John Cena

Nikki Bella denied that a recent, since-deleted tweet was regarding her ex-fiance John Cena in comments made on The Bellas Podcast.

"So, I put out a tweet, and it went like wildfire because there were some people and some headlines that thought I was throwing shade to my ex-fiance. Which, goodness people, it was not the case," Nikki said, per Ashley Boucher of People (h/t Yahoo Entertainment).

The tweet read as follows:

"Sometimes your misery is another's happiness. Sometimes we come into someone's life to teach them something or how to live. Or someone comes into ours do to the same. Smile knowing you showed them how life is really meant to be lived, by loving, by kindness, by letting go of rules."

Nikki and twin sister Brie Bella are slated to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with the rest of the 2020 class, which includes New World Order, The British Bulldog, Batista and John "Bradshaw" Layfield.

Nikki mentioned that she simply liked tweeting poetry and quotes before closing as follows:

"So please, everyone know, that tweet had nothing to do with John," she added. "It had to do with everything in my life and it just came to me and I posted it. I will never throw shade to John nor any of my exes."

Nikki appeared to end her relationship with Cena on good terms after making the following statement to People's Maria Pasquini:

"After I called off the engagement, we tried to work on our relationship to get back to where it was, and in order to move forward with our wedding. After much time and soul-searching alone and together, we have decided to officially part ways.

"I had a beautiful and loving 6-year relationship with a wonderful man. I have the utmost respect for John, but I know this is what's best for me."

Nikki and fiance Artem Chigvintsev are expecting their first child. Cena will be taking part in WrestleMania 36 in a match against "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.

Two weeks after accepting The Fiend Bray Wyatt's challenge for a match at WrestleMania 36, John Cena returned to WWE SmackDown on Friday.

Cena initially came out and cut a promo against his WrestleMania competitor, saying the WWE should be investing more into other WWE Superstars as opposed to ones who he feels receive multiple chances like The Fiend.

However, The Fiend then interrupted Cena and provided his own thoughts, which culminated in him saying that WrestleMania will end in a slaughter.

Cena appearing on Friday's SmackDown figured to be a big draw, but the show was moved from Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with no fans in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic.

When he made his official return two weeks ago, Cena cut a passionate promo and insisted he did not want to be part of the WrestleMania card so as not to take a spot from a younger Superstar.

His tone quickly changed, however, when The Fiend appeared behind him on the stage and pointed to the WrestleMania sign. Cena then tipped his cap to Wyatt, which confirmed that they would do battle on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

While Cena was not on SmackDown last week, Wyatt addressed the WWE Universe with an episode of Firefly Funhouse. During that segment, Wyatt discussed his WrestleMania 30 match against Cena, which saw Cena beat him.

Wyatt suggested that the loss had a significant impact on him and was a factor in the eventual development of The Fiend character.

Cena returning to WWE programming is significant since he did not compete at last year's WrestleMania and hasn't had a match since January 2019. Given his status as an up-and-coming star in Hollywood, being a WWE Superstar is no longer the top priority for the 16-time world champion.

He is a massive star worldwide, however, and now that he isn't appearing on WWE television every week, fans seem legitimately excited to have him back.

Conventional wisdom suggests that Cena will put The Fiend over at WrestleMania, especially after The Fiend surprisingly dropped the Universal Championship to Goldberg at WWE Super ShowDown.

Cena is at a point in his career where he has seen and done it all and can start to give back to other talent, and his rivalry with The Fiend seems to be an example of that.

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John Cena's entrance into the Fast and Furious film saga is being pushed back to 2021.

The franchise announced it was moving the release date of F9 from May 2020 to April 2021. Filmmakers did not specify that the delay is due to the spread of the coronavirus but instead noted the "move is made with the safety of everyone as our foremost consideration":

Cena was cast as Jakob Toretto, brother of Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto, in the ninth installment of the franchise that has seen numerous A-list celebrities and action stars appear

In recent years, Cena has transitioned from the wrestling ring to the silver screen with roles in Daddy's Home, Trainwreck, Blockers, Bumblebee and The Marine. 

F9 will now be released on April 2, 2021, in the United States. 

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Bret Hart Criticizes Hulk Hogan During Q&A

WWE Hall of Famer Bret "Hitman" Hart has long had issues with Hulk Hogan, and it became abundantly clear during a recent Q&A session on Instagram Live that the hard feelings haven't subsided.

According to Alistair McGeorge of Metro, Hart was asked about Hogan during the Q&A and responded, "Do I like Hulk Hogan? No I don't. I think he's a phony piece of s--t."

The problems between Hart and Hogan date back to 1993. Hart dropped the WWF Championship to Yokozuna in the main event of WrestleMania 9 only for Hogan to show up, challenge Yoko to an impromptu match and win the title with Hart's storyline blessing.

Hart claimed in his book, Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, that the plan called for Hogan to put Hart over by dropping the title back to him a couple of months later at King of the Ring.

Instead, Hart claimed that Hogan told Vince McMahon that he refused to do so. As a result, Hogan lost the title to Yokozuna at King of the Ring instead, which marked his final match with the company until 2002.

Hart went on to win the 1994 Royal Rumble and beat Yokozuna for the title in the main event of WrestleMania 10, but it is clear that Hart still harbors negative feelings toward Hogan for what he believes was a major slight.

Foley Believes WrestleMania 36 Will Be Cena's Last Match

John Cena is set to face The Fiend Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania after accepting his challenge two weeks ago, but will it be the final match of Cena's illustrious career?

Count WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley among those who could see Cena calling it quits following his clash with The Fiend on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

During an appearance on Wrestling Inc Daily, Foley said, "It's gonna be very interesting and I think it adds another huge match as John Cena gave an impassioned promo and it leads me to believe this will be his final match. I would not be surprised to see The Fiend come out of Mania stronger than ever."

When Cena appeared on SmackDown two weeks ago, he cut a promo about how he did not want to be part of WrestleMania this year so as not to take a spot from a younger talent. However, Cena changed his tune after The Fiend challenged him.

The 42-year-old Cena hasn't wrestled a match since January 2019, and he has not competed at WrestleMania since two years ago at WrestleMania 34, when he faced The Undertaker in an impromptu match.

Cena is undoubtedly more focused on his burgeoning Hollywood career than his status as a WWE Superstar nowadays, but one can only assume that he has plenty of good years and big matches left in him if he wants to keep contributing to WWE on a part-time basis.

Cena has made it clear over the years that WWE will always be home to him, so it is difficult to envision him hanging his sneakers up for good after WrestleMania, especially with the likes of The Undertaker and Goldberg wrestling into their 50s.

Jeff Hardy and Paige Set to Appear on SmackDown

WWE announced Monday during Raw that both Jeff Hardy and Paige will appear on Friday night's episode of SmackDown.

Hardy has been out since April 2019 due to a leg injury, but he appeared on FS1's WWE Backstage last week to announce he was officially cleared to compete and had been backstage at SmackDown for a couple of weeks.

It is unclear exactly what Hardy will do on SmackDown, but with WrestleMania less than one month away, this is the ideal time for him to return. Daniel Bryan is perhaps the biggest name on SmackDown without a clear direction for WrestleMania, so perhaps Hardy could get involved with him.

Paige has not appeared on Raw or SmackDown since October when she was officially dropped as The Kabuki Warriors' manager. She has, however, been a weekly fixture on WWE Backstage.

In the SmackDown promo, it was revealed that the former Divas and NXT Women's champion will address SmackDown women's champion Bayley on this week's show.

Paige underwent emergency surgery to remove an ovarian cyst last week, but she has apparently recovered quickly enough to take part in a key segment on SmackDown.

While Paige had to retire due to a career-ending neck injury, she accomplished a lot during her time in WWE and can still be a major asset due to both her credibility as a performer and her ability to cut strong promos.

It isn't clear what WWE is planning to do with the SmackDown women's title at WrestleMania as of now, but Paige may have some involvement in making that announcement.

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With Elimination Chamber in the books, WWE is solely focused on WrestleMania 36, which will emanate from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on April 5.

WrestleMania is always a star-studded affair with several big matches, but this year's 'Mania is shaping up to be a particularly special one because of the mix of new stars likely to be born and legends making rare appearances on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

The full WrestleMania card isn't known, but most of the big matches have been announced, including bouts that will see the company's most important titles defended.

With WrestleMania 36 on the horizon, here is a rundown of a few big matches and moments you should expect to see in Tampa.

Drew McIntyre Finally Becomes World Champion

While many of the top matches at WrestleMania feature Superstars with several world title reigns on their resumes, that isn't the case with Drew McIntyre.

McIntyre was referred to as The Chosen One when he broke through in WWE around a decade ago and seemed like a surefire future world champion. While he won the intercontinental and tag team titles, he never quite lived up to the hype and was released from the company in 2014.

That could have been the end of McIntyre's story, but he reinvented himself on the independent scene, returned to WWE as part of NXT in 2017 and quickly worked his way back up the ladder.

McIntyre scored the biggest victory of his career at January's Royal Rumble, when he won the men's titular match. During that bout, McIntyre eliminated Brock Lesnar with a Claymore Kick, which set the stage for their WrestleMania meeting.

Lesnar is the WWE champion and has been a dominant force throughout his WWE tenure, but McIntyre is one of the few who have believably matched up with him from a physical standpoint, and that has been apparent during the build to their match.

At last year's WrestleMania, Lesnar put over Seth Rollins in a big way. Also, Kofi Kingston beat Daniel Bryan to become WWE champion for the first time. McIntyre beating Lesnar would essentially be a melding of those moments.

McIntyre's rise is one of the biggest feel-good stories in WWE, plus he undoubtedly has the look, personality and in-ring ability needed to be a top guy.

WWE is always looking to make new top stars, and CEO Vince McMahon should see the value in giving McIntyre an opportunity as a main eventer.

Roman Reigns Proves SmackDown Is His Yard

It has been nearly a year and a half since Roman Reigns last held a world title in WWE, but that drought is likely to end at WrestleMania.

Reigns was forced to relinquish the Universal Championship in October 2018 when his leukemia returned. It went into remission several months later, and he returned to in-ring action in time to compete at WrestleMania 35.

Reigns beat McIntyre at that show, and he has spent much of the past year in programs that did not include a title as WWE slowly built him back up to the main event level.

When Goldberg beat "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship at Super ShowDown in late February, it seemed obvious that The Big Dog would be the one to step up to challenge Goldberg, which is precisely what happened.

It appears as though WWE is doing everything possible to give Reigns a feel-good WrestleMania moment and ensure that the fans are behind him. That may not have been the case against The Fiend, but because of the uproar surrounding Goldberg's title win, most fans are likely to support Reigns.

Goldberg has the makings of a transitional champion and a means to an end, with the finish being Reigns back atop his perch as the face of WWE.

While Goldberg is best used in short spurts and Reigns isn't necessarily a technical master, their match promises to be a spectacle, and it should be entertaining as long as both Superstars remain in their wheelhouses.

Reigns vs. Goldberg is a dream match in a lot of ways, and Reigns coming out on top to win the Universal Championship would be one of the crowning moments of his career.

The Fiend Bounces Back with Win over John Cena

The Fiend's loss to Goldberg at Super ShowDown angered a large portion of the WWE fanbase, but it shouldn't take long for him to get back on track.

One night after Super ShowDown, John Cena appeared on SmackDown to announce that he would not be competing at WrestleMania. The Fiend interrupted him, however, and they agreed to do battle at the Showcase of the Immortals.

Cena and Wyatt faced each other once before at WrestleMania, six years ago. Most thought Wyatt should and would win that match, but Cena came out on top. On the latest episode of Firefly Funhouse, Wyatt addressed that loss and how it led to The Fiend coming into existence years later.

While Cena winning is always a possibility, he didn't wrestle at all in 2019, and he lost to The Undertaker in his most recent WrestleMania match back in 2018. At this stage in his career, Cena is likely more willing to put over others than ever before.

After his loss to Goldberg, The Fiend desperately needs a big win under his belt to reestablish himself as a top star, and beating Cena at WrestleMania would do the trick.

All signs point to WWE taking the Universal Championship off The Fiend so that both he and Reigns could score big victories at WrestleMania, so it is tough to envision Wyatt not prevailing.

If The Fiend does come out on top, he and Reigns may find themselves on a collision course, perhaps with an eye toward SummerSlam in August.

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