The WWE is headed to Australia for the Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event, but some watchful fans in the States are still keeping an eye on pro wrestlers who didn't make the trip abroad. Now, there's reason to believe John Cena might be working on getting in the mix for WrestleMania 40. But, will it happen? Here's what we know.
Reports floated around that John Cena was recently spotted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. It didn't take long for those reports to be confirmed, as rehabbing superstar Charlotte Flair shared a photo with Cena from just outside the NXT ring:
Wrestlers go to the Orlando Performance Center to train, so it would track that John Cena is potentially there to work up something for an upcoming WWE event. Seeing as he's not currently in Australia, that would mean the next opportunity for him to compete would be WrestleMania 40. Logically, we can speculate that Cena was present to discuss some sort of way to be included in the two-night event, and SEScoops reported that they heard exactly that from an unnamed member of the company's creative team.
As far as what John Cena plans to do, that's up in the air. He had a match against Austin Theory for the United States Championship, and the overall response from fans was a bit underwhelming. Then, he later redeemed himself in a tag match at Fastlane 2023 with L.A. Knight. However, he was pulled back to Hollywood not long after the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strikes, which makes sense since he has two films on the 2024 movie schedule, Argylle and Ricky Stanicky.
Since then, The Rock has returned and firmly implanted himself as a showcase in at least one of the WrestleMania main events, with Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes taking up the second main event spot.
There's no denying that WWE would likely welcome John Cena's presence, especially after CM Punk was sidelined due to injury and Seth Rollins is actively rehabbing his injured knee. Having Cena waiting in the wings for a potential last-minute option, or even just to go and rile up the crowd and welcome them to WrestleMania, would be a great help.
If an actual match is on the table, it doesn't seem likely Cena would challenge for any of the titles. What's more likely is that he'd have a grudge match, perhaps against someone in the Bloodline like Solo Sikoa or an up-and-comer in NXT looking to make a name for themselves on the main roster. Then again, I'm not sure the WWE would want to book the Peacemaker star to lose another WrestleMania so soon, especially a landmark one like the 40th. I guess we'll just have to wait and see as we keep an eye out for more clues as to whether or not John Cena will be at WrestleMania.
John Cena's previous WrestleMania matches are all available to watch for those who have a Peacock premium subscription. Revisit some of his most classic matches, and keep your fingers crossed that "The Champ" makes an appearance at WrestleMania 40.
