#2 John Cena Defeats AJ Styles
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Let me begin by saying that Styles and Cena put on a fantastic match for the WWE Championship. It surpassed the performance both men had at SummerSlam 2016 and set the bar high for WWE in 2017. Some have called it a better match than Omega/Okada from Wrestle Kingdom 11, but that’s a debate for another day.
However, there was an underlying flaw in having Cena defeat Styles. In doing so, Cena proved once again that ageing part-timers are better and more important than the fulltime roster. There were slight hints of this mentality in action throughout the show, especially given the emphasis on Goldberg, Lesnar, and Taker.
But nowhere was it more obvious than with John Cena, a man whose career is obviously heading towards the part-timer’s role, defeating AJ Styles, the full-time wrestler who has been carrying SmackDown.
This was a major reason for CM Punk’s 2014 departure. Despite working incredibly hard to earn his spot at the top, Punk (and now Styles) are treated as secondary stars to the established part-timers of yesteryear. This begs the question, what is the point of even working hard when the top spots will all be taken by people that only show up on a part-time basis anyway?
If someone that made a name for themselves years or decades ago will get top billing, while you toil away on a weekly basis without getting the recognition you feel you’ve earned and deserve, why even bother trying to reach the top, knowing those in power have already decided you’re not worth it?
If WWE wants to build stars for tomorrow, this is not the way to go about it. Cena, despite being something of a superhuman, won’t be around for much longer. WWE needs to look to the future for its top stars, instead of to the past. If they keep going down the safe route by emphasising the stars of yesteryear, they won’t be able to grow or expand as a promotion.
