With John Cena having been in the main event spotlight and featured in the prominent storylines throughout the WWE for just about the last decade, his left triceps injury and subsequent surgery that has sidelined him for four-to-six months actually opened the door for a few Superstars clamoring to get their chance.
Daniel Bryan said recently that Cena's absence from the squared circle is good for the WWE.
"I think right now it's a great thing because it gives other guys an opportunity to step up and fill that spot that Cena's been in for years," Bryan told CBS-19 in Cleveland, according to Prowrestling.net.
It was Cena who actually lost the WWE Title to Bryan at WWE's SummerSlam pay-per-view back on Aug. 18. Cena wrestled injured and had a cast over his elbow due to it ballooning out and looking like a baseball following his triceps injury, and going into it he knew it would be his last match for a while as he announced the following night on WWE's Aug. 19 edition of Monday Night RAW that he'd have to undergo the operation to repair the injury and would be out four-to-six months.
Though Bryan immediately dropped the title to another top star in Randy Orton that very same night at SummerSlam, he still believes that Cena's absence game him the opportunity to enter into a major storyline.
Bryan was given the chance to win the gold back at the Night of Champions pay-per-view this past Sunday and after doing so, the next phase of the storyline came into place. Bryan was stripped of the title on Monday's RAW, just one night after winning the title.
Bryan said he believes that Cena being sidelined is going to be good for him and other budding stars on the roster looking to break out on TV.
"When Cena's on the roster it's X amount of time every show is devoted to John Cena, now it's being given to other guys who have the opportunity to shine and that's better for when John Cena comes back because now we have John Cena, we have me, we have other guys who are stepping up and becoming stars," Bryan told CBS-19 Cleveland, according to Prowrestling.net. "And that's what happened in the Attitude Era with Steve Austin and The Rock, that a lot of guys left and created a lot of spots for a lot of guys to come in and be like 'hey, we're the new stars' and that's what's going to happen now."
Cena's most likely return date isn't until late-January when the WWE's Royal Rumble pay-per-view rolls around. Rumors circulated last week that Cena may return in October after The Wrestling Observer Newsletter broke news that the WWE will be using the Cenation leader as its on-air mouthpiece for its October Breast Cancer Awareness Month initiative, but Cena dispelled the rumors via Twitter.
Despite gossip from 'so called' @WWEUniverse @WWE 'insiders' I am NOT returning 2 b a mouthpiece. I WILL return 2 b a CHAMPION #NOC
— John Cena (@JohnCena) September 15, 2013
With Cena out until January, Bryan has been prominently featured in the main struggle on WWE TV between himself and a modern day corporation consisting of Triple H, Randy Orton, the McMahons and The Shield, who are doing everything in their power to keep the title off of him.
Following his victory at Sunday's Night of Champions event, Bryan insisted he didn't feel like the champion and couldn't believe that he was representing the WWE as its main guy.
"Until I get actually get the title and get it in my bag for a night, I don't think I'll feel like a champion," Bryan told CBS-19 in Cleveland, according to Prowrestling.net. "So tonight, after the show, hopefully I will feel like a champion."
Bryan's reign was short-lived, as Triple H stripped him of the gold on Monday's RAW.
While Cena will one day return and hope to grab back the spotlight, Bryan will continue to bask in it during his absence as the storyline continues to play out over the next few months.
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