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It's WrestleMania season! After witnessing numerous returns in the last one month, we are about to witness yet another massive return as John Cena will be back on WWE TV for the first time since his WrestleMania 35 appearance. He is scheduled to appear on the February 28 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, and the WWE Universe can't wait to see what the 16-time World Champion has in store for us!
While many fans want him to take on his past rivals like Daniel Bryan or The Undertaker, WWE has a chance to book a dream encounter by letting him go against "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. The Universal Champion has arguably been the hottest star of the company in the last one year and him defending his title against Cena at WrestleMania 36 is a money match!
In this article, let's take a look at five reasons why John Cena should take on the Fiend at WrestleMania 36. Feel free to let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
#5 A marquee match for The Fiend's first WrestleMania
Bray Wyatt is one of the few top WWE Superstars who are yet to win a single match on The Grandest Stage of them All. Having faced the likes of The Undertaker, Randy Orton, and John Cena himself, Wyatt has had to take a fall for each of them at WrestleMania.
But this is The Fiend we are talking about, and this will be Wyatt's first WrestleMania in his new demonic gimmick. What could be a bigger match than him taking on the most decorated Superstar in WWE history? Being two of the best mic-workers in the business, imagine the feud that these two could build up.
If booked, this feud would also have the parallel storyline of John Cena coming back to make history by winning his record 17th World Championship, but he'll have a sinister Bray Wyatt to overcome. It has a big match feeling written all over it!
#4 Redemption for WrestleMania 30
Talking about Bray Wyatt's WrestleMania history, it was at WrestleMania 30 where WWE had the chance to establish him as a top heel on the roster by letting him beat the Leader of Cenation in their 'Mania match. Unfortunately, it was Super Cena who somehow managed to overcome the entire Wyatt Family to win the match.
It was one of the biggest defeats of Wyatt's career which hurt him in many ways. The WWE Universe couldn't get behind a Superstar who threatened and terrified his opponents but would end up losing the feud ultimately.
The Fiend has been going after people who wronged Bray in the past, and John Cena is one of them. This would be a great redemption for Wyatt, and WWE can fix their mistake of not letting him go over Cena at WrestleMania 30. While Cena was able to overcome the leader of the Wyatt Family then, this time he has to go up against The Fiend. What a full circle this would be for the story arc of Wyatt and Cena!
#3 Lack of top babyfaces on the SmackDown roster
The lack of top babyfaces has been a major issue for the roster of Friday Night SmackDown. Apart from Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, and Braun Strowman, there's hardly any believable challenger to go up against The Fiend at WrestleMania 36.
While we have already seen Daniel Bryan unsuccessfully attempt to dethrone The Fiend on multiple occasions previously, Strowman, on the other hand, is busy with his feuds as the Intercontinental Champion.
That leaves the Big Dog, who was previously rumored to be the opponent for Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania this year. But as per the recent rumors, the plans have changed and WWE is no longer going ahead with the planned Wyatt vs Reigns match. If that is the case indeed, who challenges The Fiend then?
Well, who better than arguably one of the biggest babyfaces in the company's history, the face that (used to?) runs the place, John Cena! With Cena being absent from WWE programming for a long time, fans are sure to welcome him with open arms and this might be a perfect opportunity to set up this match.
#2 A win over John Cena would solidify The Fiend's status as the unstoppable force
We often come across passing the torch moments in the world of pro wrestling, where a veteran takes the pin for a young and upcoming Superstar to help him solidify his status as the present and future of the company and the business.
"The Fiend" has been a reincarnation of Bray Wyatt's career, whom many expected to fade away after his not so successful stint as the leader of the Wyatt Family. Instead, he came back stronger and more sadistic than ever and gave us all one of the best gimmicks in recent memory.
Ever since debuting at SummerSlam, The Fiend is yet to be pinned or submitted by any Superstar. While his streak has been pretty impressive, he still needs a couple of massive victories before he can claim himself to be an actual unstoppable force. Remember, Wyatt also had a decent start in his previous gimmick but failed to win those big matches and feuds, and hence his credibility took a hit.
A feud with John Cena, ending in a clean victory for Wyatt is sure to solidify his status as the next big thing.
#1 A potential heel turn for John Cena
One of the most interesting aspects of this new gimmick of Wyatt has been the character change of his opponents after they face-off against The Fiend. It started with the ever-smiling Finn Balor, who lost to The Fiend at SummerSlam and returned to NXT, turning heel.
Next came Daniel Bryan, who turned back from a fan-blaming heel to a fan-loving face as The Fiend forced him to bring back the YES revolution. Another example is that of The Miz who turned heel and reformed his tag team with John Morrison, shortly after losing to The Fiend at TLC last year.
This has been a very obvious pattern noticed by the fans and it would be interesting to see whether WWE continues this trend moving forward as well. The WWE Universe has been waiting to see a heel turn from John Cena for a long time, who has been a face for as long as one can remember. There might not be a better chance of having a Cena heel turn, which is sure to break the internet.
In his previous feud against Cena at WrestleMania 30 as well, Wyatt's focus was on letting the monster inside Cena out, and even though he failed to do so then, The Fiend might just force the 16-time World Champion to turn to his darker side.