As hard as it is to imagine, John Cena should take the clean loss to Seth Rollins when he challenges for the United States Championship at the 2015 edition of Night of Champions in September.
Cena is a 15-time champion and one of the top stars in the history ofWWE. Any time he takes a clean loss to a Superstar, it has the ability to validate them in the eyes of the fans. Just ask Kevin Owens.
And Rollins needs validation. As the WWE World Heavyweight champion, WWE Creative has booked The Architect to look incredibly weak. From taking unnecessary clean losses to less-deserving challengers to retaining the title in fluke fashion almost every time, now is the time to legitimize his reign and set the tone for his character moving forward.
Beating Cena clean at Night of Champions would force the WWEUniverse to respect Rollins.
One of the most interesting aspects of the match at Night of Champions is that it will likely open the pay-per-view, making it one of the most anticipated curtain-jerkers in history. With both men proving at SummerSlam that they can put on a great match, the bout has the potential to be one of the best opening matches in PPV history. Cenalosing clean would ensure the moment—and this match—would never be forgotten.
The WWE Universe can’t forget Rollins will also be pulling double duty at the Sept. PPV, wrestling both Cena for the United States and Sting for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Starting the night with a clean pinfall victory over Cena would afford the writers the opportunity to come up with a monumental swerve to close the show.
With Rollins earning the win over Cena in the opening match, it would allow Rollins to take the pinfall against Sting, creating a huge moment in wrestling history as The Icon holds the WWE's highest honor. As Sting begins to celebrate, though, Sheamus would cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and win the world title.
Taking a loss to Sting and dropping the world title would be a devastating blow to Rollins at this point in his career, but successfully retaining the United States Championship by pinning a living legend like Cena earlier in the night would more than make up for it.
As Sheamus aligns with The Authority as their hand-chosen star, the newly face Rollins could use the U.S. title and the open challenge concept to continue getting over as a good guy. Cena doesn’t need a championship to be relevant and can have quality feuds away from the company's main titles.
Cena understands the business as well as anyone, and after the way Rollins has been booked during his title reign thus far, taking a clean loss to the champion at the PPV would be best for business.
