5 positives from John Cena's WWE run in 2017
WWE's 'New Era' is well and truly here, and a big indication of that is the rather limited role played by the icon of the PG Era, John Cena. The 16-time world champion has only made sporadic appearances on RAW and Smackdown in 2017, and has suffered more defeats than usual - something many fans will argue is long overdue.
That being said, the year has not been without its memorable and positive moments for the beloved leader of the Cenation. Here are 5 reasons in particular why John Cena should be proud of his 2017 WWE run.
#5 Finally taking a back seat
For years wrestling fans have been calling out to Vince McMahon in near unison for John Cena to turn heel. We desperately long to see another side of his character, ideally a darker one that finally gives in to the chorus of boos and sneers he receives in every arena he visits.
What many people fail to notice is that while technically wrestling as a face for the past 15+ plus years, Cena has been one of the most effective heels the industry has ever seen. If the idea of being a villain is to unite the crowd against you and force them to cheer for your opponent, then Cena deserves to be mentioned with some of the industry's most iconic villains like Flair, Triple H and Roddy Piper.
That being said, 2017 has been different with respect to how much Cena has stood in the way of younger, fresher talent. True, he might have begun 2017 be defeating AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, but since then he has largely taken a back seat in order to help other guys get over.
His loss to Nakamura on Smackdown was a good example of this, as was his defeat to Roman Reigns at No Mercy. Even his role in the Survivor Series main event was largely minimal, instead of allowing others to take centre stage. It's perhaps a shame that Triple H didn't do the same thing.
Who knows what the future will hold for Cena, but if 2017 is anything to go by, expect to see him eat more pinfalls than usual.