5 superstars who came close to dethroning John Cena as the face of the WWE

Daniel BryanFirst it was Hulk Hogan in the Golden Era. Later, Steve Austin reigned in the Attitude Era and then came John Cena. The Cenation leader took over the throne from the Texas Rattle Snake and his name has been synonymous with WWE for more than a decade now.Although the fans are split when it comes to him, he continues to reign as the franchise player for WWE. Cena is hands down the most popular wrestler in WWE’s disposal at the moment and unlike Hogan and Austin, Cena managed to stay on top for a pretty long time. He saw some tough competition throughout those years and we are going to take a look at those superstars who came close to displacing Cena from the throne.

#5 Roman Reigns

The inclusion of Roman Reigns in the list might be debatable. He hasn’t achieved much in his career to dethrone Cena, but Reigns did have the backing of Vince McMahon at one point. If McMahon chose Reigns to be the successor of Cena, then he deserves to be in this list. Reigns was supposed to reach the top at WrestleMania 31 by beating Brock Lesnar but then again, the Internet fan community came into play and the plans were changed.

The push that WWE had in store for Reigns was delayed indefinitely. Despite this, Reigns is still the favorite to be the next face of WWE and it would only be a matter of time before he replaces Cena.

#4 Randy Orton

Randy Orton and John Cena have a lot of similarities. Their career path has been identical at most parts but for some reason or the other, Orton never managed to reach the popularity that Cena achieved. To get the facts right, Orton has a huge fan following. The WWE Universe loves him and he has a resume that makes every wrestler jealous.

He had everything that was needed to be the face of WWE but along with this, Orton had his demons as well. He has a history of violating wellness policies of the company. This black mark is probably the main reason why Orton has failed to reach the absolute top.

#3 Batista

Batista is one another wrestler who has a lot of similarities to John Cena when it comes to the initial stages of his career. WWE built up Cena and Batista as the top baby faces in the company at one point of time and since they had the brand split in place, both the superstars had enough space to make their own image in the company.

It was hard to pick one from the two until that point but once they crossed paths with each other, the writing was on the wall. Cena ended up surpassing Batista in fame. Unwanted storylines and heel turns worked against the Animal and the final nail in the coffin came when he left the company to try out his hand in acting.

#2 CM Punk

While Cena reigned as the comic hero that we usually see in comic books and fantasies, CM Punk was the exact opposite. He was the Anti-Hero that reminded everyone about the harsh realities of WWE. And somehow, Punk managed to gain a cult following. He became the longest reigning champion in the modern era and achieved almost everything that he could achieve as a wrestler in WWE.

However, Punk was always treated as a second choice. He felt that he did not get enough opportunities and this eventually ruined his relationship with WWE. Punk walked out of the company just months before WrestleMania 30 and is now pursuing a career in UFC. Punk will hopefully return to WWE one day as the fans would love to see him in the squared circle again.

#1 Daniel Bryan

The epitome of Daniel Bryan’s came during the buildup to WrestleMania 30. He was hands down the most ‘over’ superstar in the entire wrestling business and he deserved it as well. The usual storyline of Authority vs. Underdog was built up nicely by WWE and when this coupled with Bryan’s brilliance inside the ring, it turned out to be a fairytale run for him.

Bryan headlined WrestleMania 30 but after the pay-per-view his momentum went into a downward spiral. Bryan’s physical condition made the situation worse and he was out of the main event picture in no time. Currently, Bryan is in a losing battle with injuries. The chances of him making a miraculous return and replacing Cena are very low.

Edited by Staff Editor