WWE SmackDown: 4 Possible Opponents For John Cena

Credit: WWE.com

John Cena will make his return to television on the New Year’s Day episode of WWE SmackDown, and here are four potential opponents for the 16-time world champion.

Initially, John Cena was only expected to make live event appearances in late December and early January, with PWInsider.com reporting a list of dates for Cena, beginning with a Raw Live Event on Dec. 26. Cena was also scheduled for WWE SmackDown events on the 27th, 28th, and 30th.

However, we learned on Christmas Eve, via Santa Claus in a Vince McMahon costume, that Cena would be making his return to both Raw and SmackDown shortly. And on the Christmas Eve episode of SmackDown Live, WWE announced that Cena would be making his return to television on the Jan. 1 episode of SmackDown.

We haven’t seen Cena wrestle in a WWE ring since teaming up with Bobby Lashley to take on Elias and Kevin Owens at WWE Super Show-Down, though Cena only wrestled in a limited role. His last big match was at WrestleMania 34 when he lost to The Undertaker, his last Raw match came against Kane, and his last SmackDown-affiliated match was a Six-Pack Challenge at Fastlane, in which long-time nemesis AJ Styles retained the title.

Following Styles’s shocking punch of CEO and chairman Vince McMahon, could Cena and AJ briefly renew their rivalry on New Year’s Day? Or will WWE’s promise of fresh matchups lead to a completely new story for Cena next week? Here are four possible opponents for Cena, pretending he does get a chance to wrestle on SmackDown before the Royal Rumble PPV.