In 1993, Hulk Hogan was long in the tooth and refused to put over Bret Hart on his way out. The plan had originally been for Hogan to get the title at WrestleMania IX and then put Hart over at SummerSlam 1993. This would have established Hart, a smaller and less-obviously juiced technically sound wrestler, as the new face of a new WWE that was moving away from Hogan-era excesses.

Instead of putting a new face over on the way out, Hogan lost in a shmoz to Yokozuna and walked away from wrestling (until Ted Turner backed a dump truck of cash on him). Well, history does sometimes repeat itself in ways that are for the better.

In 2013, John Cena won the WWE title at WrestleMania. Like Hogan in 1993, Cena is clearly long in the tooth as a main event babyface and WWE is looking for someone to succeed him and be the corporate champion they need, while also adjusting to changing tastes. Enter Daniel Bryan, who is quite possibly the best wrestler alive (as Hart was in 1993). At SummerSlam 2013, John Cena ate the Flying Knee and put Bryan over clean as a whistle (we'll ignore the arm injury for right now). In his return, Cena did something the Hulkster never would have dreamed of: he became Intercontinental Champion.

In 2013, the world heavyweight championship (WHC) is roughly equivalent to where the IC title was in 1993. It's a worker's belt, it's the clear B-level championship, and it's for the guys who aren't quite ready for prime time. For all the crap Cena deservedly gets about his on-screen character and all the "LOL CENA WINS" memes we see, John Cena just took a major step backwards for the good of the wrestling business. It's as though Hogan put over Hart and then came back to take the IC title off late-era Ted DiBiase.

We don't know where Cena will go with the WHC, but we do know the WHC will move up the card. Presumably, ADR will lose his rematch to Cena, and hopefully Damien Sandow will cash in his Money in the Bank contract. If history is any guide,Sandow will get a cuckold's reign as WHC before Cena takes his title back in preparation for a run at the Undisputed Championship (and a record-tying 16th reign) in a potential WMXXX unification match. Along the way, Cena will have put over Daniel Bryan, maybe Damien Sandow, and raised the bar on the b-level title.

Imagine Hulk Hogan doing THAT.