John Cena will return to WWE SmackDown this week on Feb. 28, and here are three possible ways the company can make the biggest use of his time on the screen.
Nowadays, John Cena is a rare sight on WWE television due to his increasing obligations in Hollywood. But despite his diminished presence on television, Cena’s impact on professoinal wrestling as a crossover superstar is as profound as ever. When Cena does show up on our screens, we feel that much more graced by his presence.
Despite spending the prime of his wrestling career booed by audiences – it’s the burden a top star must bear, after all – Cena is beloved by all corners of the WWE Universe. So when he returns this week on WWE SmackDown in his hometown of Boston at the TD Garden, you can bet everyone in the arena (and online!) will be buzzing.
Before WrestleMania 35, Cena put over Becky Lynch in a segment and then put over Finn Balor in a match. He’s doing whatever he can to help the next generation of wrestlers, though WWE likely also want Cena to be a part of big-ticket matches with the so-called “old-timers” to draw in fans looking for nostalgia.
It’s a balancing act. Here are three possible segments for Cena to be a part of when he makes his return to SmackDown, which has always felt like the 16-time champion’s true home.
A refresher with The Fiend
Bray Wyatt will defend the Universal Championship as The Fiend in Saudi Arabia on Thursday at the Super ShowDown Pay Per View. Before his program with Goldberg began, most people assumed Wyatt would pull off a big win and defend the title at WrestleMania 36 against Roman Reigns, potentially in the show’s main event.
But now, there’s reason to believe Goldberg could pull off the upset and use his status as a champion to put over an even bigger star who played in the NFL and uses the spear.
Regardless of what happens in Saudi Arabia, a segment involving Wyatt and Cena could be fantastic. Wyatt has been targeting wrestlers he has a history with. Seth Rollins and Wyatt were rivals during the great faction war between the Wyatt Family and The Shield. Daniel Bryan? Well, he JOINED the Wyatt Family just to betray them in the end. And a feud with Reigns would carry the same connections as his feud with Rollins, with the Big Dog providing a poetic downfall for The Fiend.
However, Cena and Wyatt have their own history at WrestleMania, which featured an electrifying build that was only let down by the eventual match. (That seems to be a theme with Wyatt: check out WrestleMania 33 against Randy Orton.)
But for one night only, a Cena/Wyatt segment could be chilling and help Wyatt out a lot, especially if he enters WrestleMania 36 as the Universal Champion.
Another segment with Elias
John Cena and Elias have quite the connection. Elias’ first major star-making moment occurred on Christmas Day in 2017 when “The Drifter” announced to the 16-time champion that WWE stands for “Walk With Elias”. The story has since become legendary.
Both men had a run-in at WrestleMania 36 when Cena showed up as the Dr. of Thuganomics to make an unannounced interruption of Elias’ concert. Cena enjoys working with Elias, which has led to on-and-off rumors that there could be a WrestleMania match between them this year. Note that Big Match John’s role at the Show of Shows is completely up in the air.
I’m not sure Cena vs. Elias is the best option as a WrestleMania match, since it would be quick, anticlimactic, and serve no real purpose beyond the show for either man.
But I am ALL for the on-screen interactions between these two wrestlers. Cena and Elias have amazing chemistry on the mic together, and it would be an absolute joy to see them up to some more shenanigans this Friday night on FOX.
Sure, Cena could push storylines further by being in a Universal Title-related segment with Goldberg or Bray Wyatt, and The Miz and Cena are always a good time.
However, Elias and Cena are pure magic. So sign me up!
War of words with Roman Reigns
Remember when Roman Reigns defeated John Cena at No Mercy 2017? I still have to blink twice when I watch clips of their back-and-forth promos or the match itself, because it was surreal to see a match between two men who have been WWE’s absolute top stars on a “B” Pay Per View. Then again, Dolph Ziggler put his career on the line in a Feud of the Year blow-off with The Miz at No Mercy, so maybe the PPV has more going for it than a chilling theme song.
Reigns and Cena haven’t crossed paths in the two-plus-years since their amazing rivalry in the Fall of 2017, which set in motion a mid-life crisis of sorts for the Cena character. (Remember how dejected he looked when he was eliminated from the Chamber in February? Or how desperately he kept begging The Undertaker for a spot on the WrestleMania card week after week on Raw?)
The year 2020 is going to be a massive one for Reigns. Regardless of who he faces at WrestleMania 36, he’s winning the Universal Title that he never lost. And for as much as Drew McIntyre would be a great candidate to win in the main event over WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, I still think Reigns gets his crowning moment to close the show.
But what if Cena has a role to play in this? If Reigns is about to have a massive coronation at WrestleMania 36 in Tampa, shouldn’t Cena play a role in the build? After all, he interacted with Becky Lynch before she was the hero of the WrestleMania 35 main event, so Cena could interact with the top babyface on SmackDown who is headed for a big ‘Mania moment. And the history between the two of them should only make a potential promo between them even more awesome.
Expect to see Cena and Reigns trade friendly barbs with callbacks to their old feud before Cena “gets serious” and verbally puts over Reigns in the strongest way possible. That is, if this all happens.