As WrestleMania season approaches, speculation will heat up regarding the top matches. Regardless of the state of storytelling and ratings, WWE has consistently looked to deliver some quality main events at its flagship pay-per-view, and there is no reason to assume WrestleMania 26 in 2010 will be any different.
One particular set of main event plans has been especially prominent in speculation. First, the plan was for Chris Jericho vs. Edge, building off the storyline rift created when Edge’s injury caused the tag team to split up. Then, news came that WWE was instead considering running Jericho vs. Undertaker at the big show.
Now, stemming largely from the recent interaction with Undertaker and John Cena on RAW, there is talk of booking WWE’s most respected active veteran against its biggest contemporary star. There is legitimate talk of running Undertaker vs. John Cena.
Interesting to the speculation is the fact that such a match would undoubtedly require John Cena to work as the heel. Even if WWE tried to avoid a definitive heel turn, as the match neared, the crowd would clearly side with Taker, and heat for the main event would hinge on Cena’s ability to play into the heel crowd reaction.
WWE has long opposed turning Cena heel, as doing so would undoubtedly hurt his merchandise sales rapport with the younger WWE audience. As he is so valuable in appealing to the family portion of WWE’s viewership, WWE might opt to hold off on putting Cena in a “go heel or go home” situation come WrestleMania, as that would naturally be a heavy merchandise sales period.