John Cena is leaving WWE after October's Hell In A Cell. The sudden and mysterious news has resulted in a range of theories, and this feature will examine the possible reasons behind Cena's time off. What's so shocking about the news is that Cena will be missing WWE's European tour. On top of that, he'll be missing several Raw dates, right when the ratings are absolutely nose-diving. Furthermore, he'll be missing the Survivor Series special, which in turns hurts WWE Network subscriptions. The fact is, he's the top draw for ratings, subscriptions and attendances. So to be leaving at such a crucial time, his reasons must be something major. He also leaves at the same time as Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker will be concluding their fall dates. For WWE to be losing all three of those big names at once, it leaves the Raw roster seriously exposed in terms of lack of star power. Cena does deserve time off, he's arguably the hardest working man in the industry. But the timing and WWE's sanctioning of it is the surprise. With the Europe tour, he was the key selling point, meaning there's going to be thousands of fans let down. Here's some possible explanations to the shocking temporary exit.
11. The Orton Factor
Cena's decision to take time off is perhaps motivated by seeing what Randy Orton has done this year. The RKO star has been allowed significant time off, without it really hurting his status on the WWE roster. Cena maybe looked at that and wanted the same thing. He and Orton debuted around the same time in 2002, and became big stars around the same time in 2004 / 2005. They've really been the main event acts of the past decade, and with Orton now slowing it down, perhaps Cena went to Vince McMahon and made the same demands. This scenario would be as much about Cena wanting to get his fair share. He's 38 years old and time in his personal life is valuable. He isn't the twenty-something WWE wrestler who was happy to work every day possible. WWE maybe decided to give him the time now, and then have him ready to come back in plenty of time for WrestleMania season.