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#3 John Cena misses a step
WWE’s franchise player has been at the centre of WWE programming for over 15 years, sometimes to fan dismay and nowadays to their delight.
Therefore, when the brand split promised the dawn of a new era in Smackdown history and most of WWE’s top stars such as Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens were sent to Raw, Smackdown Live received young up and comers like Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, and Luke Harper. The only Superstar who could tip that equation in the blue brand’s favour is Cena.
Cena had been used exceptionally well in his first run as the face of Smackdown Live, as his dream programme with Styles delivered a pro wrestling masterpiece at Summerslam 2016 and made history at the Royal Rumble 2017. Cena ending AJ Styles' phenomenal WWE Title was unfortunate, but it was a huge positive for Smackdown Live going forward.
Having a 16-time World champion as the top champion on Smackdown Live, instantly put the blue brand on an elite level.
Unfortunately, the WWE creative team had no plans for "Big Match John" after his historic win. One month later, WWE had Cena drop the title inside the newly revamped Elimination Chamber to a man that he had buried more than once. After putting over Bray Wyatt, Cena was free to make his triumphant in-ring return to Wrestlemania after missing the “show of shows” last year.
Baffled, astonished, and confused were the only words to describe the fans reaction to Cena’s involvement in a mixed tag team match at Wrestlemania 33. Apart from the moment that Cena had proposed to Nikki Bella, that programme was an utter waste. That was not the last time WWE creative had dropped the ball with Cena in 2017. As Cena somehow achieved free agent status in WWE, Smackdown Live had managed to waste him.
An unnecessary feud with Rusev, a disappointing match with Baron Corbin, a shoehorned dream match with Shinsuke Nakamura, and a pointless appearance at Survivor Series, WWE not utilising a rising star is nothing new, but wasting a marquee star like Cena is truly puzzling.
