Cena-Nough?? An Inside Look At John Cena And His Chances Of Leaving Raw

He is the guy we (well, not me) love to hate. You cheer him; you boo him. Kids love him, girls adore him (sorry, Rob Base). He's John Cena and, like him or not, he is arguably the most controversial figure currently in WWE.
Cena is set to put his Raw career on the line in a match with WWE Champion Randy Orton at Bragging Rights. With all that is at stake, you can't help but wonder what will Cena's future be if he indeed loses to Orton.
One would have to think that if Cena is leaving Raw he has to be going to SmackDown!. There is absolutely no reason for him to go to ECW. The WWE has done some questionable things over the years, but the chances of them moving, arguably, their biggest star to their least watched show is slim to none.
So, for the sake of this article, we'll look at two possibilites: Cena staying on Raw or Cena moving to Smackdown!. We'll first examine Cena staying on Raw.
You can make the case that John Cena has done everything he possibly can on Raw. He's faced all of the top talent over and over and over again. It has to be the end of the road for Cena on Raw right? Not exactly....
If Cena indeed moves to SmackDown! that leaves Triple H and Shawn Michaels as the only two main event level faces on Raw. With Raw being as short as they are on main event level talent, can they afford to let Cena leave? Who takes his place? Do fans really want to see another Orton versus Triple H feud?
Sure, you can throw Shawn Michaels in a feud with Orton but who gets a shot after that? The chance the WWE had to push MVP to main event status has passed. Do you give Kofi Kingston a shot? Kofi is deserving of a chance but I don't feel he can really carry the WWE's flagship program as the top babyface. Not yet at least.
In theory, the WWE would have to move a top SmackDown! star to Raw to compensate for Cena leaving. Otherwise, we are going to be stuck with a heavy rotation of Orton versus Michaels/HHH.
On the flipside, the possiblity of Cena moving to SmackDown! gives him the potential for fresh, exciting new matchups.
I predicted on another wrestling site that Cena versus CM Punk could be a potential WrestleMania main event and Cena moving to SmackDown! could indeed set this up.

It would be really interesting to see how Punk would use his "straight edge" lifestyle to convince us how inadequate Cena is considering that Cena is supposed to be a "squeaky clean" character.
CM Punk has taken his character to another level and feuding with Cena would be the pinnacle and a great lead in to WrestleMania.
Of course, you also have the potential of Cena being the next man to step up and go after The Undertaker's undefeated Wrestlemania winning streak. He would actually pose a real threat to ending it.
Only a man with "Superman-like" abilities could enter the "darkside" and take out 'Taker.
Cena is that man and it could very well happen.
Then, of course, you have the potential of a Cena versus Batista feud. We got a little taste of it a couple of years ago at Summerslam but it was cut short when Cena had to have surgery.
Both men leave something to be desired in the ring, but matching up these two is a box office draw for the WWE.
So where does Cena end up?

If I had to base my decision on the pros and cons I just gave for Cena staying on Raw or going to SmackDown!, I would have to say he should stay on Raw.
Quite frankly, SmackDown! does not need Cena but Raw does.
SmackDown! is thriving with a great mixture of youth and veteran talent.
Raw is stuck in a rut with the guest host angle that is honestly getting old. Yes, people watch to see who the next guest host will be, but at some point you have get back to wrestling and producing quality WRESTLING programming.
John Cena is vital to Raw's success. Though he's a bit over the top, he's one of the few things Raw has to offer.

It would be an awful move to let him go to SmackDown! or ECW (no chance) without Raw getting something in return.