The Cena match only would have worked if he still had The Streak.
There's ways to build that match without the Streak being attached to it... honestly, that'd be the laziest way to book that match. Oh look, Cena wants to be the next person in line to break the Streak! It's simple and it'd work, but I'd like to believe there are ways other than that one thing every year, and if it was to be Taker's last match, THAT would sell it way more than anything.