Kevin Owens, John Cena, and an opportunity

So, I was watching the Battleground PPV on the WWE Network (for just $9.99). A lot of great matches, but the one that really struck me was Owens Vs. Cena.

Owens is really excited about his great (losing) PPV effort.

Kevin Owens and John Cena put together another amazing match. But, unsurprisingly, Cena again came out on top. If recent history is any indication, this means that Owens can go back to mid-card heel status, joining folks like Bray Wyatt and Rusev, who had long-running feuds with John Cena, but ultimately came out as the loser in their feud. And that sucks. It's almost like the WWE is afraid to give anyone a clean win in a feud vs. Cena.  But there are some great things they could do on RAW tonight.

In one twist, have Owens accuse Cena of going into business for himself. Owens opens raw, in the ring, holding some papers. Turns out, it's the outline or script for Battleground. Owens flips to page 37, and points to a line, reading "Owens wins clean over Cena".

The crowd would be STUNNED. I mean, most fans know wrestling is scripted, and outcomes are predetermined. But it's never, ever ever mentioned on air. At the same time, though, Owens is saying that his match DID NOT end according to plan, that he and Cena were legit fighting during the last part of their PPV match.

From here, there are tons of ways to go. Cena can claim that he was going to put Owens over, but Owens kept trying to win with Cena's own moves. Keep the rivalry going, but with an "unsanctioned street fight" or some other sort of gimmick to emphasize that this is a shoot fight, not another scripted Cena win.

Or you could have other victims of Cena's selfishness come out. Rusev claims he was originally booked to win at 'Mania but it was changed at the last minute. Bray Wyatt claims he was supposed to get a win over Cena in their last match. Cesaro says he was told that "a close loss to Cena is all he can ever hope to get from the writers." Even Damien Sandow comes out, asking Cena how it is that the rest of the roster has to put up with losing streaks, ridiculous gimmicks, and being buried for months at a time, while Cena's character stays right at the top, night after night. Randy Orton comes out to second that motion, as does Chris Jericho. Maybe these guys band together to beat Cena, since that's the only way Cena will drop the belt.

Or have Roman Reigns come out and talk to Cena. Romans says that Cena gave him a talk earlier this year, telling him not to worry about having to lose to Rollins at 'Mania. Cena had told Rollins that it was important to lose sometimes, otherwise fans aren't in doubt about the outcome of your match. But now Reigns thinks Cena was just trying to slow down an ascending star, and Reigns is done jobbing for everyone else.

Or have The Authority come out, telling Cena his suspended from in-ring competition, since he can't be trusted to follow orders. Owens, meanwhile, is also suspended , because he's said things that the WWE doesn't like saying on air, even though it's an "entertainment product". They announce a tournament for the vacated U.S. title, but Cena and Owens continually interfere in the matches, making sure the scripted winners are disqualified.

A storyline like this could bring back the element of unpredictability that the "Reality Era" seems to be missing. It gives the talent a reason to be angry with each other, and a reason to fight. For casual fans, they'll start to wonder if matches are really ending the way they're written, or if their favorites really can choose to win if they wish.