Armchair Booking: John Cena vs. Roman Reigns

Editor’s note: this was written before their No Mercy match was announced and it’s a better idea so we’re publishing it anyway.

Hogan/Warrior from 6, Rock/Austin from 17; how about Cena/Reigns at 34?

Nothing beckons a Wrestlemania main event more than a classic top babyface vs other top babyface feud. Cena and Reigns have become, whether fans like it or not, the two biggest names in all of wrestling, so them two headlining a Wrestlemania is a matter of when rather than if. Vince McMahon is going to have an absolute ball putting on this feud which will probably be making its way into our lives sooner rather than later. The seeds have already been planted following Cena’s appearance on Raw this past week, with the end of the main event signalling a potential future programme between ‘The Big Dog’ and ‘Big Match John’.

Even the smarkiest of smart marks have to admit that they want to see this match. Despite the consensus against them, they are probably two of the best workers in the entire WWE, both can put on excellent matches against anyone when it’s deemed necessary. I can only imagine that a feud with Cena is the last little nudge Reigns needs to officially become the flag bearer for the franchise, thus passing the torch from the Cenation to the Roman Empire.

But how can you book such a monumental match? Well, lets start at the Royal Rumble.

Even though John Cena will undoubtedly claim that he’s here to stay this time round, he’ll probably be off on another hiatus within a month or two. So we’ll say that he wraps up a feud with Samoa Joe in the meantime and shoots off for a couple media appearances. But during his final appearance on Raw, he makes a statement, a promise that when he returns, when WWE returns to Philly for the Royal Rumble, he’ll be there, thus making him the first confirmed entrant in the Rumble.

Reigns carries on doing his thing for a few months, leading up to the New Year in which he decides that he also is planning on entering the Rumble. WWE seem to be developing a knack at creating star-studded Rumble matches and I can’t help but think that 2018’s edition is going to be the most stacked we’ve seen it in a very long time. Having Cena and Reigns as the first two entrants will help build that feeling massively along with the likes of Kevin Owens, Bobby Roode, Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar. Note that I left out AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura there, for reasons that you’ll find in last week’s armchair booking.

So anyway, on the penultimate episode of Raw, Reigns calls out any of the other 29 entrants that thinks they can stand a chance against him inside his yard, cue doo-doo-doo-doooooo. Cena makes his triumphant return to remind everyone that he’s making his comeback in a week and intends to prove to Reigns and the entire WWE Universe that he’s still got it and is still the number one guy in WWE. Seeing as they’re both top babyfaces, I can’t imagine they’d end this in a scuffle, so they keep the respect going and promise that they’ll see each other on Sunday.

At the go-home, the most hyped Rumble entrants from the Raw roster meet in the ring, as Kurt Angle rallies the troops, ensuring that even though it is every man for himself, they must remember that they’re all representing Monday Night Raw. Of course, this breaks down into a brawl with most eventually clearing the ring and leaving Roman Reigns and John Cena back to back. Again, they don’t resort to anything just yet.

Eventually, we make it to the Royal Rumble and the final four. John Cena (30), Roman Reigns (27), Samoa Joe (12) and Bobby Roode (20). I’d like to think the Philly crowd will be absolutely wild at this point, with four of the biggest names sharing a ring together. Naturally the heels pair off against the babyfaces and find themselves in the tricky predicament of having to not be eliminated by either Cena or Reigns. Roode is the first to be thrown over by the tandem, leaving just Cena, Joe and Reigns. Whilst Cena and Joe are tussling against the ropes, Reigns takes this opportunity to attempt to eliminate both at once, his plan half succeeds, managing to get the two over the rope but not enough to have them fal onto the mat.

Cena realises that the partnership is wearing thin, and comes face-to-face with Roman, something which I can imagine has been teased a few times throughout the match, but this is the first time they trade blows. Joe breaks up them up but finds himself eliminated by Cena for his efforts. Leaving Cena and Reigns as the final two in the 2018 Rumble, to Philly’s delight. I don’t see this being everyone’s favourite ending, but records are meant to be broken after all, so after a good few minutes of back and forth action, Cena manages to use Roman’s momentum and intensity to launch him over the top rope, out of his yard. Cena wins lol.

Cena opens the Raw after Rumble to announce that he’s using his Wrestlemania title match clause to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. Roman Reigns interrupts and tells Cena that even though he didn’t win the Rumble, he’s the only one that deserves a shot at the title, he’s the only one that’s putting in work all year round and hasn’t once taken a few months off to film some movies. Cena respects Reigns, and all that he has done to pick up the mantle that Cena has left behind a lot, but this is his era and will not let up to Reigns until he proves himself as the new face that runs the place. The two agree to a match at the Raw PPV following Royal Rumble with the Universal Championship clause on the line.

The feud will start to pick up slightly over the coming weeks, with the two trading verbal shots and laying each other out at the climax of Raw episodes. At the PPV, the two have, as many would predict, a great match! Although after hitting Cena with two spears, ‘Big Match John’ just can’t be kept down for the three count. Reigns grabs a chair and ends up getting DQ’d from the match. The PPV ends with Cena being left in a heap after being powerbombed from an announcers table and medical staff helping him to his feet.

Reigns opens Raw to a hateful crowd and claims that Cena couldn’t beat him and that he knew that Reigns had his number. Cena doesn’t waste much time in running down to the ring and hitting Reigns with an AA before he has a chance to say anything. Cena says that the respect he had for Reigns is gone and just this past minute he has fore-fitted his chance at a Universal title match just so he can put Reigns in his place in front of a Wrestlemania crowd in a No DQ match. Just before he leaves, Cena grabs a chair from ringside but refuses to use it on Reigns, living up to his true good-guy moniker.

Reigns and Cena’s rivalry escalates to a personal level, with Mr. Cena (John’s father) somehow getting involved – as he does with all good Cena feuds – leading John to become more and more willing to use brutal force to put Reigns down. Roman promises that at Wrestlemania he is going to put Cena on a permanent hiatus and will leave New Orleans as the face that runs this place.

So who do you see remaining the top guy in WWE after Wrestlemania? Roman Reigns or John Cena? Comment below.