10 Predictions For John Cena’s WrestleMania 34 Opponent
The Champ is still here, but for how long?
Bidding farewell to the No Mercy crowd with his long-standing salute, John Cena elected to have his cake and eat it with an evocative goodbye.
Unlocking all the tropes and traditions of a wrestling retirement despite the fact that he'll almost definitely be back on television in a matter of months, 'The Champ' soaked in the broadly positive response from the Los Angeles crowd following his clean loss to Roman Reigns.
He spoke at length on post-show gabfest Raw Talk about his need to find the next version of himself to lead WWE when he properly departs, noting pointedly that Roman had earned his respect after a month or so of potshots seemed to imply the total opposite. Just about straddling a tightrope between vanity and validation, 'Big Match John' swore up and down that his loyalty still lay with the organisation even in his absence. In his mind, he really couldn't go anywhere until he felt Reigns had broad enough shoulders to carry the load.
With the objective apparently now magically unlocked, Cena can now truly embrace life as a part-timer, curiously offering him a broader spectrum of matches at the 'Show of Shows'. Free from the shackles of weekly storylines, there's no shortage of options for company icons during WrestleMania season. Opening the show with Baron Corbin probably isn't on the agenda.
10. Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal has failed thus far to grow into his position as WWE Champion, in contrast to John 'Bradshaw' Layfield's hurried 2004 ascension.
The former APA bar brawler showed little improvement in his lumbering matches, but enormously over-delivered on the microphone, cementing himself as a reliable topliner in status alone even when the likes of Eddie Guerrero, The Undertaker, and Kurt Angle weren't able to drag something watchable out of him when the bell rang.
Mahal's tenure with the title has resulted in a similar glut of deathly dull main events, but his microphone moments aren't lingering lovingly as JBL's did. His racist and patronising promos at Shinsuke Nakamura's expense will presumably live on to represent an infamous nadir, but nothing memorable has emerged from the company's Indo-Canadian experimentation otherwise.
Since defeating The Rock at WrestleMania XXIX, John Cena's had nothing remotely resembling a main event at the 'Show Of Shows', and though dethroning Mahal wouldn't necessarily meet even the heights of his maiden WWE Title win over the last loudmouthed insta-push, he'd be an ideal candidate to 'save' the company's top prize from a performer the majority of the audience consider so undeserving.