WWE Scrapped Epic Wrestlemania Plans For Samoa Joe And John Cena

02/28/2017 01:07 pm EST

It now seems clear to everyone that John Cena and Nikki Bella will be teaming up at Wrestlemania to face The Miz and Maryse in a mixed tag team bout. Considering Cena just tied Ric Flair's 16 time World Championship record and is coming off some amazing five star matches with AJ Styles, many are disappointed to see one of Cena's prime Mania spots used in a gimmicky match. Now that word is leaking out of the original plans for Cena at Mania, teaming with his girlfriend seems like a pretty big let down. No offense, Nikki.

Cena had gone from being rumored to face Undertaker then, most recently, Samoa Joe. The Inquisitr is reporting that not only was Samoa Joe going to challenge Cena but that the two time NXT Champion was going to defeat Cena in a very big way.

This explains why WWE uploaded a video on their YouTube channel which focused on how Cena and Joe started their careers together, but went on different paths as they hinted towards a potential clash.

The plan was to have Joe destroy Cena at the biggest stage in WWE so they could set him up as the ultimate heel in the company. Joe's shocking beat down would lead Cena to be written off WWE TV for his expected six to eight month hiatus after Mania.

The angle would have also set up Cena for a ready made feud for his eventual return. When Cena does return later this year, the focus will likely be on his quest to break the record he co-holds with Ric Flair. WWE didn't make a bigger deal of tying the record because they knew breaking it would be the bigger accomplishment.

Now, Cena's Mania will likely end with a fairly predictable victory and, who knows, maybe a proposal to Nikki in the center of the ring. Although, we shouldn't hold our breath on that last part.

As for Joe, his Mania opponents will likely be one of RAW's top babyfaces or a spot in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which is a far cry from sending the face that runs the place out of Orlando on a stretcher.

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