It's official, ladies and gentlemen. John Cena will be competing at WrestleMania against Austin Theory, and the US Title will be on the line. A championship Cena become somewhat synonymous with during a certain part of his career, winning it on five occasions and arguably making it feel more important than it has done before or since via his open challenges.

Tying Another Ric Flair Title Record

Unlike the World Title, the US Championship doesn't boast a handful of stars who have held the belt more than ten times. In fact, no one has been US Champion on more than six occasions. Sitting with Cena in the runner-up spot are the likes of Bret Hart, Lex Luger, and Wahoo McDaniel. At WrestleMania, Cena will have the chance to pull ahead of that pack and sit on top of the US mountain.

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The one man who currently boasts more US Title reigns than Cena and the others mentioned above is, of course, Ric Flair. US Champion on six occasions, Cena will have the opportunity to tie yet another Flair title record at WrestleMania. The two of them are also tied on 16 World Titles apiece, a record many fans thought Cena would have broken by now.

Ric Flair's Controversial Sixth Reign

Instead of painting that picture at WrestleMania, WWE is going a different route. There's even an argument to be made that Cena will be the first person in history to hold the US Title six times if he wins at WrestleMania. Flair's fifth reign as US Champion began at a house show in 1980 and didn't technically appear to count for a very long time. However, WWE has since referenced The Nature Boy as a six-time champion, implying it considers it an official reign.

All of the above may well be immaterial as it seems unlikely Cena will beat Theory at WrestleMania. Not only would putting a title on someone who is presumably heading off again right after WrestleMania be a little ill-advised, but this really feels like it needs to be a passing-of-the-torch moment. There are a lot of parallels to draw between Theory and Cena, and this match can be the launching pad for the former to truly start becoming his own version of the latter.