John Cena Comments Ahead Of WWE SmackDown Return
John Cena is excited about his return to WWE Smackdown, which takes place one night before Payback.
It was announced two weeks ago that John Cena was returning to tonight’s episode of Smackdown at The Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
For the last four years, the 16-time WWE World Champion John Cena has been a part-time WWE performer after being one of the biggest stars in the company as a full-timer from 2002 to 2019.
At this year’s WrestleMania 39 event, Cena lost a US Title match to Austin Theory. Cena also appeared unannounced at the Money in the Bank Premium Live Event in London, England to promote the idea of England hosting a WrestleMania event some day.
On Twitter/X, John Cena posted about his excitement heading into Smackdown tonight.
Less than 12 hours until #Smackdown! I cherish every minute, now more than ever, I am allowed to spend with at “home” with the @WWE family. C U in Hershey or U can C Me on @WWEonFOX tonight!!
Less than 12 hours until #Smackdown!
I cherish every minute, now more than ever, I am allowed to spend with at “home” with the @WWE family.C U in Hershey or U can C Me on @WWEonFOX tonight!!
— John Cena (@JohnCena) September 1, 2023
While nobody has said it officially, it is believed that the writers/actors strike in Hollywood is contributing to Cena making this appearance as well as future appearances.
John Cena Will Have More WWE Appearances In The Next Two Months
As we covered earlier in the day, John Cena is expected to appear at Saturday’s WWE Payback Premium Live Event as the special guest host. That hasn’t been announced officially, but it could be something that is mentioned on Smackdown tonight.
Recently, WWE announced Cena will be on every Smackdown episode except one in the months of September and October.
- Friday, September 1 – Hershey, Pa. – The Giant Center
- Friday, September 15 – Denver – Ball Arena
- Friday, September 22 – Glendale, Ariz. – Desert Diamond Arena
- Friday, September 29 – Sacramento, Calif. – Golden 1 Center
- Friday, October 6 – St. Louis – Enterprise Center
- Friday, October 13 – Tulsa, Okla. – BOK Center
- Friday, October 20 – San Antonio – AT&T Center
- Friday, October 27 – Milwaukee – Fiserv Forum
The reason that Cena is missing the September 8th Smackdown is that he’ll be wrestling at the WWE Superstar Spectacle event in India with the Raw brand. Cena will team up with Seth Rollins against Imperium’s Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci.
It’s not known if Cena, who Michael Cole calls the “greatest of all time” among other things, will be wrestling on any of those Smackdown episodes. We will have to watch the show to find out.