WWE Raw Results: Why John Cena Vs. The Undertaker Is Still A Huge Deal At WrestleMania 34

Sunday night at WWE Fastlane, John Cena resumed his losing ways after failing to capture his 17th WWE Championship in the 6-Pack Challenge main event. But Cena appeared Monday night on Raw to address his beaten path to WrestleMania and delighted Detroit, Mich. when he challenged none other than The Undertaker.

John Cena can lose from now until the end of his career and [-]
a match against The Undertaker will still be seen as a big deal.

Cena’s character had really committed to an angle that truly tests one’s ability to suspend disbelief as he has insisted for weeks that, despite being perhaps WWE’s biggest star, there is no path for him to compete at WrestleMania. Cena went as far as to tease that he had no role at WrestleMania, and he would simply attend WWE’s biggest show of the year as a fan.

But all that changed on a dime following Cena’s sudden challenge, which figures to bring Undertaker out of presumed retirement to accept Cena’s challenge in a long-awaited dream match fit for WWE’s premiere stage.

Common knowledge dictates that Cena’s handful of losses since returning at WWE Survivor Series have diminished his character, but that simply isn’t true. With over 13 years as a WWE top star, there may be no amount of losses that will sabotage the perception of Cena as a living legend among the star-driven WWE audience.

Cena’s advertised appearance on SmackDown Live translated to a 3% increase in viewership as the blue brand scored its second-highest viewership of the year with an average audience of 2.692 million. SmackDown Live viewership declined to 2.590 million with no John Cena appearance for the go-home show.

Thus far, Ronda Rousey, arguably WWE’s biggest free-agent signing to date, has not had the same impact on Raw just yet. Rousey’s debut appearance on Raw the night after the Elimination Chamber drew 2.884 million in the third hour, which was slightly up from 2.821 million the week before, although the third hour still saw a precipitous drop from the second hour. Rousey’s appearance to kick off Raw this past week resulted in first-hour views of 3.302 million compared to 3.407 million the week before.

Cena clearly still has drawing power to spare, and the novelty of a first-time matchup with The Undertaker at WrestleMania—combined with the fact that The Undertaker has made minimal appearances since suffering a loss in what was believed to be his final match at WrestleMania 33—will create a dream match no matter how many times Cena loses on his road to New Orleans.

For those seeking evidence of just how interested fans are in Undertaker vs. John Cena, look no further than the outpour of jubilation from the Honda Center in Anaheim when Cena teased a WrestleMania match with The Deadman. The Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit had an identical reaction when Cena issued his latest challenge.