7 Ways WWE Can Book Free Agent John Cena

7. A New Open Challenge Series

As destructive as 2015’s John Cena vs. Rusev feud became, Cena’s ensuing United States Title reign was tremendous. His open challenge series brought an air of exciting unpredictability to Raw every week, as fans genuinely didn’t know who was going to show up. It allowed Sami Zayn to wet his feet on the main roster, gave us Kevin Owens’ memorable debut, and was a reliable source of good-to-great wrestling every single week.

Cena obviously doesn’t have a title at the moment, but presenting these challenges as a rare opportunity to face WWE’s biggest star should bring plenty of prestige in itself. Doing this across both brands would allow Cena to compete against the widest possible variety of opponents, and give WWE increased scope to use the part-timer to help put younger talents over, whether in victory or defeat.

Cena can’t win a match without people throwing the word “burial” around these days, but it’s hard to argue that previous open challenge losers like Zayn weren’t elevated. This could be a potentially valuable star-enhancing tool for both brands, particularly if John picks up another championship somewhere down the line.