Orton vs. Cena Should Not Be For A Title Shot

By Nicholas A. Marsico @nickmarsico on October 23, 2014

This Sunday’s pay-per-view event, WWE Hell In A Cell 2014 will see John Cena square off one last time — less than a year after their most recent “one last time” match — with Randy Orton. It will be the second match of the show’s double main event, and will be contested inside the Hell in a Cell structure. The biggest piece of the puzzle was put in place this past Monday night on RAW – the winner of the match will get a shot at WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

Now, I’m not usually the type of person to point out glaring holes in logic — they happen too often anyway. I’d never have time to write about anything else, but this one is ridiculous. I tend to always give wrestling the benefit of the doubt and suspend my disbelief, because that’s what being a wrestling fan is about. I give up the logical side of my brain that asks me why men who are constantly punching each other in the face haven’t died of bleeding on the brain, or how a standard piledriver is effective, even though only a few men have actually been seriously injured by having their spine compressed in such a manner. It’s professional wrestling. It’s sports entertainment. Those are the things we ignore while enjoying our favorite pastimes.

The gap in logic in this instance is far too large for me to pass up the opportunity to write about it. Before the Contract on a Pole match on Oct. 13 episode of Monday Night RAW, the commentary team made a very concerted effort to stress that the winner of the match would get Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell and that the “other man” would be put inside the giant cage with Randy Orton. There was a winner in the match, but no loser. Of course, it makes no sense to give an opportunity to a loser, so they aren’t going to promote someone that way, but it makes even less sense to do what they did just seven days later.

Either Orton or Cena will win the match on Sunday and earn a shot at Brock Lesnar’s title. I said “gap” in its singular form a number of times above. This stipulation has many gaps. For one, the man who lost the big match gets a bigger opportunity. Also, The Authority hates John Cena and goes into panic mode any time he comes near the title. Why put him in the position to get one step closer to winning it back? And why isn’t Orton upset that he has to battle inside Hell in a Cell to get a shot at a title he never lost?

In the end, the sheer ridiculous nature of the stipulation bestowed upon this match is simply frustrating. Why couldn’t the winner of the match not only face Seth Rollins, but earn the opportunity at a title shot by winning Hell in a Cell? Dean Ambrose has twice the reason to fight, and a second guaranteed title shot in his back pocket would give Rollins nearly a 100 percent chance to win the title.

I’m also annoyed that it has been a long time since two men fought voraciously against each other for the right to face the World Champ, yet when it comes to getting a chance to get their hands on Seth Rollins, it’s suddenly the most important concept ever created.

And people wonder why the title doesn’t mean as much as it used to.