Who should defeat John Cena for the WWE Championship?

He is the never-seen, 17. A man who many call the greatest of all time, the one and only John Cena. 

Alas, December of this year will mark the end of Big Match John’s career as an active in-ring competitor. That said, there are currently some questions that are still left to be answered.

Will Cena revert to his role as a good guy before retiring? How many title matches does the record-setting 17-time world champion have left in him? And for this spec piece, who will dethrone Cena and become the new WWE champion?

What if WWE shocks us and CM Punk is booked to defeat John Cena at Night of Champions?

CM Punk is scheduled to face John Cena at Night of Champions and for some odd reason, the match feels more like a glorified exhibition as opposed to a pivotal chapter in one of WWE’s greatest feuds. 

It doesn’t seem like Punk is meant to win the title at NoC because it honestly feels like this one was thrown together. Be that as it may, the buildup doesn’t rule out a swerve. That’s a sentiment that’s been stated on more than one occasion and could be the case here, too. 

What if Cody Rhodes regains the WWE title and turns heel in the process? 

For those of you who are AEW fans, you may remember a time when The American Nightmare wasn’t so popular amongst a certain sea of wrestling fans. This was at the end of his AEW run, where fans seemingly grew tired of his cookie-cutter persona and booed the former TNT champion out of the building on several occasions. 

WWE fans recently sided with Cena during his and Rhodes’ build-up to WrestleMania, but fortunately, it looks like The American Nightmare is still ok with the WWE Universe. 

Who’s to say Rhodes "realized the mistake he made at WrestleMania?" And who’s to say he doesn’t think that said mistake was trying to play hero for a group of "heartless b—" who chose the villain over the protagonist? 

Wild card: What about Ron Killings?

Let’s hear it. "Killings is a 50-plus-year-old man. He might be a fan favorite, but there’s no way the company is putting stock in him on that level," they’ll say. 

If there’s one thing that should be learned from Killings' last-minute WWE re-sign, it’s that WWE fans can make anything happen in wrestling with enough love and support.

If the man formerly known as R-Truth gains enough buzz and the story calls for it, you should not rule out a Killings WWE title win over Cena before the year is over.

Let’s not forget about Seth "Freakin" Rollins and his newly acquired Money in the Bank contract

You want to know what makes for great storytelling? Having a man struggle with his own identity for the better part of a year whilst taking WWE fans on an emotional roller-coaster ride of ebbs, flows, ups, downs, twists and turns leading up to reconciliation at the end of the year … only for Rollins to come down to the ring moments later, cheap shop the champ, order his goons to commence the assault, stomp him, and declare that he’s cashing in his contract. 

Doesn’t matter how much you want to sing along to his song; this would forever immortalize Rollins as one of WWE’s most villainous heels.