John Cena to Appear on WWE SmackDown Dec. 30 Following Rumors of Return
Dec 9, 2022
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 18: John Cena, Wipeout on TBS and Peacemaker on HBO Max attends the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2022 arrivals on the red carpet at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 18, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)
Legendary WWE Superstar John Cena is set to make his return to WWE programming later this month.
Mark your calendars, @JohnCena is coming back to #SmackDown on December 30th!
Joe Otterson of Variety first reported Friday that Cena would appear on the Dec. 30 episode of SmackDown, which is being held in Cena's adopted hometown of Tampa, Florida.
While WWE has yet to confirm the upcoming appearance, a source told Otterson to expect some announcements in the coming weeks.
Cena is one of the most decorated performers in WWE history, as his 16 world title reigns are tied with WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair for the most ever in professional wrestling.
While Cena was the unquestioned face of WWE for the better part of 15 years, he has made only sporadic appearances for the company in recent years due to his commitments as a rising star in Hollywood.
The 45-year-old Cena last did something with WWE in June when he appeared on an episode of Raw to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his debut.
Cena did not wrestle or set up a future match, but he cut a promo in which he thanked the fans, and he took part in several backstage segments, including a memorable confrontation with Austin Theory.
Aside from an untelevised dark match in September 2021, Cena's most recent in-ring action came in August 2021 when he lost a Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.
Cena wrestled several live event matches during that time, prompting WWE to coin it "The Summer of Cena."
If Cena does show up on the final SmackDown of 2022, it isn't yet known if it will be a one-off appearance or the start of something bigger.
The Royal Rumble premium live event is set for Jan. 28 in San Antonio, so Cena could very well announce his entry into the men's Royal Rumble match or set the stage for a different match on the card.
Cena has not competed at WrestleMania since WrestleMania 36 in 2020, and fans have eagerly anticipated his return to the biggest stage in the sport.
Doing something at the Royal Rumble would be the ideal way to build toward a WrestleMania match, and appearing on the Dec. 30 SmackDown will serve to fuel speculation of his involvement.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
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WWE Eyes Boxing; WWE Rumors on Cody Rhodes' Injury Rehab and Eric Young's Return
Dec 2, 2022
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JULY 20: Cody Rhodes, winner of WWE Moment of the Year, attends the 2022 ESPYs at Dolby Theatre on July 20, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
WWE Possibly Considering Involvement in Boxing
WWE chairwoman and co-CEO Stephanie McMahon suggested this week that WWE may try to expand its reach into the world of boxing.
Speaking at the Wells Fargo 2022 TMT Summit (h/t WrestlingInc's Ella Jay), McMahon addressed questions about whether WWE would be willing to acquire other smaller wrestling companies.
McMahon didn't rule it out as long as it would "align with our capabilities," but she also brought up the possibility of other acquisitions, including something in the realm of boxing.
Each weight class in boxing has several different champions, often making it difficult to declare a true world champion in a particular weight class.
McMahon compared that to the territory era of wrestling in the early 1980s and prior, and she mentioned how her father, Vince McMahon, centralized things by eliminating many of the territories and growing WWE: "My father, Vince McMahon, who was the Chairman and CEO, obviously had the opportunity to roll up all of those different territories and create one major brand in WWE that is now gone from a regional territorial, content play to a global media franchise."
Vince purchased WWE from his father in 1982 and served as the chairman, CEO and head of creative until his retirement in July.
Prior to Vince's father focusing on professional wrestling, his grandfather, Jess McMahon, was a boxing promoter. Vince dipped his toe in the boxing promoting waters as well, but it was fleeting.
Vince rarely hesitated to make superstar boxers part of his product, though, with Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. all playing big roles at WrestleMania, plus Tyson Fury having a match in Saudi Arabia more recently.
Boxing may not be as popular now as it once was, but putting the WWE promotional machine by boxing is something that could help lead to a revitalization should the company decide to go that route.
Rhodes Reportedly Back to Regular Training Amid Injury Recovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-r9Nb5F3qo
Six months after suffering a torn pectoral muscle, Cody Rhodes is reportedly making major strides in his recovery.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Rhodes training is "back to normal," and he is working with "top-level trainers" in an attempt to put on size ahead of his return.
Rhodes tore his pec in the days leading up to the Hell in a Cell premium live event in June. Rather than bowing out of his scheduled Hell in a Cell match against Seth Rollins, he battled through it and competed despite a massive bruise taking up one side of his chest.
WWE subsequently wrote Rhodes off television, and he has been working toward his eventual comeback ever since.
When WWE announced that Rhodes had undergone surgery, it was noted that he would be out of action for nine months.
That timetable would put Rhodes in line to return in March, meaning he would be back in time for a rivalry and match at WrestleMania 39. Many questioned the legitimacy of the timeline, however.
The Royal Rumble is in late January, and if Rhodes can make it back in time for that, he will undoubtedly be viewed as one of the top contenders to win the men's Royal Rumble match and challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania.
Meltzer noted that it would make sense to keep Rhodes' return a surprise, and that is especially true if he is back in time for the Royal Rumble, as he would receive a massive reaction as a surprise entrant.
Eric Young Reportedly Returning to WWE
Triple H has brought many former WWE Superstars back to the company since taking over as head of creative in July, and he reportedly has an agreement in place for yet another return.
According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, veteran Eric Young will be back with WWE soon.
Young signed with WWE in 2016 and enjoyed a great deal of success in NXT. He created the stable known as Sanity and held the NXT Tag Team Championships at one point. Sanity did not receive much of a push once called up to the main roster in 2018, however, and Young was released from the company in 2020.
The Canadian star returned to Impact Wrestling after his release, which was the promotion he was part of from 2004 to 2016. Young held the Impact World Championship, X-Division Championship and Tag Team Championships during his first run with the company.
Shortly after returning, Young became a two-time Impact world champion, and he also won the Impact Tag Team Championships with Violent By Design stablemates Rhino, Joe Doering and Deaner.
On Friday, Impact aired a vignette involving Young and Deaner. It ended with Deaner stabbing Young, which was apparently Impact's way of writing him out of the company:
It is unclear precisely when Young will be back in WWE or which brand he will be part of, but the return of Sanity seems like a possibility given Triple H's past affinity for it.
Nikki Cross recently went back to the gimmick she had as part of Sanity, which may have been WWE's way of setting the table for the return of Young.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.
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