Breaking Down The Belts: John Cena's WWE Men's Intercontinental Championship

With fewer appearances left in his WWE career than most people have fingers on one hand, John Cena left it a little late to finally become a WWE Grand Slam Champion when he dethroned Dominik Mysterio to become Intercontinental Champion earlier this month. "The Greatest of All Time" is due to wrap things up with his last match scheduled for Saturday Night's Main Event in December, with the Last Time is Now tournament ongoing to determine who that opponent will be. So there is very little time for him to leave a mark on his new title reign, although he does have a title rematch with Mysterio booked for Survivor Series: WarGames. Even if he does retain the title on that occasion, he would still be making his last appearance just a couple of weeks later, with him presumably expected to defend the title then in his last match. 

There is of course a question over what happens to the title if he retires with nothing but wins under his belt. After all, Cena did at one point want to retire with the WWE Championship around his waist. But in the spirit of crossing bridges when one gets to them and looking at the options available at this given time, it doesn't feel like a fruitful exercise to get so abstract in analysis. Even with so little time left on the clock, there is a myriad of options for who can take the title onward after this reign. With that in mind, let's have a go at breaking down who likely will and who should dethrone Cena as Intercontinental Champion.

Cena's last Survivor Series will be spent defending the Intercontinental title against the man he defeated for it in the first place, with Mysterio having complained he was not ready to be challenged by him in the first place. The champion was more than happy to defend the title against him right away, but Mysterio wanted some prep time and made the challenge for the Premium Live Event instead. They did wrestle a match against one another that night, Cena teaming with Sheamus and Rey Mysterio to take on "Dirty Dom" and the Judgment Day's Finn Balor and JD McDonagh, and the babyfaces scored the win on what was Cena's last "Raw" appearance. That forward momentum over a challenger doesn't normally yield a good sign for the champion when all is said and done, and one also has to wonder why the rematch would have been made just so Mysterio could lose again.

At first glance, it looks as though the bout has been designed to get the title back on Mysterio, especially if Cena winning it was purely to ensure that box was ticked before he had retired. Much had been put behind the reign of Mysterio as Intercontinental and AAA Mega Champion, starting with the former title at WrestleMania, and as a result many of the credible challengers built had been of the babyface persuasion. That speaks to a picture perhaps best inherited by the champion it was designed for. And for the time being, at least, he represents the immediate option to answer the looming question of the Intercontinental Championship beyond Cena. But this writer would suggest that another fits the billing better, and he's another to have done it before. 

There are, as one might expect, a very many significant names still competing within the Last Time is Now tournament, including the likes of Jey Uso and Penta. But of them all, there is one that speaks out as a dream option for Cena's retirement match. 

Gunther has well and truly inherited the monster mantle that has been held by the likes of Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Bruiser Brody before him, a man who turns every match he wrestles into a sports-slasher movie, an exhibition of violence and technicality in kind. That's reflected both in his overall win-loss percentage since stepping foot into the UK branch of the company, dominating as United Kingdom Champion for 870 days, before adding reigns with the Intercontinental and World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions at 666 days, 259 days, and 54 days respectively. Only Ilja Dragunov, Bron Breakker, Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, and CM Punk have managed to defeat Gunther in his entire WWE career, and that would automatically rank him among the favorites to go on and win the tournament. 

Ergo, he would be the statistical favorite to be the last man to face Cena, and it would take a fool to bet against him winning that match when all is said and done as well. So if that is the direction already, would it really hurt to have Gunther do all that and capture the Intercontinental Championship for the second time? Many would say that he brought legitimacy and prestige to the title when he reigned as champion, and it would be a fresh direction for the "Ring General" having lost, won, and lost again the World Heavyweight Championship throughout this year. And what a scalp that would be for what should be the top heel in the company, retiring and dethroning Cena in his last match to become Intercontinental Champion.