John Cena to make WWE return on final SmackDown of 2022
John Cena will be back on WWE television before the end of 2022.
Variety reported today that Cena will make his WWE return on the Friday, December 30 episode of SmackDown. The episode is being held at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
This will be Cena’s first appearance for WWE since celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut on Raw this June.
“Variety has learned exclusively that the iconic professional wrestler and actor is set to appear on the final ‘SmackDown Live’ of the year on Dec. 30, which will take place at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL,” Variety wrote. “According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, more announcements are planned for the episode in the coming weeks.”
Variety didn’t provide any further details about what Cena will be doing on the SmackDown episode. The show is taking place four weeks before the Royal Rumble.
Cena hasn’t wrestled since the summer of 2021.
On his Impaulsive podcast last month, Logan Paul expressed interest in facing Cena at WrestleMania 39 next April.
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.