Cena/Owens Part III

[Circled Square]

Good match between Owens & Cena. Did he get buried at the end though?

[Daz]

Definitely didn't get buried, he kicked out of the Super AA for god sake, but we've seen so many people fail to back up their claim to beat Cena in the big match, and it always kills their momentum. Fantastic match, poor decision making in the end I think.

[Stvtayl]

So Owens beats Cena clean, becoming the first heel to do so in a long time if ever before, but then they have C3na win the next 2 matches, what now? a fourth match which would lead to a 5th if Owens won the US Title because Cena would want a rematch, or a 4th match which Owens loses again as Owens becomes the latest victim of Cena...........or Cena goes back to his crappy US Title open challenges which offer nothing but predictable Cena victories week after week.

I honestly think WWE have dropped the ball in not having Owens win the US Title and end the feud on top.

[Daz]

They literally did the same thing with Rusev in Cena's previous feud, and with Wyatt last year. Granted the matches with Owens have been better so it's almost more forgivable, but it is the same old shit as usual.

The simple booking here would have been for Owens to go over, continue the Cena style open challenges as a shot against him, keep them away from each other for a few months just to cool things off, then build to a big blow off at Hell in a Cell/Survivor Series.

[The Legend]

They literally did the same thing with Rusev in Cena's previous feud, and with Wyatt last year. Granted the matches with Owens have been better so it's almost more forgivable, but it is the same old shit as usual.

The simple booking here would have been for Owens to go over, continue the Cena style open challenges as a shot against him, keep them away from each other for a few months just to cool things off, then build to a big blow off at Hell in a Cell/Survivor Series.

I disagree a little about the comparisons. Rusev was in a completely different place in his career than Owens was as a brand new rookie in his first feud. Rusev had dominated for a long time. Cena winning in that feud at that moment made more sense than not. The Wyatt one was a little more comparable, but still not as egregious as having Owens lose here.

As for where Owens goes from here. Honestly, he just needs to go away from Cena and use the defeat for an opportunity for character change and growth. Let's see him come back completely pissed off that he lost this feud with Cena, but also learning something from his first feud on the main roster. Let's see him go on a roll as a bad ass beating up some other guys for a couple months and see where his character develops from there.

[CMPUNKFAN]

I think we may see a triple threat match or a fatal 4 way at Summerslam for the title.

Cena vs. Owens vs. Cesaro or Cena vs. Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Rusev

[Tom]

I think at this stage all the momentum of Owens would have gained by beating Cena for the US title has faded. I think they would nearly be better off letting someone else take it off Cena who can beat him on their first occasion. The only exception I see to this rule is Neville because he come incredibly close to defeating him until Rusev interfered. But I think a fresh challenger would gain more at this stage by defeating Cena for the belt.

Owens has done a great job in his feud with Cena. He defeated him clean at Elimination Chamber. I probably would have had him defeat Cena again at MITB, maybe even by cheating before losing his third battle with him at Battleground. That way Owens would have come across as a legitimate threat walking into Battleground (the first time the belt was on the line) and Cena would have got his win. But overall, I think Owens has made a great statement and is one of the best heels they have got. I feel they could put him anywhere on the card and he would make it great.

What's next for him is anyone's guess. If I was a betting man i'd say a triple threat between him, Cena and Cesaro. But I wouldn't mind him taking a little step back and facing someone like Neville. They have history from NXT and I feel they could put forward a highly entertaining match at Summerslam. Orton would be another awesome choice but I doubt they will have that match at this stage. He's a main event calibur guy who could have a great match with Owens. And I could see Owens going over him too!

[Str8Shooter]

I don't think Owens won because quite frankly, Owens doesn't even need to US title at this point. He's already damn near a main eventer, just look at his reactions and the way things have gone for him. Even with the losses he's still in a better position than the vast majority of the roster. Who's higher on the food chain in terms of heels on the roster? Seth Rollins... and that's it. He's the number two heel they have.

I don't think these two are done with each other anyway. I could see Owens costing Cena the title in the Open Challenge and then them having another match, a gimmick match, at Summerslam without the title on the line. Maybe Rusev or Cesaro could win the title.

[Hanley!]

I don't think Owens won because quite frankly, Owens doesn't even need to US title at this point.

No, I don't agree with that at all. They've made Owens look pretty strong, but it's far too early in his career to say that he doesn't need titles. It certainly would have meant a lot more to him than to John freaking Cena.

To say that Owens was buried here would be a big exaggeration, but I think we need to maybe stop thinking in those terms. He wasn't 'buried'. But he was definitely damaged by this loss. It hurt his credibility. He was very briefly a wrestler who debuted with a clean win over John Cena. At that point he looked like he could have been a big star. But two months later he hasn't achieved anything on the main roster. He's just another guy who lost a feud to John Cena.

What happens next is of vital importance, but without immediate follow up he's going to be the next Rusev or Bray Wyatt. We saw how fast their credibility plummeted after losing their feuds to Cena. Trying to make him look strong in defeat only means so much by now, when even the likes of Stardust are kicking out of the AA on Raw every week. People see through it now. To be taken seriously, people need wins. Which is becoming exceedingly rare in the current WWE culture of making sure nobody gets over.

Honestly, Owens should have won this. It would have been a big deal for his character, and would have given him loads of places to go. Now that he's lost it feels like he can only go downwards. Sure, he can win his next feud (though he might not), but who is there for him to fight that will compare to Cena? He'll be scrambling to retain any of the aura he debuted with. His own performances will help to keep him over, but it'd be nice if the bookers would actually help out for once.

If they were absolutely insistent on Cena winning the feud - either because they're allergic to letting heels win feuds, or because they want to keep the US Open Challenge thing going - then Owens should have won the second match. That way he would have been the guy who had John Cena's number. The guy who Cena couldn't beat. It would have helped him a lot in the long term. When Cena finally got the win over him at Battleground, it wouldn't have hurt Owens as much because he would already have proven he's on Cena's level, and people would have had a reason to CARE that Cena had won the match. Whereas in the scenario they actually went with, it'd be hard for anyone over a certain age to feel anything more than apathy or disappointment at Cena's win.

I mean, how hard is it to write this stuff? It's mind boggling that they can't book even the basics well. They've kept to this format with Cena for the last couple of years and every single time it leads to people's interest in the feud fading the longer it goes (the opposite of what you want), and it leads to his opponents losing a lot of their star power. This has happened a number of times now, but they keep doing the same thing every time regardless. Apparently they think all of these feuds have been massive successes.

It's just so ...

[prophet]

I didn't even watch the PPV but I feel so drained after it. Like others have said, I can't help but feel they've missed their chance to really capitalize on Owens' momentum and instantly cement him as a huge deal, he looked strong in defeat but it still wound up being a 'CENA WINS LOL' moment and it's just so fucking tiring.

I've really enjoyed the feud and Cena has done wonders for the US title. I'm far from a Cena hater but seeing him win again and again is just...ugh. I don't even really see a way of progressing this feud to SummerSlam without Owens looking weak, he's been beaten a number of times now - why should he deserve another shot? He's not the NXT Champion anymore, the only way I see him keeping his hat in the ring is if he does something cowardly to provoke Cena - which he shouldn't be doing, leave that stuff to Rollins who is far superior at it.

I just...I'm tired.