Should John Cena win his 17th World Title?
John Cena has done it all in the WWE. Usually, we would list his accomplishments, but there are simply too many of them to list. One of the very few things that he would want to achieve is being the man with the most world title reigns. Currently, Cena is tied for the top spot with Ric Flair, both at 16 apiece. With Flair retired, Cena has a massive chance to break this record.
Cena has been the flagship star of WWE for over 10 years now. However, in the past few years, WWE have been comfortable with Cena only being available on a part time basis. They aren't as heavily reliant on him as they used to be, and that is a very promising sign. WWE were even comfortable not booking Cena on WrestleMania 34 before the show, with his match against The Undertaker being confirmed on the show itself.
We look at both sides of the argument: why he shouldn't win a 17th world title, and why he should.
Why Cena shouldn't win
Considering how the new generation of WWE stars have been performing, unnecessarily adding Cena back to the world title picture would be a waste. WWE wouldn't have this 17th win come on a small show, so weeks and months of rebuilding Cena to be thrust in the spotlight will be required, which means someone else will lose their spot on the card. WWE have an absolutely stacked roster and you could easily name over 10 superstars to be world title contenders. Adding Cena to this fold will hurt the chances of others.
Along with this, Cena's schedule means that he won't do anything meaningful with the belt. He has no more intrigue in his character left and he will most likely win the belt and drop it within a month, like he did to Bray Wyatt in 2017. A title run would yield no benefit and arrest the momentum of many other young stars.
Why Cena Should Win
Honestly, a Cena rivalry these days has a lot more to it than it did five years ago. He knows his role as the old guard, and he can be played up to be insecure about losing his spot. This is careful long-term booking WWE have done, starting when in 2015, Stephanie McMahon straight up told Cena that he isn't more important than the WWE: "It isn't where would WWE be without John Cena; it is where would John Cena be without the WWE". This played up again when Cena fought against Roman Reigns at No Mercy. The entire story of how Cena needs to fight for his place at 'Mania because he can't be handed one anymore relayed this fact. This should be the genesis of a tweener Cena, if not an all-out heel Cena.
An overly aggressive Cena that goes above and beyond to ensure he wins can present a more brutal side to his character and that would lead to a compelling title win, where he absolutely brutalizes the current champion to ensure he gets his 17th reign. To ensure he stays in the spotlight, he can be a cowardly heel that avoids confrontation, and eventually gets his comeuppance. That would be a great swansong run for Cena, as he would've completed his 17th title and freshened up his character all built on everything that's been happening in the WWE.
Of course the chances of WWE taking such an experimental route with Cena's character is highly unlikely, but that is the only way a final main event run for John Cena should happen. Strike while the iron is hot, they say, and WWE must pull the trigger sooner rather than later, because later, Cena may not be able to dedicate this much into character building. Right now, off his recent losses at Fastlane, Elimination Chamber and against The Undertaker and Roman Reigns, all play into Cena not being super Cena anymore. They must utilize this to build insecurity in his character, and they must do it while these setbacks are fresh in the memory of fans, or else it'll be a drab and dull coronation for John Cena.