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| photo courtesy: whatculture.com |
And while fans are certainly very accustomed to seeing Cena reign supreme in one big match after another, this time may be different. The fact is that Lesnar must defeat Cena at SummerSlam.
From the moment that Triple H shook hands with Lesnar and Paul Heyman, the wrestling world has been buzzing with the news. After all, Cena had been locked into the same few opponents for several weeks leading up to that moment; Roman Reigns, Kane and Randy Orton were the primary Superstars vying for the gold.
But Lesnar is on another level, and he always has been. The Beast Incarnate is a big-money fighter, the guy that WWE calls in when it needs to sell an event to the masses.
SummerSlam is one of the company's biggest pay-per-views of the year, and only high profile stars of Lesnar's caliber will do when it comes to hyping the event.
Lesnar is booked against Cena because at the end of the day, that match will draw more money than Cena versus Reigns, Kane or Orton. This is not to suggest, however, that none of those three Superstars are incapable of having a great title match with Cena, but SummerSlam is perhaps not about the norm; it's about shaking things up.
2013's SummerSlam is perhaps the best example of that, as Daniel Bryan defeated Cena in the main event for the WWE Championship. It was a night that Bryan's fans had been anticipating for quite a while, a night when their favorite finally received the respect he deserved.
Bryan is one of the most talented Superstars on the roster and seeing him with the title that night was a dream come true for his supporters that had been there for him since day one.
Of course, the celebration did not last long as Triple H betrayed Bryan, opening the door for Orton to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Fans had the shock of the summer play out before them, and it began a storyline that ran throughout the rest of 2013.
Fast-forward one year later and Cena is once again the target of a Superstar who has championship dreams in mind. This time, however, it's not about a feel-good story; it's about revenge.
Lesnar is out to destroy the champ because he wants to avenge his Extreme Rules loss to Cena from 2012. Lesnar had arguably never looked as vicious as he did that night, and all of that rage came out at Cena. The two men had a brutal, bloody brawl, the kind of fight that many old school fans just cannot get enough of.
Cena took the best that The Beast had to offer and stood his ground. When it was all said and done, Cena was the man with his arm raised in victory at the end.
While Lesnar continued on in the company in feuds with Triple H, CM Punk and Big Show, he was never quite able to move on from that Extreme Rules loss. Lesnar had red in his ledger, and he truly needed to wipe it out.
WrestleMania 30 saw that ledger affected like it had never been before when Lesnar beat The Undertaker in a straight up match.
The loss was the first for Taker at Mania and gave Lesnar more heat than he has ever had in his WWE career. Fans did not want to see The Deadman lose on that stage; they thought the undefeated streak would never die.
Lesnar did the one thing that no other man had ever been able to do; he killed the reaper at WrestleMania. He defeated the legend, and as a result of that very shocking loss, The Phenom has not been seen in WWE. With that kind of heat and that kind of momentum, how could Lesnar possibly lose at SummerSlam?
Despite how strong Cena has historically always looked and despite the fact he is still the company's No. 1 Superstar, there is perhaps no better time for him to lose it all. It would be a repeat of 2013's SummerSlam, against an opponent that could shake things up like no one else.
Losing to Lesnar could set WWE on a whole new path, one that could eventually lead to Lesnar versus Reigns for the championship.
Reigns is believed by many to be the next face of WWE, the one to carry the load that Cena has carried for well over 10 years now. If that is indeed the case, then he must realize that elevation at some point, and why should it not come with a win over Lesnar?
WWE finds itself in a very interesting position now, as Cena still looks good but has Reigns hot on his heels. Fans know what will eventually come, and the company seems more than willing to tease the switch at every turn.
So will Lesnar facilitate that switch?
The fact is that Lesnar's momentum has never been bigger, Heyman has never been better and fans have perhaps never needed a change more than they do right now.
Seeing Lesnar on the August 18 edition of Monday Night Raw smiling and bouncing from side to side on the ramp while Heyman cradles the title belts in his arms like twin infants is a sight that would rock WWE to its core.
Seeing Reigns enter the ring and physically confront Lesnar is a sight that would be even bigger than that and would undoubtedly blow the roof off of the arena. WWE will need to move on at some point in regards to the top spot and that journey could begin at SummerSlam for Reigns, much like it did for Bryan in 2013.
Lesnar must beat Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam.
There is perhaps no more plausible ending with more ramifications for the future than Cena losing the title on August 17. This would be WWE at its best and would set the wheels in motion for the next phase of the company's existence.
source: bleacherreport.com
