If you are wondering why John Cena was moved to Monday Night Raw, there seems to be a simple answer. SportsIllustrated.com’s Justin Barrasso is reporting that the main reason why he was moved to Raw is that Vince McMahon wants to elevate Roman Reigns. Although Cena is a ratings draw, it’s more important who he draws ratings with. In other words, the most-watched segments on WWE TV involve Cena so it makes sense to include Reigns in those same segments if they want to elevate him. By the way, whether or not you are a fan of Reigns, it makes sense from WWE’s perspective because they have big plans for WrestleMania (click here to read more on the plans for Reigns).
WWE plans on elevating Cena more and then using that to put over Reigns. It’s not clear yet when they plan on pulling the trigger on a Cena vs. Reigns match. When the match happens, then it will likely not be at WrestleMania.
Last month, Cena stated that the decision to move to Raw was his. In an interview with Complex.com, he said, “The reason that I wanted to be a free agent and the reason they kind of granted my request is because I don’t know if I’ll be available for Smackdown specific only or Raw specific only, and I also know that my days are numbered. I just turned 40 in April and we have so many young and talented performers, I don’t know how many years I have left. So in the time I have left, I’m gonna do what I can to dedicate to this company I just want to be able to do it the most time that I possibly can.”
Keep in mind that Cena is still a free agent so he can still appear on Smackdown Live. In fact, he is booked for Smackdown-branded shows taking place next month in China. However, most of his schedule for next month lists him on Raw-branded shows.
Did you miss some of the big news from the past 24 hours? Check out the links below:
- “Brother Nero” (Jeff Hardy) gets a new name
- Roman Reigns delivers sick burn to the fans that hate him
- GFW star is gone from the company…again
- WWE to create a new title?
- Why was The Undertaker in NYC during SummerSlam weekend?
