WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 10 Big Mistakes They Can't Afford To Make
4. Jumping The Gun On Making History
WWE and patience don’t always go hand-in-hand. The company rarely give their storylines and angles the time they need to grow on their own, and will regularly cut corners to reach a premature end result. Short-termism is the name of the game these days, and WWE think nothing of eschewing patience in favour of fast forwarding to “big moments” and “making history.”
As such, AJ Styles should be very, very worried this weekend. John Cena stands on the cusp of history, and if he becomes WWE Champion in San Antonio, he’ll equal Ric Flair’s record of 16 world title reigns. It’s a record Cena has seemingly been destined to break since WWE started building it up late last year, and with Cena sounding more fired-up than ever lately, there’s a strong chance he leaves with the gold.
Equalling Flair’s record should be considered a monumental occasion, and while this year’s Royal Rumble promises to be huge, a moment like this deserves WrestleMania. Whether Cena deserves to equal the record or not, WWE don’t usually mention these things unless they’re dead-set on making them happen, but they’d do well to exercise a little patience here.
AJ’s WWE Title run still has legs, and while he’d almost certainly survive a loss this weekend, Cena losing would make for a far more compelling story, and set up a big WrestleMania match between the two. After all the bravado he has projected in recent weeks, defeat should humble Cena, force him to rethink his approach, and have him claw his way back to a title shot in Orlando. As it stands, Cena equalling Flair’s record this weekend would feel incredibly hollow, and building it up as a WrestleMania moment would be entirely more satisfying.