Among all the huge changes that WWE officials have been making before the WWE Survivor Series PPV, it was also announced that John Cena will be the fifth and final member of Team SmackDown. This was a big surprise for the WWE Universe because Cena was heavily rumored for a Special Guest Referee role for the match between Jinder Mahal and Brock Lesnar. However, AJ Styles defeated Mahal and became the WWE Champion, so it was decided that he was better suited for the Men’s five on five Traditional Elimination Match.
The WWE Universe wasn’t expecting John Cena to make his WWE return so quickly. After losing to Roman Reigns at WWE No Mercy, it seemed that Cena was saying goodbye to WWE for a long time. He isn’t being advertised for any live events until late December, but the guest referee role seemed great for him because it could be a one-off appearance. However, the decision was made that Cena needed to return to the ring.
It’s been reported that Cena’s WWE return and Styles reclaiming the WWE Title were a result of the recent ratings for SmackDown Live . Apparently, Vince McMahon felt it was necessary to make some big changes after the ratings dropped so low for “the blue brand,” especially the recent Halloween episode. The powers that be are hopeful the title changes happening on television and John Cena’s return will boost the ratings.
WWE officials tend to change their creative plans at the drop of a hat, but the last week of WWE television has been particularly chaotic. It’s unclear what John Cena’s status will be after WWE Survivor Series, but a lot of fans are hopeful that he’ll be staying on SmackDown Live for the rest of the year. Cena’s “free agent” status allows him to bounce back and forth between brands for exactly this reason. Some fans may not like that, but it gives WWE officials the opportunity to better utilize John Cena while he’s on WWE television.
At WWE Survivor Series , WWE officials could give Raw or SmackDown Live the win in Cena’s match. The odds are more likely that Raw will get the victory, but the match will give Cena the opportunity to exchange blows with Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, and even Kurt Angle again. John Cena may be back for good or he might be back only for ‘ Survivor Series. ‘ Either way, the event is significantly better with John Cena involved.
[Featured Image by WWE]