John Cena vs. Drew McIntyre Is Perfect For WrestleMania 35

The battle of Vince McMahon's "Chosen Ones" is the shot in the arm that 2019 needs.

drew cena
Source: WWE

This week on WWE Raw saw the start of what could be a very good rivalry. No, I’m not on about Seth Rollins and Triple H’s coffee cup or even Ronda Rousey and Sasha Banks; my attention was firmly fixed on Drew McIntyre and John Cena.

Cena addressed the crowd in Orlando to say he would be entering the 2019 Royal Rumble. But before he could soak in the adulation, Drew McIntyre came out to confront the 16-time world champion. “The Scottish Psychopath” told Cena he didn’t care about who he was sleeping with or his daft haircut – all McIntyre cared about was toppling the greats in WWE, declaring John Cena as his next victim.

Of course, we didn’t actually see a one-on-one match between Cena and McIntyre, but the two did face off on opposing teams in a six-man tag match, which was won by Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor and John Cena. Whenever Cena and Drew McIntyre met in the ring as the legal men, it was McIntyre who was getting the best of the WWE veteran. John Cena did get the last laugh, hitting McIntyre with an AA which ultimately set up for Dean Ambrose to take the loss. WWE have sown the seeds for a great “passing of the torch” rivalry between McIntyre and Cena though, and it doesn’t need to end just because their promo served its purpose of setting up the six-man tag match on Raw.

Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles; all three of these WWE superstars had to go through John Cena to solidify their standings as WWE main eventers, and all three are arguably in a much better position in the company for their matches with the 16-time world champ. WWE has shown they’re keen to make Drew McIntyre a main event draw, so it makes a lot of sense to pair the Scot up with “Big Match John.” What’s more, Vince McMahon and Co. have certainly picked the right time to book this match: the Road to WrestleMania.

drew
Source: WWE

Both superstars are entering the Royal Rumble in just a couple of week’s time, and after their altercation on Raw, they’re almost certainly going to square off at some point during the Rumble match. With one eliminating the other, or possibly with them taking each other out at the same time, WWE could easily build a WrestleMania match out of that. Drew McIntyre could big up how he was the one to cost John Cena a title match at Mania, or alternatively, he could be furious that one of the company’s greats got one over on him by throwing him over the top rope.

Since his return to the main roster, Drew McIntyre has made a huge impact, but he’s yet to have that one great match to push him firmly into the upper echelons of WWE. A match against John Cena on the Grandest Stage of Them All will almost certainly do that, thanks to Cena’s star power. The only issue surrounding a John Cena match is whether or not he’ll take the loss and whether it’ll be a clean finish.

For every WWE superstar John Cena has put over, there’s also been a trail of broken wrestlers who have fallen to the AA or STF. Big stars Cena should’ve put over in recent years at WrestleMania include Bray Wyatt, Rusev and The Miz (for the record, I’m referring to the mixed tag match at WrestleMania 33, as well as the WWE Championship match at WM 27 where Cena and The Rock took The Miz’s spotlight).

While “Big Match John” has taken some significant losses as a part-time WWE superstar, there’s always a lingering sense of doubt as to whether Vince McMahon will book Cena to lose clean. After all, John Cena does still have that unbeatable aura around him thanks to his many, many years as Super Cena.

cena
Source: WWE

That said, it’s purely because we don’t know if a win is guaranteed for Drew McIntyre that makes the idea of him squaring up against John Cena at WrestleMania such an enticing match. There’s no denying this has the potential to be McIntyre’s finest WWE match to date, full of big moves and near falls. If he should pull out the victory, it would surely catapult the Scotsman right to the top of the card.

John Cena is on the way out and Drew McIntyre is on the way up, so it just makes sense for the former “Doctor of Thugonomics” to put over a rising star. Nothing has been set in stone for WrestleMania 35 yet, but a match this big can definitely get the ball rolling and have people talking while the other matches are being decided on. You know it makes sense. Book it, Vince.

What are your thoughts on John Cena vs. Drew McIntyre for WrestleMania 35? Let us know in the comments below and tweet to us via @CultVultures and @I_Do_Things_SC with your views.

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