WWE News: Backstage Creative Plans For John Cena & Roman Reigns At ‘Money In The Bank’


Three months ago, the top rumor coming out of WrestleMania was that Roman Reigns and John Cena would be headlining SummerSlam this August in a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. While it’s still entirely possible WWE could go that route, there have since been numerous developments that would indicate otherwise. The company has never shied away from changing on the fly, but Cena and Reigns remain on the very top of the priority list.

First and foremost, Reigns is set to defend his championship in the main event of this Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view against Seth Rollins. Their feud received a much-needed jolt this past week in the form of a mini Shield reunion with Dean Ambrose hosting his Ambrose Asylum with Reigns and Rollins. Otherwise, the build has been a little lackluster, leading many to believe their program will continue beyond this Sunday.

reigns rollins ambrose on raw
[Image via WWE]

John Cena’s first feud back from injury has been nothing short of compelling. His build-up with AJ Styles has been far and away the best segments each week, save for a minor continuity issue this past Monday that still didn’t slow things down. The match is being billed as a worthy main event of WrestleMania, as is the Reigns-Rollins showdown, as the company tries to sell this pay-per-view as the greatest Money in the Bank in history.

In regards to the Cena-Styles rivalry, it was noted here previously that officials backstage were torn between booking their first match now or waiting until SummerSlam. There had been some definite conflict as it pertained to who Cena would face at the biggest show of the summer: Styles or Reigns. But as mentioned, developments have transpired that would further support Cena continuing with Styles rather than Reigns. It’s expected that when the brand split is executed, Reigns will be leading RAW (with Rollins as the top heel) and Cena will be the face of SmackDown (with Styles as that show’s top villain).

But before the WWE Draft and brand extension, Cena and Reigns must take care of business at Money in the Bank. And according to Cageside Seats, that’s exactly what the plan is. Both John Cena and Roman Reigns are expected to go over AJ Styles and Seth Rollins, respectively, this Sunday. Based on the betting odds as posted by WWE Leaks, Reigns retaining his WWE World Heavyweight Championship isn’t that much of a surprise, but Cena winning would be a mild upset, according to the bookmakers.

aj styles vs john cena
[Image via WWE]

It’s believed that the odds-makers are referencing Cena’s recent history with relatively new up-and-coming superstars for the reason he’s been made the underdog. Cena had a series of matches with the likes of Bray Wyatt, Rusev, and Kevin Owens over the course of the past two years. In each case, those opponents were all quickly rising up the ranks and trying to make a name for themselves against the face of the company. In each case, Cena lost one of those matches, with both Rusev and Owens coming out victorious in the feud’s first encounter.

However, Cena wound up coming out on top of each of those rivalries, and we all witnessed Wyatt, Rusev and Owens all drop down a peg in the aftermath. Styles even mentioned Cena’s tendency to “bury” younger talent, clearly referencing those feuds. That line-blurring was another example of why this Cena-Styles program has outshined everything else on the card this month.

We haven’t gotten a clear indication of who WWE plans to have take the belt off of Roman Reigns, and the rumors of adding a second World Title muddy the waters even more. But it appears more likely than not that Reigns will carry the title until at least SummerSlam. What may be noteworthy in John Cena’s case is that in each of those aforementioned feuds, Cena has always won the match at the more high-profile pay-per-view. When Cena did the one job to Wyatt, Rusev, and Owens, it came at what could be considered a secondary show. Money in the Bank has widely been considered the WWE’s fifth biggest show of the year, with some believing that it has surpassed Survivor Series as one of the core four.

[Image via WWE]

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