WWE Road To Wrestlemania 29: The Rock Takes Out John Cena

WWE Championship: The Rock (c) vs John Cena

As expected, the WWE Title bout between The Rock and John Cena took centre stage on Raw this week. After being pretty much anonymous for the past couple of weeks, in the shadow of The Undertaker/CM Punk and Brock Lesnar/Triple H feuds, it was the turn of Rocky and Cena to close out the show. The set-up was an interesting one, with a panel of WWE Legends, comprising Bret Hart, Dusty Rhodes, Booker T and Mick Foley, quizzing The Rock and Cena about their upcoming match. With a Philadelphia crowd massively in favour of The Rock, the scene was very much set to put Cena in his place. There were some interesting answers too, once the usual mutual back slapping was out of the way, with Cena saying The Rock never beat him, he in fact beat himself by making a stupid mistake, referring to his attempt to use The Rock's own People's Elbow to finish him at Wrestlemania 28. Cena said he knows he is better than The Rock, and that he will prove it. After some more back and forth that became increasingly heated, The Rock eventually told Cena to bring it right there and then, which led to Cena waving his 'You Can't See Me' gesture in The Brahma Bull's face - complete with 'Doctor of Thuganomics' swagger. After trying to hoist Rock up for an AA, Cena found himself on the receiving end of a Rock Bottom, before watching Rock walk away with the WWE Title held high. The Rock also returned to Smackdown this week, seemingly for no reason other than to clock up his appearances after missing the last two Raws. He opened the show in Hersey, PA, with a promo on Cena, before being interrupted randomly by John Laurinaitis, making his return to TV. Telling The Rock he wanted to be in his corner at Wrestlemania, because it was Cena who got Big Johnny fired, things predictably didn't go so well for the former 'People Power' General Manager, with the swift delivery of a spinebuster and a People's Elbow. And so at last things finally stepped up this week for the probable main event of Wrestlemania 29. The serious, game-face John Cena we saw on Raw is consistently better and so much more engaging than the cheesy, joking Cena we are served far too often through the rest of the year. The Rock didn't really do anything new, but in five minutes on Raw Cena managed to up the ante for this match and at least get people talking about it. Most importantly, he made it feel real and genuine. While it does not change the apparent predictability of a Cena victory, it does make you wonder about the route they will take to get there. Could Cena be so desperate to get a win over The Rock that he will cross his own lines of honesty and decency? Could New Jersey be the place where we finally see the Internet Wrestling Communities dream, a John Cena heel turn? The hints were most certainly laid last night in Cena's promo. Saying he was better than The Rock, disrespecting him by suggesting his opponent had nothing to do with last year's loss, and saying he will do anything to beat him - perhaps these are just words, but what if they are the first subtle hints of a shift in Cena's character? Personally, I still don't buy it. I just do not think it will happen. To all extents and purposes, Cena already is a heel - he gets booed out of almost every arena for a start. But a fully fledged heel turn? I cannot see it happening. But putting any realism to one side for a second, a John Cena heel turn could save this Wrestlemania. It could be the one huge talking point - potential others being CM Punk ending the Streak or Triple H retiring - that defines Wrestlemania 29, enough to ensure people still talk about it years down the line. Imagine The Rock kicks out of numerous close pinfalls, and Cena is in a state of shock. He doesn't know how to beat him, and he can see it falling apart again. While the ref's back is turned, Cena hits The Rock with the title, or some other heelish deed, and finally gets the win. Simple as that, the biggest heel turn in years makes Wrestlemania 29 a must see. And while this match still isn't doing all that much to get people excited, that tiny glimmer of a chance that something huge could happen, is why people watch Wrestlemania. Prediction: The storyline continues that The Rock is always one step ahead of Cena - so of course expect it to come full circle at Wrestlemania, with Cena winning the title. But what kind of man will Cena be when he leaves New Jersey?