Booking John Cena Over The Next Year

It's no secret that John Cena's career is winding down. The (former) Face that Runs the Place has been taking more and more prolonged absences from the ring to pursue outside commitments, and it seems like the pressure of being the WWE's top guy for over a decade may finally be getting too much for the Leader of the Cenation. Whether it's his diminished role in WWE storylines, his multiple injuries and surgeries, or a new crop of talent breaking through on screen, Cena is not as prevalent on WWE TV as he once was.

All of that comes at a time when Cena has been doing some of his best work. In 2015 he regularly lit up Monday Night Raw with the hugely impressive US Open Challenge matches, and has recently had electric rivalries (and matches, to boot) with AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose, leading many fans to wonder if he's got another great run at the top left in him.

Fortunately for Cena, he's only one title win away from equaling Ric Flair's record 16 world title reigns, and could well break that in his career. There's genuine intrigue as to where John Cena (who is currently off of television) fits into modern day WWE, but it's clear that the first-ballot Hall of Famer belongs at the top.

Let's look at where the next 12 months could take the 15-time World Champion, from rekindling a phenomenal rivalry, a broken record, and a certain Phenom at WrestleMania.

The blue brand has been missing John Cena during his absence; his last match was the superb triple threat at No Mercy for the WWE Championship, and he's not been seen since his losing effort that night.

Bound by a desire to be the Face that Runs the Place, Cena returns on the first SmackDown after TLC, stating how different things look around here as of late. Randy Orton is in the Wyatt Family, the Undertaker now resides on Smackdown, and some guy called James Ellsworth seems to be the talk of the town. With the increased competition and desire to be the best, Cena lays the gauntlet down and proclaims himself as the first confirmed entrant in the 2017 Royal Rumble.

Cue the engine revs, and a broken and battered Dean Ambrose comes out from the back. Fuming from his loss to AJ Styles at TLC, Ambrose is looking for any excuse for a fight, and Cena's right in his firing line.

Ambrose barbs that Cena's holier-than-thou approach to "deeming the Rumble worthy of his existence" is an insult to the other 29 men in it, while Cena insists that the only insult around here is what Dean Ambrose did to the WWE Championship while he had it.

Reigniting the feud that defined Smackdown for a few weeks in the Autumn between two bitter enemies keeps them away from the title picture, enables Styles to face off against someone new, and enables Cena and Ambrose to finish the business that they started some time ago.