As previously reported, John Cena is expected to make his grand return to the WWE on the July 4th episode of SmackDown Live.
And what better date for the patriotic Cenation Leader to make his long-awaited comeback? Cena has been on hiatus from the WWE since WrestleMania, along with his fiancé Nikki Bella– following their in-ring proposal at the PPV.
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After spending the months away filming movies, what can we expect when the sixteen-time World Champion brings his signature brand of “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect” ethos to a radically different WWE Universe than the one he left?
It was Cena himself who put the verbal nail in the “PG Era” coffin, calling for a return to real-ness. But he may be surprised at the back-to-basics environment that awaits him.
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With both new WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and current United States Champion Kevin Owens working the classic anti-American heel routine promos on a weekly basis, it’s hard to guess which is more deserving of Cena’s immediate attention.
Most signs point to the former Champ setting his sights on Jinder Mahal’s title. Afterall, Cena is one WWE Championship victory away from breaking the all-time record he shares with Ric Flair. Plus John Cena only held the title for a couple weeks in his last run as champ, much like Bray Wyatt whom he lost the belt to.
And even Jinder’s many detractors don’t really want to see the title revert back to it’s previous holder, Randy Orton– whose cavalier attitude as champion embodied the polar opposite of Cena’s positivity and Jinder’s aggressive change of pace.
Mahal himself touched on these points in a recent interview with Sportskeeda:
“At the moment it is Randy Orton, but, I see John Cena – when he returns – as my biggest competition. I have the WWE Championship, which means I’m the face of WWE, and for a long time John Cena is the face of WWE, and I know he’s not going to give up that title as the face of WWE anytime soon.”
Although the WWE is set on expanding their fan base in India, Cena may be the prime candidate to end The Modern Maharaja’s reign. Afterall, he’s proven himself a capable ambassador to their other main target market for foreign expansion- China. (Cena studies Mandarin and has represented the company in its Chinese press announcements)
But the longer Jinder keeps that belt warm, the sweeter it will be when Cena comes for it. It might make more sense for the former Marine star to pursue Kevin Owens‘ United States Championship in the meantime.
For one thing, the perpetually antagonistic Kevin Owens would make the perfect foil for Cena, as the two have hardly faced each other prior to the “superstar shake-up” bringing Owens to SmackDown.
If Cena strips KO of his title, could we perhaps see him issue another US Title Open Challenge, defending the belt weekly on SmackDown Live as he did in the summer of 2015? Perhaps in taking on all opponents he’ll even unite the belts, something we haven’t seen done long since the champ went part-time.
Regardless which of these possibilities comes first, one thing remains clear– The WWE Universe needs an injection of John Cena‘s energy, and a champion the fans can truly get behind.
