http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/07/23/6-wrestlers-who-never-recovered-after-feuding-with-john-cena

With WWE's Battleground now over and its dust finally settling, it appears that John Cena's multi-PPV feud with Kevin Owens has come to a close. And as U.S. Champ Cena likely heads back up into the main event to face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (though that match is not officially announced yet as we publish this piece), it's hard not to worry for Owens, who now might not only hop down to the mid-card, but perhaps even off RAW entirely as he has an NXT TakeOver main event against Finn Balor to focus on.

Why be actively worried for Owens though? He's a veteran of the business and an incredible talent. Why are we fretting for his future? Well, because some of the up-and-comers who have feuded with Cena have gone on to do... not much else. Now, to be fair, feuds with Cena helped make the likes of Edge and Randy Orton, who both benefitted greatly from working main events with the guy. And back when WWE had two world titles, twice as many guys were able to orbit the main event picture.

But then there were the guys who sort of got chewed up and spit out by the Cena machine. The "you'll win one, but lose the next two or three" mechanism that helps keep Cena on top. And while it's true that we could all debate what constitutes success in the industry (an argument can be made that a steady mid-card career is a blessing), the messaging of "if you're not here to be world champ, you have no business being in the ring" has been hammered home so often than it's hard to not notice someone's fall from the top shelf.

Here are six wrestlers who took a hit, spot-wise, after working with Mr. H. L. Respect, John Cena. Some have bounced back occasionally, but a few have been toiling in mid-card hell ever since.

The Miz

Some could argue that The Miz, as the actual WWE Champion at the time, found the greatest success against Cena when he pinned him for the win at WrestleMania XXVII. But after losing the title the following PPV and then feuding with protege Alex Riley, he quickly tumbled to the bottom of the heap. Since then it's been a few mid-card titles and occasional squash matches. Meaning, Miz is the one getting squashed. Most recently by Big Show on RAW.

Wade Barrett

In one of the saddest examples of someone fizzling after a major feud with Cena, Wade Barrett's been plagued by injuries and wonky gimmicks ever since his big Nexus angle in 2010. Many within the industry felt like Barrett, and the Nexus program, should have been given a bigger, longer push then what wound up happening and Barrett still stands as a frightening example of someone finding it hard to climb out of a hole after having their first major TV feud be with Cena. At least we all have the "Water Cup of Doom"...

Dolph Ziggler

In late 2012, when Dolph Ziggler finally landed not only a hot feud with Cena, but AJ Lee at his side, it looked like everyone's favorite bumper was finally getting invited to the big dance. He bested Cena in a Ladder Match at TLC but then, despite even having Big E. in his pocket as backup, he got predictably put down by Cena in a steel cage match on a RAW episode less than a month later. A few months later, after winning the World Heavyweight Championship to a huge pop on the post-Mania RAW, Ziggler got injured and slid back down the totem pole.

Bray Wyatt

The Wyatt Family were one of the absolute hottest tickets around in 2013-14. The fact that they existed alongside The Shield, and the two factions still both were able to carve out a significant niche, still blows my mind. But while The Shield's reign came to a close due to a much larger angle involving Seth Rollins and a butt load of betrayal, the Wyatt Family evaporated into the ether because they feuded with Cena. This one began at a WrestleMania and continued on for two more PPVs (Wyatt would win the second round), but when the smoke had cleared, the Wyatts were a shell of what they once were. And a few months later they'd get split apart and pushed down singles routes.

Some might say Bray managed to retain some of his top dog status by facing Undertaker at the following WrestleMania, but that luster didn't last. And the fact that the WWE's now trying to course correct a bit by reforming the Wyatts (sans an injured Erick Rowan) is a good indicator that they'd made a big mistake splitting them apart in the first place.

Rusev

Granted, this wound's still fresh. And, honestly, since it's only been a few months there's no way to truly knowing where Rusev will land. The Bulgarian Brute managed to eke out a win over Cena at Fastlane, but then proceeded to lose to Cena three PPVs in a row. He'd not only lose the matches, however, he'd lose Lana. So his entire gimmick package, which was super hot coming into 2015, was completely unraveled by his war with Cena. There was even point, since their feud did go on for so long, that fans thought Rusev might actually win back the U.S. title for a brief spell. Nope. Cena clung to it. And now may even retire it altogether in some type of unification deal with Rollins' belt.

Damien Sandow

Okay, so Damien Sandow never officially feuded with Cena. But his RAW match with Cena on October 28th, 2013 most definitely marks the last time this guy had a great, notable match. Sandow cashed in his MITB contract on Cena and put in a hell of a performance. Alas, he'd fall to Cena and become the second dude in history (after Cena) to lose after cashing in his briefcase. Sandy had actually been in a huge slump ever since winning the MITB case, but his failure to topple Cena, despite having a great match, did nothing to propel him forward. He plummeted to the bottom of the ranks and has remained there ever since (despite getting himself majorly over with the Mizdow gimmick).

No one has ever been hurt by feuding with John Cena. Feuding with John Cena isn't the problem. The problem is Cena is the only valuable character and after you've feuding with Cena the writers discard you... so the real problem is the writers are awful.

OR in the case of Bray Wyatt (and it appears Kevin Owens... and also I suppose Damien Sandow) what Vince McMahon sees your character as vs what the fans perceive the character to be.

To the fans, Bray Wyatt was an exciting new blend of creepy and larger-than-life persona. To Vince, he was a false prophet. That's why he loses every feud... because he's not what he claims to be. He's supposed to be a fat loser that's pretending to be something great. That is how Vince McMahon sees the character and that is why the character loses everything.

Similarly, it appears the whole "bully" thing is in full force with Kevin Owens. Expect him to go over smaller characters (Probably Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, etc) but always catch his return from a Roman Reigns type.

Wow blaming others wrestlers' gimmicks failures on John Cena. This is so 2010.

I just hope no one remembers blaming the Undertaker for not allowing 16 (16 right?) other Wrestlers to win on Wrestlemania against him >_> that's so douchey of him :V

I haven't recovered since my feud with Cena on WWE 2k15. I have just been in tune up matches and dark matches :C But Vickie keeps telling me they are thinking of pushing me so there is hope

I am so glad all the responses here are simply calling out this article's stupidity.

^ HEY! I want my time on the top! I want the WWE Title so they can skip 11 years to my retirement match!

It's a wrestling article from IGN.....FUCKING IGN! Yes, video game news from there is fine, but bloody wrestling? The dude who does the wrestling blog hasn't a fucking clue what he's talking about.

^^^As much as people can hate the "John Cena goes over everyone" thing, there's no legitimate excuse/reason for someone to blame the person and the character for something it's out of their control I guess?

Opinion:

There seems to be a problem in the booking office (may be Vince, may be a general misconception) that letting a newer guy, or a lower guy on the card, get a win over Cena is all they need. After that win, they can job them to Cena and still brag about the one win, but 1-3 isn't a good record in any sport. Owens is the freshest example as someone writers were just too afraid to let go over Cena in the end.

Personally, I would've loved Owens winning the belt (even if he cheated, though he hasn't had to do that before). Then Cena and Rollins could continue like normal and Owens could have transitioned easily into a feud with Cesaro and maybe Rusev (until Dolph finishes his movie). Everyone would've come out in better positions, but WWE is too afraid of kids losing faith in Cena to let that happen.

Blaming Cena's obviously not helpful, though. Whomever WWE branded as their top guy would have the same booking issues. This is a problem with the mentality that there has to be one guy who's the poster boy everything revolves around, rather than a roster with depth.

^ Agreed. As much as I love Cena, I really wish there wasn't a need for a "face" of the company.

I saw Miz as the first person listed on this article and immediately discredited it. I've warmed up on him quite a bit recently, but the fact that 2010-era Miz not only received the WWE Championship, but also a Wrestlemania main event and PINFALL VICTORY over John Cena is actually unbelievable to me. Any one of those things is more than he could have asked for in 2010-2011.

I blame John Cena for everything.

Like Global Warming and shit

R-Truth had a feud with Cena and he ended up becoming the greatest performer of our generation and MR KICKOFF! This article sucks.