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John Cena is set to miss WWE SummerSlam 2018 as per Cageside Seats. This will be the first-ever SummerSlam pay-per-view that John Cena will be missing ever since he made his debut in the 2004 version of the event where he defeated Booker T to win the United States Championship.
Cena has competed in every single SummerSlam since and has headlined the show six times, a record he shares with Brock Lesnar.
Although his record will likely be broken by Lesnar this year, John Cena's legacy at the Biggest Party of the Summer is unmatched. He has had incredible matches at the event like his 2016 clash with AJ Styles, his 2015 Champion vs Champion match against Seth Rollins and his WWE Championship match against Daniel Bryan in 2014.
Even his 2013 match against the aforementioned Brock Lesnar was something we had never seen before.
His weakest SummerSlam match came last year when he beat Baron Corbin in the opening match of the night. Cena was well into his part-time career last year during this time and his schedule has become even thinner now.
Last seen in a 2 minute 45 Seconds match at WrestleMania 34, where he was defeated soundly by The Undertaker, Cena is unlikely to return till at least the Survivor Series. His next movie "Bumblebee" releases this December and it is likely we will see Cena back in the Squared Circle sometime after that.
As for now, let's have a look at 5 opponents that would have been perfect for Cena had he competed at SummerSlam 2018.
5. Elias
The last person Cena had feuded with on TV before leaving was Elias. Elias and Cena had a very entertaining program from Christmas 2017 through early 2018.
Although they didn't face off in a PPV match, Cena defeated Elias on the Christmas edition of Raw to win the only meeting between the two. Their only encounter on PPV was in the Elimination Chamber match where the two had limited interaction.
If Cena had returned to Raw and looked for a SummerSlam opponent, Elias would've been a very likely choice. There is nothing going on for Elias at the moment although a match against Bobby Lashley seems to be in the works.
Had Cena returned and cooked up a proper feud with Elias, it surely would have been very entertaining. Cena could have brought back his rapper persona to resonate with Elias' character and that would have been something the fans would have enjoyed.
Their match might not have been a classic but it would have been entertaining nonetheless. Given Cena would have probably worked SummerSlam as a one-off event, he could have given a proper rub to Elias as well by giving him his career's biggest win ever.
4. Andrade Cien Almas
Andrade Cien Almas is a former NXT Champion and a phenomenal wrestler. He made his debut on Smackdown Live earlier this year and has slowly gathered momentum. However, given WWE needs to fit two entire rosters within a single card every month, he is yet to make his PPV debut.
Giving Andrade his PPV debut at SummerSlam would be the perfect booking decision. A victory over an established superstar at SummerSlam should give Andrade the perfect rub going forward.
And who better to give that rub than John Cena. A win over the 16-time World Champion would do wonders for Andrade as he would have a huge win to his name. He could be put into any title picture once he has a win over John Cena in his resume.
Moreover, Cena doesn't even need to be pinned clean here as Zelina Vega can run the interference necessary to distract Cena.
Cena and Almas can have a great match as well as we have seen Cena work really well with the agile high flying style during his feud with Styles. They could have had a great opening match at SummerSlam and could have warmed up the crowd with a shocking finish i.e Almas winning over Cena.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura
Cena and Nakamura have faced each other once on Smackdown Live to determine who would face Jinder Mahal of all people at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship. Nakamura won and Cena endorsed him properly for the victory.
But the roles have changed a lot since then. Cena has suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Undertaker while Nakamura has turned heel and won the United States Championship from Jeff Hardy.
Although a Jeff Hardy - Nakamura rematch has been made official, Randy Orton seems more focused on Jeff Hardy at this point, than Jeff is on the US Title. So a Randy vs Jeff grudge match should be the best option given how personal Randy has been in his attacks.
That leaves Nakamura free at SummerSlam and in comes Cena. John Cena had been one of the greatest US Champions when he won the title at WrestleMania 31 from Rusev. His US Title Open Challenge was a thing of beauty, and Cena could benefit from winning the title again.
Given Cena will be a part-time act until Bumblebee launches in theatres, it will be unwise to hand him any title. So keeping the title on Nakamura would be logical while a win over Cena would make him look stronger.
Their Smackdown match hadn't been exactly a 5-star classic so we can expect both men to step up their game and deliver a better match than what they did before.
2. Finn Balor
A Finn Balor vs John Cena match at WrestleMania was making the rounds on the rumor mill earlier this year, but nothing materialized. The two met in a single match on Raw where the winner qualified for the Elimination Chamber. Cena won the match after teasing a heel turn every possible way.
The match was pretty decent and entertaining. Although Balor lost too easily, a re-match where Cena gives the win back to Balor would have solved the problem. But we never got that.
It will be hard to create a storyline that makes sense if this match did happen. At least Almas is a new guy who needs to make a name for himself. But even if this came to fruition somehow, one thing MUST happen: The Demon King's return.
Finn Balor's alter ego, The Demon King, hasn't been seen since TLC last year. It is high time we get that persona back. Undefeated as of now with victories over Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and AJ Styles, a clash with John Cena is all too tempting to ignore.
This should again be a one-off match with Cena giving the rub to a youngster. A victory will do wonders for Balor who has been stuck aimlessly in the mid-card for quite a while now.
He can finally challenge for the Universal Title once it is off of Lesnar and might even win it if WWE decides to keep his Demon King persona undefeated. They should also have a brilliant match full of false finishes and exciting spots.
1. The Undertaker
It's a no-brainer that The Undertaker is at #1. This match has been rumored since WrestleMania concluded with a 2-minute-45-second match between the two.
The fans, casual and hardcore alike want to see this match with a proper build-up to it. A match between the two would be a perfect main event for SummerSlam if WWE doesn't want Reigns and Lesnar to end the show, as that will probably end in boos and boos and more boos.
It's not like The Undertaker is retired. We all think he is, but he has already had 3 matches this year with one more already confirmed.
He wrestled Cena at Mania, Rusev at the Greatest Royal Rumble and then in a Madison Square Garden Live event in a tag team match. He teamed up with Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns to defeat Elias, Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin in the match.
He is also scheduled to appear at Super Showdown the WWE Network Special at Melbourne. So a match against Cena at SummerSlam was quite possible.
Had that match materialized, it would have been the biggest thing in wrestling. Cena and Undertaker are two of the biggest stars in Pro Wrestling History. They had a program at Mania which surely drew a lot of ticket sales.
If a proper program was built between the two, sales would surely go through the roof and given WWE's condition, they needed something like that.
