According to the latest reports, the plan is to have John Cena become Intercontinental Champion, which would make him a grand slam champion, someone who has held every major belt in a promotion.
He is to beat Dominik Mysterio at Survivor Series. He will then face Gunther during his final match in a losing effort.
This idea may not be without merit on paper. A feud between John Cena and Dominik is appealing. Dominik is a great heat magnet, and his father has a history with Cena. The match between Gunther and Cena should be great, since all it takes is two legs to have a great match with Gunther.
However, there is a lot to be desired in the way this idea is presented. During this whole year of John Cena’s retirement tour, not once has Cena expressed his frustration at never holding the IC title.
And for cause.
This kind of quest works better for workhorses who spend years in midcard before entering the main event scene.
A look at the list of Grand Slam champions is mostly made up of these types of profiles. There are a few main event stars such as Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle and Dean Ambrose. But these are the exceptions, not the rules.
The Grand Slam should be a privilege for the Kofi Kingstons and the Finn Bálors, the workhorses who have proven they can hold a world title belt.
John Cena starting his retirement tour by going for the IC title could have worked better. But doing so with four dates left makes it feel like an afterthought and brings attention to the phoniness of titles, much like his going for a 17th title at this stage of his career.
This retirement tour has been plagued by things happening just because. He faced Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania just because as a former top guy, he had to face the current guy. He feuded with Randy Orton, CM Punk, and AJ Styles just because they had feuded in the past.
This is a recurring theme of WWE’s creative feeling mechanic, always going for what seems to make sense without making it seem organic and providing any kind of emotion.
