In some years, the Road to WrestleMania is paved with uncertainty as we see many changes between the first of the year and the Granddaddy Of Them All itself. In other years, everything is obvious. One constant? John Cena.

This year, one brand is obvious (Raw with Roman Reigns challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship) and the other is becoming harder to ascertain with each passing Tuesday.

That, of course, is WWE Smackdown, and it’s reigning WWE Champion AJ Styles.

The path seemed obvious: AJ Styles wins the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble (he ended up winning it earlier) and Shinsuke Nakamura, after coming up short against Jinder Mahal, wins the Royal Rumble match.

However, AJ Styles dropped two singles matches to both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in the past two weeks and John Cena is rumored to be “Big Match John” at WrestleMania once again.

So it takes only a small educated guess to see where this is headed: John Cena going for title reign #17 on the biggest stage, WWE WrestleMania, against one of his best opponents in Kevin Owens.

And it’s quite easy to get there:

Step 1 – Kevin Owens wins the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble

With AJ Styles having to stand across from both Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble, the course is clear for Kevin Owens to leave Philadelphia as the WWE Champion. Title changes at the Royal Rumble aren’t unheard of in the least either, and this can be done in a way that keeps AJ strong.

For those of you claiming Sami Zayn might leave as WWE Champion? No.

Step 2 – John Cena wins the 2018 WWE Royal Rumble

I know, this isn’t what you want to see. But at this point, we only have three real possible winners of the Royal Rumble match (on the men’s side): John Cena, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Roman Reigns.

Raw has the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, and as Chairshot Radio’s Chris Platt will tell you, WWE booking these days indicates that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Expect them to be lazy and take the easy way out by having Roman Reigns earn the shot at Brock Lesnar by winning in the Chamber.

That leaves John Cena and Shinsuka Nakamura on the Smackdown side. Cena is the one guy not “announced” by Columbus, Ohio’s Nationwide Arena for Fastlane’s rumored 5-Way WWE Championship Match (Styles, Owens, Zayn, Nakamura, and Randy Orton being those announced).

If WWE wants to make Cena’s 17th championship victory a big deal (and obviously they do), then a win at WrestleMania set in motion by a Royal Rumble win makes total sense. Kevin Owens is the perfect heel foil for the build, and we know Owens and Cena can deliver in the ring.

What About AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura?

This is the match everyone wants to see at WrestleMania, and honestly you still can! It may not be for a championship, but the build is easy and the stage is just as big. Styles vs. Nakamura in front of 75,000+ at the New Orleans Superdome is a huge deal, and you know that match would be amazing.

So, John Cena winning #17 and breaking Ric Flair’s record against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 34…are you ready?