WWE News: Major Details Regarding John Cena’s Hiatus After ‘Wrestlemania 33’
The WWE Universe has known for awhile that John Cena’s commitments in Hollywood will pull him away from WWE programming shortly after Wrestlemania 33, but some major details have been revealed about his hiatus. Heading into Orlando, WWE officials have changed their minds about Cena’s match for the show at least once. Unfortunately, the WWE Universe will not get to see John Cena vs. The Undertaker this year.
After WWE officials canceled Cena vs. Undertaker for the fourth time, the assumption was that another star like Samoa Joe would be facing the sixteen time WWE Champion on the grandest stage of them all. But, that match was never in the cards, or WWE officials changed their minds again knowing that John Cena would be taking another hiatus from WWE programming shortly after Wrestlemania, so they needed a new plan.
Instead, John Cena lost the WWE Title to Bray Wyatt at the WWE Elimination Chamber PPV. Now, he will be featured in a tag team match alongside Nikki Bella against the team of The Miz and Maryse. Their match will be his last for some time, and it’s been reported that it may be the final match of Nikki’s WWE career.
Obviously, Bella and Cena are expected to win the match at Wrestlemania, but it’s being rumored that John could be proposing to Nikki after the match, which would go down as one of the most romantic moments in WWE history. It would be a great note for Nikki Bella to end her WWE career on, and John Cena will gain a lot of favor with the WWE Universe, and he would be involved in a different kind of Wrestlemania moment.
After Wrestlemania, John Cena will be taking an extended hiatus from the company in order to film some new movies and fulfill other obligations he has outside of WWE. There is some speculation about John Cena retiring from the ring, but it’s more likely that Cena just dramatically reduces his schedule to become a part-time performer. The expectation is he would have the same kind of schedule as Goldberg or Brock Lesnar.
Some major new details have come to light, including his possible return date. John Cena’s commitments to WWE end after April 3. It has been reported that he’s only being advertised for WWE Survivor Series in November, which means that he may be away from WWE for roughly seven months. That means Cena will miss the ‘Money in the Bank‘ PPV, which will be the biggest PPV for the brand since the brand extension.
The WWE Universe will need to get used to John Cena not being featured on WWE programming this year because the trend is expected to continue next year as well. However, the silver lining is that Cena’s absence will create a lot of opportunity for the current crop of WWE Superstars to elevate their game to his level. By the time Cena returns, the select few that took advantage of the opportunity will be there for new rivalries.
For instance, John Cena’s hiatus opens the door for someone like Kurt Angle to return to WWE and have a few matches on SmackDown. Frankly, WWE will be different by the time he returns to television. It’s being speculated that another WWE Draft is coming and John Cena could be on Raw by his return to WWE.
WWE officials not featuring John Cena for the first time in fifteen years is going to be an adjustment. In the past, he’s been plagued by injuries. This extended hiatus is the first time outside projects will take precedent over WWE programming. John Cena has earned the right to do so, but it’s on the roster to ensure that Raw and SmackDown don’t miss a beat and the current roster will welcome that challenge.
[Featured Image by WWE]
