No one person is bigger than the WWE. Except that someone always is. And if it hasn't been laid clear in WWE creative's scramble to put together a main event that didn't start out on the mythical dry erase board as "John Cena vs ??" for Hell in a Cell then how else does it need to be said? John Cena being undoubtedly the TOP star in WWE is a truism. And if its not him in the main event then they reach for the face most recently gotten over with no pre-existing storyline and/or rivalries. And hence The Ryback. But where from here? Or does it even matter once Cena is well and able to compete at Survivor Series? Here's why it matters.
This is an old familiar tune. Hogan, Hart, Austin, Michaels, and now Cena. How many times can Vince hitch the success of his business to one star only to get burned as they jump promotions, get hurt, or lose their smile? At the house show in Knoxville this past weekend where they SOLD OUT of the Rise Above Cancer shirts they offered the crowd their money back if they so desired because John Cena wouldn't be there. What happens if John gets hurt in a way that a Jeff Hardy lookalike tape job on his elbow won't fix? Gone for a year like Rey type injury. Is there a plan? Sheamus might be the number two face but he's no where close to ready to carry the burden. Thankfully, there are options.
Vince has always steered the WWE's angle as a promotion that has something for everybody. WWE has huge hulk men, luchas, ethnic stereotypes galore, monster heels, mat technicians, shoot specialists, comedians, Divas/valets, the supernatural, high flyers, and always at the top of the mountain is the main star of the era. But when that main guy is the hands down favorite of the most fickle and lucrative demographic (kids) this house of cards tumbles a little too easily. If they quit watching because they can't see Cena due to whatever no amount of future endeavors via the Chairman's signature catchphrase will save the WWE if they're not prepared. This deserves its own op-ed but John Cena should be and would be SO MUCH better of a wrestler if they weren't so damn scared of what happened if he got seriously injured and had to be out for months. Instead we're left with a stale character only capable of "overcoming all the odds" to win in the end via the five moves of doom. The same face who is booed not out of the desired heel heat of "you people" but as a rejection of his character and his abilities by the grownup portion of the audience (at least loud enough to seem like half, way more so in smark cities). John telling us its ok to boo doesn't change the fact that the character sucks, he's had no real storyline since 2011's MITB outside of losing to a retired actor, and the wrestling is unbearably stale. The adults in the crowd already know it. Cenation will get it when they're older. The situation is dire.
Thus, Vince needs Paul Heyman. Not work smirk and hold the strap Heyman. But booker extraordinaire and founder of one of the greatest wrestling promotions the continent has ever seen Paul Heyman. The next big thing shouldn't be the new shoot face of the company but the completely new and improved WWE. And Paul Heyman could be the consultant that could show the way to it. Heyman gave us a wrestling company that was the blueprint for developing a rabidly passionate fan base that loved the roster but always gave full credit to the promotion, ECW. Paul could show Vince how to turn the WWE around and accomplish something similar. To be clear, I'm not saying WWE should copy Extreme Championship Wrestling. They already did that and called it the Attitude Era (consequently the height of professional wrestling's domestic popularity). Vince needs to bring Paul in as a consultant at least and booker at best and allow him to work the same magic now that he did way back when. Not that the product has to be hardcore (though a post-election cycle Linda McMahon might be more open to a return to PG-14) but simply booked and structured so as to bring fans to revere the promotion and the product they give us instead of just the individual wrestlers. The day the company logo t-shirts outsell Rise Above whatever and amazing spots elicit chants of "Dub-Dub-E!! Dub-Dub-E!! then Cena can take time to heal or go heel for the betterment of the sport, the advancement of the art, and so the country's top promotion can provide one of the best wrestling shows possible. It'd be the perfect way to cap off Paul Heyman's legacy and the greatest gift he could leave us with. Face it Vince, you owe us. You owe Paul, you owe John, Shawn, Bret, and Steve this too. You owe the Brooklyn Brawler, Barry Horowitz, and all the workers who helped build this but are mere footnotes because they couldn't be one of those top guys. Most of all, you owe this to wrestling. Let WWE be the next big thing and don't make us suffer through another one of these cycles of top man = main event = all the attention. Paul can give us better.
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