Matt O’Brien writes and maintains the Wrestleview.com poll every two weeks
Every year wrestling fans begin early speculation as to what matches will take place at Wrestlemania. With the Road to Wrestlemania approaching in a matter of weeks rumored matches are already making the rounds. Always in question is the opponent of the company’s top star. This year John Cena has several possible paths in front of him. In the most recent Wrestleview poll, we asked you to decide who John Cena should face at the biggest event of 2011. The results are as follows:
Who should be John Cena’s opponent at Wrestlemania 27?
Alberto Del Rio 6% (224 votes)
CM Punk 5% (202 votes)
The Miz 11% (407 votes)
Randy Orton 8% (295 votes)
Rey Mysterio 2% (74 votes)
The Undertaker 30% (1,138 votes)
Wade Barrett 34% (1,285 votes)
Other 5% (175 votes)
Total votes: 3,800
Coming in with two percent of the votes was Rey Mysterio. A Cena-Mysterio match would make for an interesting baby face vs. baby face dynamic. Both are beloved by fans and fit in well with WWE’s PG direction. If Mysterio and Cena stepped in the ring, something would give. Mysterio’s offense would frustrate Cena, possibly causing a heel-like Cena to wrestle in this bout. In the end, both could shake hands and accept the other man’s win. It isn’t the biggest match that WWE could put on, but it is certainly intriguing.
CM Punk has faced Cena before. Putting Cena in the ring with Punk is nothing new, but an all-out program would be very refreshing. Punk’s straight-edge attitude against the WWE’s greatest hero is money in the bank. WWE has two good workers, two intriguing characters, and an undoubtedly good match as their finger tips should they push the GO button. Recent events leave a Punk-Cena unlikely. Punk has been sending time at the announce table while he recovers from his injury and his return may be in baby face form, essentially ruling out Cena-Punk for Wrestlemania.
Just above Punk in the voting was Alberto Del Rio. Not since Brock Lesnar has a newcomer shown so much immediate potential. He has all the tools to be a top star. It is only a matter of working his way there. And that’s just it; he needs to work his way there. Del Rio and Cena will likely headline Wrestlemania someday, just not this soon.
John Cena has been feuding off and on with Randy Orton for the past three years. Their matches do not disappoint and the crowd dynamic always makes for a great show. With Orton now a baby face and Cena sacrificing his career for Orton’s title, a mutual respect has grown. Fans may tire of their matches together considering how many pay per views they have headlined against one another in the past, but a Wrestlemania showdown in Atlanta would be a whole different story this time around. It would not take much to start a slow burn in the coming weeks leading to an inevitable battle between the two most popular wrestlers on the Raw brand. Getting the WWE Championship on the line would be necessary as Cena -Orton is this genre’s version of Rock-Austin.
Coming in with eleven percent of the votes was The Miz. The former MTV star changed his career forever in 2009 when he called out John Cena on Raw. While it led to what was essentially a squash match at The Bash, it was only the beginning for Miz. Their feud continued throughout the summer but with Miz climbing up the ladder an eventual rematch was inevitable. Just a week ago Miz won the WWE Championship. WWE has a set match for Wrestlemania should they keep the title on Miz. All they have to do is keep the belt on Miz and build on his momentum while Cena could return at Royal Rumble to win the Wrestlemania title shot.
In the past six months no poll has had a home run stretch as competitive as this one. The Undertaker quickly sped ahead in the poll once it was posted with Wade Barrett trailing behind. As the voting continued Barrett gained on Taker until Survivor Series. The events that took place that evening left voters believing the impending Cena-Barrett showdown will take place at Wrestlemania. Recent rumors also have Undertaker’s absence questionable come Mania, which may have turned some voters away from The Phenom. Taker came in ultimately with thirty percent of the votes. It doesn’t get much bigger than Cena-Taker. As with every other Mania Taker’s streak hangs in the balance. Taker’s streak against the top star in WWE may mean the end of the streak and the end of Taker at Wrestlemania.
While he spent most of the poll in second place Wade Barrett went onto take first place in the end. He may not get to the WWE Title but it is not a necessary attribute of the final showdown between Cena and Barrett. The Nexus-Cena program started in early summer. With it going this long, Wrestlemania seems like the appropriate place to climax this feud once and for all. Cena topped Barrett and Nexus at Summerslam wile Barrett scored the win at Hell in a Cell. The rubber match and final confrontation is coming. It could happen at any time, some say as early as the Rumble pay per view, but most Wrestleview voters believe WWE should hold off until Mania.
Matt O’Brien
Columnist, Wrestleview.com
mattman5436@yahoo.com