Hot Take: John Cena Ends Roman's Reign at WWE SummerSlam 2021

By Brian Yuran

The Champ Is Back!

With his surprise return at Money in the Bank, John Cena is set to take on the tribal chief at WWE’s marquee event of the summer. 

Reigns has been booked as an unstoppable force since his return at SummerSlam 2020 with phenomenal in-ring work and promos. However, do not be surprised if WWE has Cena dethrone him to become a record setting 17-time WWE World Champion. 

In past promotions, a returning veteran facing off against the current face of the company would be a guaranteed loss for the vet, but WWE has shown they are content betting on aging and part-time stars. 

As exciting as a Cena victory would be, Reigns cannot lose the title until later in the year. And when he does, Big E has to be the one to do it.

The fans’ relationship with Reigns has been tumultuous to say the least over the years. WWE clearly tried to push him as their top babyface in the past but the fans were force-fed so much Reigns content they revolted and began booing the good guy. 

But when Reigns took a leave of absence to battle cancer, the fans realized the gaping hole the Big Dog left in WWE.

At SummerSlam 2020, Reigns reemerged as the villainous heel under the tutelage of his once sworn enemy, Paul Heyman. Heel Roman stole the Universal Championship off WWE’s top star at the time, The Fiend. And for the first time in his main roster career, he connected with the WWE Universe… as its resident bad guy. 

This is how Reigns is meant to be. He’s not a babyface, no matter how much Vince wanted him to be. He is the Tribal Chief, a force of nature, a monster among all men. 

He cannot be defeated. He is immortal.

Thus, he cannot and should not lose to the former face of the company. 

Without a doubt, Reigns and Cena will put on a spectacle. 

The loss for Cena is meaningless. He makes Hollywood blockbusters and pops up on late-night talk shows. In addition, he and Ric Flair are tied for the most title reigns in WWE history. 

However, a win for Cena would do damage to the Tribal Chief. To have Reigns fall short against a part-timer diminishes his dominance to date and makes the current roster, who has repeatedly failed to dethrone him, appear feeble and weak. 

My belief is WWE banks on Cena’s Hollywood popularity and mainstream appeal to bring WWE back into the mainstream sports narrative as it now has a deal locked in with NBCUniversal. 

Vince has a track record of betting on aging stars like Cena and Goldberg to carry the company forward when he should be focused on his top talent like Roman Reigns. 

Hopefully, Cena gets his 17th record breaking title reign soon, but it cannot be at the expense of Reigns. There is just too much on the line for WWE and its top heel.

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