Does putting Cena against Nakamura have a bigger meaning?

Yeah, means that America boutta have crushed Bulgaria, Japan, and then India on the path to 17 title reigns

It's more short sighted booking by WWE. The first meeting between these two should be at the top of a card of a PPV. Not a tv match probably ending in shenanigans.

Would the real Shinsuke Nakamura please stand up? The King of Strong Style has been missing since 4/1/16. Have you seen him?

I think they're largely doing the match so they don't miss their shot at doing it. Who knows when it could happen again with the roster shakeups and with Cena only working in a part time capacity. WWE isn't exactly huge on face vs face matchups and there is about a zero percent chance either guy turns heel. I don't care if it happens at WrestleMania or on Superstars, just as long as both guys absolutely bring it until we get the inevitable Corbin interference. This feels like something they fully intend to put on that Best of Raw and Smackdown 2017 DVD.

Act like this isn't leading to Nakamura and AJ Styles for the US title and MOTY

Yeah. There are a few things I think are at play here.

Like you said, Cena is a part time guy and they really don't know how much longer they've got with him. I think that's precisely why we've seen a shift in the main event scene over the last few months and why, for a while, it seemed like they were going to put Lesnar/Reigns on Summerslam. They want the Cena/Reigns match and they're worried that if they don't do it (relatively) soon, they may lose their chance. This is the same deal, on a much smaller scale.

I also think this is a test for Shinsuke. To say he's been underwhelming since coming to the main roster would be an understatement. If he can't tear the house down with "big match John", there isn't much hope for his WWE career going forward, at least as a main event player. Remember, Vince McMahon judges main event talent based on how good they make Roman Reigns and John Cena look. That's precisely why AJ Styles went from just another guy to one of the top acts in the company in a very short amount of time.

Additionally, the match just isn't as big as it might have been had Shinsuke been brought in differently. I think they're hoping to use this match as a catalyst to Shinsuke's rise (if he shows up big) rather than a payoff to it.

ugh, i hope for our sake they don't do that. The whole point of the gimmick match is lost if it's repeated again on the same card. What was that all cage matches PPV TNA had/has? The concept is dreadful.

In response to Reigns/Cena, I would be fine with WWE pulling the trigger on Reigns/Cena for WWE Universal title at Mania next year. They could finally do that, have AJ/Nakamura for WWE Championship and Strowman Vs Lesnar all on the main card. Now the problem would be holding back on these programs until then because WWE loves to jump the gun.

I had just finished reading "The Death of WCW," which I highly recommend to everyone to read, and this seems like yet one more similarity that WWE is doing that WCW had done that lead to their demise. Good to know I can check off "giving a high profile match away for free instead of using it to sell PPVs."

Glad to see WWE putting the horse before the cart again. At least we still get multi-man matches like how next week we have 3/4 of the Fatal Four Way match for Summer Slam going in a Triple Threat match.

Sure am stoked I'll be burnt out on the Summer Slam card having already seen it before I see it, and then see it the following night on Raw in a rematch!

I agree.

I could see Cena beating Jinder, Corbin coming down but Nakamaura coming down to attack Corbin. That continues their feud and it also aligns Nakamura with Cena.

I could see the Survior Series main event being Cena-Nakamura or a triple threat including Corbin.

WWE does like to screw around with storylines and stuff but I don't see them watering down Cena's 17th. At least I hope not.