John Cena has remained loyal to WWE for the past 15 years, but it’s becoming a lot more difficult for a passionate speech to hide the fact that his commitments outside of WWE are interfering with his wrestling career. Last year was big for John Cena in Hollywood, but an injury also kept him away from WWE for several months. Having said that, his feud with AJ Styles is some of the best work he’s ever done in WWE.
Thankfully, his rivalry with Styles will continue as Cena challenges him for the WWE Championship at the WWE Royal Rumble . The result of that match will be pivotal in setting the table for WrestleMania . The fans are expecting Cena to defeat Styles to become the WWE Champion for the 16th time, but his win would be a means to an end. After that, Cena is expected to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.
Their match has been rumored for a long time and is one of the most highly anticipated matches in WWE history. It’s the match that almost everyone wants to see. As of this writing, the assumption is Cena will face The Undertaker as the WWE Champion, win the match, and then keep the title through most of 2017. That may have been the plan, but Cena’s obligations to Hollywood and outside projects are getting in the way.
Earlier today, a new report revealed that The Pact , which is a film in development with Cena attached as a star, has been acquired by Universal and is set to begin shooting over the next couple months. The movie is tentatively set for release in April of next year. The plot of the movie will follow three parents who, upon discovering that their daughters have made a pact to lose their virginities on prom night, attempt to stop them before it’s too late.
The opportunity is too good for him to pass up, as his career in Hollywood continues to find success, but it comes at the most inopportune time for WWE. Cena knows as well as anyone that it’s WrestleMania season right now. WWE’s creative plans for John Cena are extremely important to their card for WrestleMania 33 , which explains why there have been reports about WWE making some “key changes” to the card recently.
Until this news dropped, the WWE Universe was assuming that John Cena would be the WWE Champion through April and into the summer. Now, it’s being reported that Cena will be taking another hiatus shortly after WrestleMania 33 to film The Pact for Universal. Obviously, this throws a huge monkey wrench into WWE’s plans heading into the WWE Royal Rumble , WrestleMania , and the coming months of WWE TV.
WWE may not need to do anything drastic to their creative plans for the WWE World title match for WrestleMania . John Cena versus The Undertaker could still happen without the WWE Championship, but that could force WWE to rethink the winner of the Royal Rumble match since The Undertaker is the rumored favorite. If WWE was planning Wrestlemania 33 around John Cena, their plans will likely change.
The possibility of Cena defeating Styles at the WWE Royal Rumble , become the WWE Champion and follow through with the plans for him to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 could still happen. The only difference is Cena would have to lose the WWE title before leaving to film The Pact . Unfortunately, his potential hiatus will postpone some rumored feuds that WWE had planned for him after WrestleMania .
It’s been reported that Cena could begin feuding with Samoa Joe in 2017. Some rumors about John Cena vs. Roman Reigns taking place at WWE SummerSlam have come to light as well. WWE officials are not going to struggle to keep Cena busy on WWE television, especially since he is working a limited schedule. The issue going forward is reevaluating how much John Cena will be featured on WWE programming this year.
[Featured Image by WWE]