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What's the story?
Following an untimely injury to Samoa Joe last week, it now looks like ‘The Drifter’ Elias has decided to step up to the plate and is going to be the next challenger for 16-time WWE World Champion John Cena.
In case you didn't know…
During last week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, former NXT Champion Samoa Joe decided to make a statement out of ECW legend Rhyno when the two stars collided in singles action. Following Joe’s win over the former Smackdown Tag Team Champion, The Samoan Submission Machine turned towards the cameras and sent an ominous message to John Cena, claiming that Cena will be the first superstar Joe will eliminate at this year’s Royal Rumble match.
However, it was later reported by WWE's senior ringside physician Dr. Chris Amann that during Joe’s clash against Rhyno the former NXT Champion felt a pop at the bottom of his right foot. As a result, Joe's injury has caused him to be pulled from WWE's Mixed Match Challenge tournament.
The heart of the matter
Apparently the Mixed Match Challenge is not the only tournament that Samoa Joe has been removed from either. Following this week's Raw episode, we learned that Joe is now also set to miss this year's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, meaning the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion will have to wait for another year before making his debut at the 30-man Royal Rumble match.
On the other hand, however, it was noted earlier today that Raw's top superstar and the ever-popular Elias cut a promo stating he's concerned about one superstar - John Cena. The Drifter then decided to dedicate a song to the leader of The Cenation, here's his promo video from Raw:
What's next?
The Royal Rumble takes place later this month on January 28 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Apparently, it's now likely that Cena will continue his feud with Elias until then.
Furthermore, there has been plenty of recent speculation suggesting that he may face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans later this year.
Author's take
I think this filler feud for Cena is particularly going to be a very interesting one and I for one am totally looking forward to seeing what Elias is capable of when he steps into the ring against a multi-time World Champion in John Cena.
