John Cena Challenges 'Assh--e' Roman Reigns to WWE Universal Title Bout at SummerSlam
Jul 20, 2021
John Cena (R) competes with Triple H (L) during the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Greatest Royal Rumble event in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on April 27, 2018. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
John Cena left no doubt about his intentions following his shocking return to WWE at Money in the Bank on Sunday night.
The 16-time world champion opened Raw and said he wants to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam. He proceeded to call Reigns an "assh--e" and expressed a desire to end his reign as The Head of the Table on SmackDown.
Reigns was in the process of celebrating his victory over Edge in the Money in the Bank main event when Cena's unmistakable entrance theme cascaded across Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
While the legendary star didn't say anything before the pay-per-view wrapped up, no words were necessary to understand his purpose in coming back to the ring.
Reigns has run through a number of challengers since capturing the universal title at Payback last August. There aren't many realistic contenders left on the SmackDown roster, thus creating an obvious vacuum heading into SummerSlam.
Cena, on the other hand, is a genuine threat for Reigns.
Aside from getting The Rock to put his acting career on hold, Cena vs. Reigns is also the biggest single match WWE can book right now.
As Reigns was rising to the top of WWE as a singles star, Cena was beginning to burnish his profile in Hollywood. As a result, these two haven't crossed paths much in one-on-one situations. Their only PPV singles match was at No Mercy 2017.
The two exchanged personal insults on the microphone building up to the show, but the occasion didn't seem to carry the significance befitting a battle of this magnitude. It felt like WWE rushed to put the storyline together because it could see the writing on the wall about Cena's transition into major motion pictures.
Now, the promotion has a little more than a month to generate buzz ahead of SummerSlam and emphasize the stakes involved.
John Cena Laughs When Asked About WWE SummerSlam Appearance amid Roman Reigns Rumors
Jun 12, 2021
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 15: John Cena visits "Extra" at Burbank Studios on January 15, 2020 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)
John Cena provided no hints regarding his status for WWE SummerSlam during an interview Saturday.
WWE on Fox posted a clip of Cena speaking with Tara Hitchcock of TaraOnTV.com while promoting the upcoming F9: The Fast Saga movie he stars in:
“Hopefully enjoying the summer.” - @johncena on what he’ll be doing August 21
Hitchcock asked Cena if he had any plans for Aug. 21, which is the date of SummerSlam, to which Cena replied: "Hopefully, enjoying the summer. I don't know."
SummerSlam will emanate from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and when Hitchcock asked if Cena would be in Vegas on Aug. 21, Cena said, "What's in Vegas?"
When Hitchcock mentioned SummerSlam, Cena laughed and said, "That was a good way to do that."
WrestleVotes recently reported WWE plans to make SummerSlam a WrestleMania-like event and that "all resources will be tapped into."
The account added that WWE wants Cena vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship to be the SummerSlam main event.
Cena has not wrestled or made an appearance for WWE since last year's WrestleMania 36 in which he lost to "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Fun House match. That is primarily because Cena has had acting commitments.
Per PWInsider (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Eric Mutter), filming for the HBO Max series Peacemaker in Vancouver, British Columbia, ends July 6, meaning Cena could be available to WWE after that.
As a result, there has been speculation regarding Cena appearing on the July 16 SmackDown in Houston, which will be the first SmackDown in front of fans in well over a year.
That would be the ideal venue to set the stage for Cena vs. Reigns, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest matches WWE could book.
In addition to the fact that Cena and Reigns are huge stars, Cena would be attempting to break a tie with Ric Flair for the most world title wins of all time, which is a record they share with 16.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
WWE Rumors on Eva Marie's Return, SummerSlam and Tom Phillips' Release
May 28, 2021
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
WWE Reportedly Planning to Use Eva Marie as Manager
Eva Marie has never been known for her in-ring prowess, and WWE is apparently aware of that, as they reportedly aren't planning to use her in a wrestling capacity.
According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Marc Middleton), WWE's current plan with Eva is to have her "be a vehicle to help get another female Superstar over."
For the past several weeks, vignettes have aired on Raw featuring Eva Marie talking about her "Eva-lution." In those vignettes, Eva has seemingly hinted at wanting to share her secrets to success with others.
Given Eva's struggles from an in-ring perspective during her first run with WWE from 2013-17, placing her in a managerial role instead makes all the sense in the world.
Eva has appeal outside the world of pro wrestling because of her social media following, plus she has a great look and plenty of charisma, making her a great fit as a manager.
Based on the current Raw women's roster, Eva would likely be the biggest help to Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, who have been tagging together for the past several months.
Like Eva, Mandy and Dana both have modeling and fitness backgrounds, so there is enough common ground for the partnership to feel natural.
WWE needs to start building up more credible women's tag teams, and with Eva guiding them, Mandy and Dana could be the ideal threat to dethrone Natalya and Tamina as WWE women's tag team champions.
SummerSlam Occurring on a Saturday; Multiple Venues Considered
WWE is hard at work when it comes to nailing down specifics for the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view in August.
According to ESPN's Ariel Helwani, WWE announced Friday that SummerSlam will occur Aug. 21, which is a Saturday. That is a significant departure for the company, as its pay-per-views have almost always been held on Sundays.
Helwani added that WWE announced it will emanate from a "summer destination location" and that the venue will be announced during the Belmont Stakes pre-race show on NBC on June 5.
Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) reported that there "are a lot of wheels in motion" on the subject of determining SummerSlam's location.
Bret McCormick of Sports Business Journal reported that WWE has considered six different NFL stadiums as potential SummerSlam venues.
Those stadiums are Hard Rock Stadium in Miami; SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California; NRG Stadium in Houston; Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas; MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey; and Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
The fact that WWE is looking into NFL stadiums and moving SummerSlam from its traditional Sunday slot suggests the company is looking to go all-out in terms of presenting it as a massive event.
WWE hosted fans at a show for the first time in over a year at WrestleMania 37 in April, and it announced recently that it will go back to touring on the road starting in July with a 25-city tour.
SummerSlam will be part of that tour, and all signs point to it potentially having WrestleMania-esque attendance and importance as well.
Tom Phillips Reportedly Released by WWE
As part of sweeping cuts within the company, WWE reportedly parted ways with announcer Tom Phillips this week.
Fightful (h/t Middleton) was the first to note the departure, which has not been publicly acknowledged by WWE.
Phillips had been with WWE since 2012 and served in a number of roles during that time, and he was best known for his work as a play-by-play announcer on Raw, SmackDown, NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live.
Most recently, Phillips was the play-by-play announcer on Raw alongside Corey Graves and Samoa Joe. However, he was replaced by former ESPN and current MLB Network announcer and analyst Adnan Virk the day after WrestleMania 37.
Virk's departure from WWE was announced this week after he appeared on just seven Raws and one pay-per-view. At the time, it seemed possible that WWE would put Phillips back on Raw.
Instead, WWE announced that former UFC and Bellator announcer Jimmy Smith will take the Raw play-by-play role next to Graves and Byron Saxton.
Phillips is still just 32 years old and has a ton of announcing experience at the highest level, which could make him a sought-after commodity by other wrestling promotions.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
