John Cena and The Magic Number 16
John Cena is the next WWE world heavyweight champion. How does that one hit you right now? Are you good with that or does it make you want to hyperventilate into a paper bag? After the July 20 edition of Raw, I would daresay you fall into either one of those two categories.
The sight of Cena confronting Seth Rollins in the ring is one that fans will likely not forget any time soon. This was the closest Cena had physically been to the strap in nearly a year and for a lot of fans, it had not been long enough.
But now the champ is on the champ's radar. That means Rollins' time at the top could be nearing its end and more importantly, Cena could be nearing his 16th world title.
16 is the magic number in the industry, perhaps the singlemost recognizable number in the history of the business. It's synonymous with accomplishment, with main event excellence and achievement at the highest level.
16 is of course Ric Flair's number. The Nature Boy has held the world championship for a record number of 16 times, more than anyone else in wrestling history. The number is so closely associated with Flair that fans need only hear it mentioned and instantly his name comes to mind.
But when John Cena wins the belt again, his name will come to mind as well. It's unthinkable on so many levels but it's going to happen eventually. It's not meant to disrespect Cena however; the guy is doing what he does, living the life of a pro wrestler and doing it at the highest level possible.
However, to imagine that anyone could tie or best Flair's record is too much in many ways. The memories of Flair wearing the belt, holding it like a newborn in his hands, staring at it with pride and passion; he brought more to it than anyone ever has. No other talent did more for the championship or for the sport of professional wrestling than Flair.
The problem is fans today don't have those memories of Ric. They have the WWE Network and that's a great way to see his career highlights. But seeing him live, growing up with him and watching him take over the world, is something else altogether.
Today's generation of fans see Cena, many of them grew up with him and watched him take over the world. He is Flair to them; he's at the top of his game and he's everything the company wants in a world champion.
The game has changed so much since Flair's day. The bulk of his titles came as a result of the NWA Board of Directors; those men knew what Flair brought to the table and how important he was as a top draw. They knew he was more valuable for them as champ than anyone else could be and both sides made a ton of money as a result.
Cena's titles came at the hands of one man; Vince McMahon. Vince is the first and last word in WWE, he is the man that decides where the championships go and who deserves them the most. This is not the system Ric dealt with for the majority of his career and it's not the system Cena's reputation was built upon.
Cena makes the most money for WWE and that's why he is consistently at the top. No matter how much fans claim to hate him, he still gets a huge reaction and his matches are always featured at or near the main event. His titles may not have come from a vote but they did come because he had WWE's vote of confidence.
It's that confidence that will ultimately lead him back to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Rollins has had a good run and has grown both as a heel and as a performer. He took what resembled Chris Jericho's Undisputed Title run and transformed it into the best possible vehicle for his character.
He could have fallen flat on his face, he could have failed as an unconvincing antagonist and been deemed irrelevant by everyone watching. But instead, he exceled. He proved what he could do and he proved he is more than capable of doing it better than anyone else.
But he will eventually lose the strap and it will come as a surprise to no one if and when he loses it to Cena. Fans may not want to see it but the truth is that as long as Cena is in the WWE locker room, he is always a contender to the championship.
Did fans really think he was finished with it? The fact is, it was only a matter of time until he entered the title picture once again. Now that he's in it, the clock is ticking for Seth. Cena will be champ again and it will be back to business as usual for the WWE faithful.
So open the bag and breathe deep; it's going to be okay.
