6. Back To What Works
One reason why 2016 will belong to John Cena, is WWE going back to what works. They know what they are getting with featuring him on top. In contrast, with 2015 they tried to establish new guys in the headline slots, but it wasn't really a resounding success. Seth Rollins was a critical success, yes, but didn't really become the commercial cash cow as hoped for. Likewise, Roman Reigns had very good matches and WWE experimented with him as a franchise guy, but he came nowhere near emulating Cena. How long do WWE persevere with making "the next franchise star", before they just decide to go back to the guy who is still finding success both critically and commercially? Cena has bided his time, aware that WWE will make him the definitive number one again once the rest of the roster fails to live up to his numbers. Ticket sales, merchandise, viewership and special events - they all perform stronger thanks to John Cena. The obvious business decision is to make him the main star of next year, while still cultivating the likes of Rollins and Reigns in the old Punk/Bryan number two spot.