is where Cena’s return can help things along. With all due respect to del Rio and Sandow, they do not draw the same attention as does John Cena. Irrespective of whether people like him or hate him, and the arenas are always split in half when it comes to him, John Cena has the capacity to get the crowd interested in what’s going on. They may boo him, they may cheer him, but the crowd will firmly have their sights on the action in the ring.

There is another advantage of having John Cena in the World Heavyweight Championship feud – mic skills. Say what you may of whether he can sell the moves in the ring to the crowd, but no one can doubt his mic skills. While Damien Sandow is the best of the trio when it comes to talking, he does not have the support he deserves from either Vickie Guerrero or del Rio.

Vickie Guerrero, for all the heat that she can generate from the crowd, is not really a good talker. Don’t get me wrong – she can be very irritating, which is part of her persona in the character that she plays. But apart from that, she is no Shawn Michaels on the mic! And neither is del Rio. He too can generate the heat that a heel needs from the crowd, but talking on the mic is something that he can improve a lot on.

But with John Cena being a proven talker, he and Damien Sandow can cut some fantastic promos, especially when the prize is as big as the World Heavyweight Championship. The way I see things going is that John Cena wins the title at HIAC, only for Sandow to successfully cash in the Money in the Bank. With that, there would be a 3-way tussle for the Championship, which would hopefully make the title more meaningful.

But another question that comes to mind is: Would Cena really want to associate himself with the World Heavyweight Championship when he’s been in feuds with others for the WWE Championship for so long?

He just might. He’s still young, at least in wrestling terms, with at least 10 more years in his career. Of course, there is a chance that he may break down early, especially if he keeps coming back early from injuries. But otherwise, he has quite a bit of time on his hands, placing him perfectly to get close to Ric Flair’s record!

Yes, that could be the next target for John Cena, to forever cement his legacy as a WWE legend. Of course, Hulk Hogan has a total of 18 world championship titles; so in 10 years, he would more than easily go past that.

Why not just stick to WWE championships? For the simple reason that he’s already won it a record 11 times. To make it a lot more palatable to the audience, the World Heavyweight Championship makes perfect sense!