WWE Is Better off Keeping John Cena and Roman Reigns on Separate Brands

Syndicated from bleacherreport,

John Cena's return to Raw on Monday night was every bit as loud as he could have hoped for.

Standing across the ring with fellow aging veteran AJ Styles, a "let's go Styles-let's go Cena" chant seemed like it was destined to close the show, despite the fact that there was still about an hour left.

The 15-time world champions' star continues to shine brighter than any other in WWE, which is why he is a perfect fit for the soon-to-be rebooted SmackDown.

WWE can kill two birds with one stone by moving Cena to SmackDown. First, it'll establish Roman Reigns as "the guy" on WWE's flagship show. Then, it will add credibility to a brand that needs to be equal to Raw in order to justify the added costs of going live every week.

In the history of WWE, the heir apparent does not flourish until the incumbent gets out of the way. Bret Hart was able to solidify his legacy as the Excellence of Execution once Hulk Hogan moved on to WCW. The Stone Cold Steve Austin era took off shortly after the Montreal Screwjob forced Hart out of WWE.

Cena became the face of the next generation once Austin retired, The Rock moved on to Hollywood and Brock Lesnar quit WWE all in the span of one year.

And with Roman Reigns becoming more ingrained in the fabric of WWE with every passing week, it's time for Cena to exist on another brand to allow Reigns to realize his immense potential.

Keeping Cena and Reigns on separate brands doesn't only give each man room to shine, it also protects the biggest dream match between full-time stars on the WWE roster.

Cena and Reigns have never had a one-on-one match on pay-per-view. In a time when live WWE content airs several times per week, it is one of the rare matchups that WWE has yet to exploit. Reigns won't become the guy until he unseats Cena in the ring. WWE will be wise to continue to protect not only its biggest match, but the biggest moment of the New Era.

But while Cena is still here, his unquestioned star power can carry SmackDown as a brand to watch as WWE builds the show around its poster boy. Similar to how Cena reinvigorated the previously stagnant United States Championship division, he can be the gatekeeper on SmackDown who has memorable matches with up-and-coming Superstars.

Cena's ability to work with, and occasionally lose to, young talent has been an under-appreciated element of his legacy. Working with younger, more unheralded talents on SmackDown while Reigns does battle with contenders on Raw will create two very distinct products, which is WWE's mission statement with the brand split to begin with.