8 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (Feb 17)

7. John Cena: Transitional Champion

John Cena Bray Wyatt
WWE.com

At Elimination Chamber, John Cena relinquished his WWE Title to Bray Wyatt in the titular match. This was no Jack Swagger in 2013 last minute, half-hearted con-job; Cena was pinned by Wyatt before AJ Styles was. He didn't even make the final two.

In 2014, WWE was so intent on protecting John Cena that it would rather have booked a spooky lil' kid to beat him than Wyatt himself. And it did: at that year's Extreme Rules event, said kid sang "He's got the whole world in his hands" into a modulated microphone as a terrified Cena walked into Wyatt's Sister Abigail. Perhaps he saw him as a manifestation of his future married life with Nikki Bella.

In 2017, after a decade of such laughable and infuriating contrivances, Cena's purported record-breaking sixteenth World Title reign was ended swiftly and cleanly. Why even bother in the first place? Why waste a trademark, precious WWE "moment", just to retcon it in under a fortnight, with little in the way of fanfare? Incredibly, in a Triple Threat match on the following SmackDown, Cena ate the pin again. For so many fans, this new development is as welcome as it is batsh*t. Cena once had to lose via fan run-in - now he's lying on his back for Vince's own amusement. Erm.

This bizarre development leads us directly to...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!