After a struggling 2021, 2022, and early 2023, WWE seems to have turned the ship around, so to speak, and a lot of that has to do with the inception of the new World Heavyweight title. With the return of CM Punk, along with a positive and new creative direction from Triple H, and the announcement that John Cena would be having a farewell run with the company, attention to the product has definitely increased.
That said, many have speculated if a title run—a 17th for Cena—wouldn’t be in the cards. Today, we’ll look at the possibilities of a title run for Cena. Specifically, we’ll be looking at the prospect of a World Heavyweight title run and just what having his meaty paws on that particular championship could do for the title itself and henceforth the company.
Another Major Title Run For John Cena?
Cena indeed had loads to say on the matter in a recent appearance he made on Club Shay Shay with NFL Legend, Shannon Sharpe.
“I think what’s interesting about the tour is there is some jackpot long shot scenarios where (winning a 17th World Championship) can happen, but to win a number one contender ship in the story driven purpose? You have to earn it…At that point? I don’t give a **** who it’s with, as long as I can just get a chance, right? But I also, having been that champion, I respect the process and I don’t ever want to take somebody’s spot.”
Humble as he always is, Cena essentially sent the point home that he doesn’t want to put himself in front of anyone on the roster who has worked for what they’ve achieved. But, as I will argue further in the piece, the roster itself, as well as Cena and the powers that be, need to foresee what his holding the world title can mean for the roster’s future and the title’s legacy moving forward.
Why The World Heavyweight Championship Is Important
The return of a second major championship in WWE was definitely a great move on the part of the company. There definitely was a need for it, especially after Roman Reigns became the holder of both the Undisputed Universal Championship and the WWE Championship, which he won back in April of 2022 from Brock Lesnar.
At that point, he became the unified champion, this new title to go along with his Universal Championship title—a legendary run for Reigns that had been going on by that point for quite some time. Decades prior, the former World Heavyweight Championship was first held in WWE by Triple H after Eric Bischoff presented the title that had previously had a lineage in WCW.
So, it was indeed poetic justice that, at the start of what many in the pro wrestling business have been calling the “Triple H Era”, he would unearth another title bearing the name of the title he first carried for WWE in its then new era. Before the emergence of the new World Heavyweight title, the storylines in WWE were lackluster at best and, with Reigns holding those 2 titles for so long, it was a much-needed reprieve from the mundane and the norm that WWE fans were getting used to and a tad tired of.
Regardless, the title had a tremendous start with Seth Rollins as its first holder. Triple H himself stated on X after Rollins lost the title in April of 2024 at WrestleMania against Drew McIntyre:
“How do you make steel and leather become a most sought after possession? How do you get men to give their blood, sweat and tears to attain it? How do you make it mean the absolute most? Seth “Freakin” Rollins.”
Subsequently, McIntyre would lose the title mere minutes later at the hands of Damian Priest—with a sinister assist from Punk—who cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, which only adds to an already storied history for the new World Heavyweight Championship.
Making It The Most Sought-After Title In WWE
So, no, it’s not the same old World Championship, but there’s now close to enough lineage for the title to carry massive weight in the company; especially considering the men who have held it and held it well over the last few months since its impeccable first reign at the hands of the aforementioned Rollins. But what can only add to the cachet of this relatively new title?
Perhaps it should be worn by a GOAT that can be plucked only from the annals of time. To have an icon wear this new strap would only add to its allure, as we’ve seen with other incarnations of the many titles that have graced the industry.
And well, good old John Cena is having a retirement run, isn’t he?
I was there when men were vying for the old World title—in attendance many times—as so many of my age were. What made that title so important and so sought after was not only the great young wrestlers that held it then, which included Cena in his prime (he would win that old World Heavyweight Championship a total of 3 times), but the icons of the past that held it earlier created that lineage that every young star was after.
A Nod To The Old World Heavyweight Title
The WCW as well as the WWE (then WWF) were part of the National Wrestling Alliance. Both companies would pull away from the NWA in time and, when WCW did finally break away from the governing body that was the NWA, they established the World Heavyweight Championship.
Its first holder was none other than Ric Flair, who of course had held the NWA World Championship before the break off. After being brought into WWE in 2002 by Bischoff, it would have a run that would last until 2013.
The power that a legendary touch can offer this new title would be astronomical. Essentially, if you put that strap on Cena, you not only give the legend the send-off that he deserves for carrying the company on his shoulders for a decade and a half but you also give the title itself a lineage that will make this new World title a sought-after accolade even more than it already is.
For you cooks out there, it’s like adding a little of the aged marsala wine to your favorite veal scaloppini, if you catch my drift. Okay, so maybe that analogy’s a tad off the mark, but think of what the respective title reigns of Flair, Ron Simmons, Lex Luger, Vader, Dallas Page, Hulk Hogan, Sting, and so many others did for that World Heavyweight title.
An Argument For John Cena’s GOAT Status
I referred to Cena as the GOAT and that’s because I truly believe it. The GOATs of the industry were indeed those individuals who not only brought the most amount of eyes to the business but also those who carried the entirety of the company on their shoulders during their tenure at the top of the company.
The logical Mount Rushmore of pro wrestling—especially WWE—with this aforementioned reasoning can only include Bruno Sammartino, Hogan, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, and of course John Cena. Not only did they each bring the ‘most amount of eyes’ to the business, but the entirety of what transpired at the main event level was centered around each of these individuals in their given eras.
It was Vince McMahon’s old idea that this was the way to get a following for the brand and, hey, without these four men, the pro wrestling platform would not at all be what it is today. Proof of this above point is the trouble that WWE went through after Hogan’s exit in 1993.
McMahon and company couldn’t get back on their feet until the inception of that Stone Cold character, which caught on and caught on big time on the night that Austin had his encounter with one ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson on that now-famous episode of Raw. It was also the night that the Monday night wars of old turned in favor of WWE for the first time in 2 years, which was huge.
Austin would be the top draw for the company well until his retirement in 2003, due to collective injuries and pressures. This is not to say there weren’t other massively popular stars like The Rock, The Undertaker, and others.
We’re talking about the main men that brought the house numbers up, and these four men qualify. On that same recent episode of Club Shay Shay, Cena humbly chose Reigns as his GOAT, and heck, the man would know. When quoting numbers, which he did, choosing Reigns over even The Rock, but would Reigns be able to hit the amount of dates and workload that any of these four men previously did?
My guess would be a respectful no.
The Perfect Feuds For John Cena
There are a few I’ve had in mind. First off, a run-in with Punk would only call attention back to their rich history, so that’s definitely a great way to go.
Nostalgia. There’s a great portion of the pro wrestling audience that digs it, so yeah, a definite possibility if you ask this writer.
An epic title possibility is a lengthy back-and-forth with McIntyre, and this feud should undoubtedly be for the World Championship. Not only should Cena win it off of McIntyre but he should also lose it to him at the end of his final run.
Cena himself mentioned during the episode of Club Shay Shay that the most likely possibility for him to even be in the running for a major title would be a Money In The Bank or Elimination Chamber win, so this would be great. What better way for him to attain his 17th title than to beat McIntyre?
What a match that would be. Then he could drop it to McIntyre, essentially passing the torch to another deserving individual who would no doubt carry said torch into the foreseeable future.
Of course, there are many more possibilities here; especially with an as-of-now very rich roster and a legend suddenly thrown into the mix. But perhaps we’ll get into those possibilities next time, folks.
We can always dream, can’t we, dear readers? There’s no harm in that.
So let’s keep our collective fingers crossed. No harm in that either.
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