John Cena returning to WWE Raw and SmackDown
John Cena’s return to WWE will include televised appearances.
During tonight’s Christmas Eve edition of Raw, a video segment with Vince McMahon dressed as Santa Claus aired. He announced three things: that Cena will be returning to Raw and SmackDown, that Women’s Tag Team titles will be coming next year, and that Dolph Ziggler will face Drew McIntyre in a steel cage match on the New Year’s Eve episode of Raw (which is being taped this Friday).
A graphic aired later in the show advertising that Cena will be returning to Raw and SmackDown in the new year.
Cena had been announced for a series of WWE dates in December and January, with them beginning with this Wednesday’s house show at Madison Square Garden. His dates include a SmackDown taping in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this Saturday, a Raw episode in Orlando, Florida on January 7, and a Raw episode in Memphis, Tennessee on January 14.
Though he was announced for those events, whether or not Cena would be appearing on TV had come into question before tonight’s announcement clarified that he will be. Cena did an interview with the Toronto Sun earlier this month and said “none of these shows are televised” when talking about his return. That interview also noted that Cena will begin shooting a new movie in Vancouver on January 20.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.