Contenders for Cena

In an earlier blog entry, "Is Orton the #1 Contender?", I commented on the decision by Coach to make Randy Orton the #1 contender for John Cena's title at Summerslam. Keep in mind, Orton lost the Beat the Clock tournament which Lashley won. In addition, Orton beat a newcomer in Cody Rhodes this past week. Here's a look at 4 contenders I think would make a better challenger and main event for Cena at Summerslam.

King Booker

While I understand that many can predict HHH being the one who will challenge Booker at Summerslam, he seems more qualified as a contender for Cena's title. He was involved in that battle of champions at the Pay Per View months ago. Granted, he lost the Beat the Clock tournament, but he still hasn't had much of a recent feud with Cena. It would be something new.

Downside: King Booker hasn't done a whole lot of wrestling lately on Raw, probably because he is still coming back from injury. While he lost in both the Championship Challenge and the Beat the Clock tournament, now he will be challenging Jerry Lawler who rarely wrestles. Booker's recent match results don't seem to qualify him at this point.

Mr. Kennedy

The confrontation that Mr. Kennedy and Cena had in the ring several weeks ago could have been the start of a great feud. Kennedy is a newcomer to Raw and has held the US Championship before. He has that cockiness in the ring on the mic that makes for some funny moments. He also was holding that Money in the Bank briefcase, until injury and Edge struck. Kennedy seemed on track to eventually cash in and become a title holder. I think a feud with Cena and Kennedy would be something new and creative, whereas we've seen Orton in the picture a lot before.

Downsides: Kennedy has been on a bit of a losing streak with recent losses to Super Crazy (which he avenged) and Jeff Hardy. I'd expect Kennedy to eventually take on the challenger role for a face champion on Raw.

Jeff Hardy

This one is the reach, because Hardy hasn't ever been a contender for the title, but he definitely deserves the spot. It would be another face vs. face title matchup at the Pay Per View. Hardy has been in Money in the Bank matches and has held more than his share of individual and tag titles. He gave his all on this past week's Raw in a match versus Mr. Kennedy, eventually outlasting him in a countout win. (See "Tale of 2 Hardys" for a discussion of why the Hardy Boys deserve to contend for titles)

Downsides: Jeff Hardy doesn't have a lot of top title (WWE or World Heavyweight) match history and guys like Orton, Lashley, Booker, Kennedy may headline matches better.

Triple H

What better than for The Game to comeback and challenge for the title at Summerslam and win it? The rumors have been Cena will be taking time off from WWE this fall to film another movie. Other rumors claim HHH has pushed for Orton to be the top heel so he can eventually defeat him for the title. But a HHH vs Cena match would make for a huge Summerslam main event that many fans would want to see right now.

Downsides: HHH is returning from injury. WWE may want him to progress his way up to more competitive matches, starting him off in a feud with King Booker who also has returned from a recent injury.