10 HUGE Tests Wrestlers Failed
3. Nor Does John Cena
What was the idea here?
If it was to make John Cena look like giant a**hole, and to make Roman Reigns look less of a giant a**hole in comparison, then no. It didn't work. It was another wretchedly transparent idea that was never going to inform any drastic change in circumstances beyond itself. The act - and WWE had three solid f*ckin' years of precedent to arrive at this conclusion - wasn't connecting. That John Cena - John Cena! - was received as the babyface in this bizarre worked shoot feud should have hastened a rethink there and then. Or at the 2015 Royal Rumble, where Reigns was booed more heavily than Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach '96.
One of the two.
The idea was to get Roman Reigns over not as the best man, but as a suitable replacement for John Cena in his role as gifted TV star with an ability to navigate scripted material - recapping experience essential. It was a strange premise for a feud, particularly since the role itself was far more of a problem than Roman Reigns ever was as a performer.
Cena didn't effectively hand over the torch because it burns most everybody's fingers.