3 potential opponents for John Cena in 2019

Despite having switched to a part-time role to fulfill other duties, John Cena remains to be one of the biggest stars in the WWE today.

Whenever The Franchise appears on Raw or Smackdown Live, he always receives one of the loudest receptions of the night- whether it's cheers or boos, he will constantly get a reaction no matter what.

And as we head into 2019, there are many superstars who could potentially benefit from having a rivalry with John Cena.

We've seen multiple guys such as Kevin Owens, AJ Styles & Dolph Ziggler who have had solid feuds with Cena- and whilst some might have not won the rivalries itself, the exposure they received from feuding with the biggest name in WWE can't be matched by any other superstar.

Here are three potential superstars that could give The Face That Runs The Place a run for his money.

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#3 Samoa Joe

The Samoan Submission Machine looking more devious than ever.

There is plenty of history between Samoa Joe & John Cena that goes all the way back to when they were both starting out.

Funnily enough, it was Joe himself who helped Cena sign for the WWE as he went onto become a mega-star.

We've seen Joe & Cena bump into each other multiple times in the WWE ring whether it was a 6 Man Tag Team Match or just a normal segment- but it's time for the focus to finally be put on this marquee match.

A rivalry between Joe & Cena is something the fans have wanted for a long time, mainly due to the fact that we've never seen these two face each other in a high profile match before. This is a dream match that could benefit Joe, and there wouldn't be any qualms in the build-up being solid because of both men's excellent mic skills.

Joe hasn't had much main roster success as of late, especially after his series of matches with AJ Styles where he proved that he could be one of the best heels in the business. And Joe desperate needs a high-profile rivalry with a superstar that he can win to solidify his status as a devastating heel.

When you talk about individuality in the ring, there isn't a single person that could disagree with the facts that Cena & Joe can hold their own in the ring. If you put these two in the squared-circle, we would see magic.

Therefore, a feud with Cena would be perfect to see because it could be the opportunity that The Samoan Submission Machine needs to finally be put over.

#2. Daniel Bryan

The new WWE Champion himself, Daniel Bryan could be a good for for The Franchise.

A rivalry with the recently-turned heel in the WWE Champion himself, Daniel Bryan could also be best for business.

Bryan & Cena have gone face to face in a high-profile match before at Summerslam 2013, when they went one on one for the WWE Championship.

This was during the midst of Bryan's epic 'Yes Movement' storyline, and his rivalry with Cena had culminated in that one match as Bryan knocked off Cena to become the WWE Championship- shortly before Randy Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to rob Bryan out of the title following some help from Triple H.

However, we haven't seen the two men engage in a match ever since then. 2019 would be the best possible timing for Bryan & Cena to go at it once again, especially now that the roles have reversed. Bryan is now playing the role of a heel, whereas Cena is still a babyface.

There are so many directions that WWE could take this storyline. Let's also not forget that the fact that Cena has actually never defeated Bryan in a match, so this could also be the catalyst for this story. A rekindled rivalry with Bryan playing a more cold-hearted role could provide a very personal touch to the rivalry that we didn't see much of from their past encounter.

John Cena would be the perfect option to question Bryan's motives into turning into such a despicable person, and as we've seen before- the WWE Universe would be up on their feet for another bout between the two popular stars.

#1. Drew McIntyre

Could The Celtic Colossus be the perfect enemy for Cena?

Last but definitely not least, at #1 comes The Scottish Psychopath himself- Drew McIntyre.

This is another fresh match-up that we haven't seen before, and here's why McIntyre would be the best possible pick to go face to face with John Cena.

Both superstars are Vince McMahon's pet projects, except that Cena went to the levels that McIntyre failed to rise up to during his first run in the WWE. Both superstars have huge physiques, and they both look physically intimidating.

McIntyre was originally Vince's "Chosen One", way before Roman Reigns was in the picture, and ever since McIntyre made his return- he was been heavily protected in order to keep him strong. Could you imagine the war of words that Cena & McIntyre could have, with their confidence with promos?

The possibilities for this rivalry are endless. You could have Cena state that the machine had faith in both of them- but he did what McIntyre couldn't do by making it in the WWE.

McIntyre could make it clear that he had to work as twice as Cena did to get to this position by going on the independent scene to prove all his critics wrong, in terms of improving his strength and in ring skills.

This is the type of match that could headline Wrestlemania, and there's no doubt that McIntyre is on his way to being the biggest male superstar in the WWE today. A rivalry with John Cena could increase the reputation of McIntyre heavily, and make him a force to be reckoned with.