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WWE News: Will John Cena Fill The Final Spot In The Money In The Bank Ladder Match?

By Andy Slawecki
Published on: 03:00 PST, May 30, 2016

The WWE has been hyping the return of John Cena for weeks, and the wait is finally over. In what will be one of the company’s toughest ratings battles to date this Memorial Day, the WWE hopes the return of Cena will prevent a massive viewership decline as Monday Night RAW goes head-to-head with Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and Game 7 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder, not to mention the show falls on the holiday that traditionally sees a ratings drop anyway.

It’s no coincidence that John Cena is coming back tonight. His well-documented affiliation with the military jives perfectly with the significance of Memorial Day. RAW may have held its own if the NHL were its only competition, but WWE was hoping against hope that the Thunder would have eliminated the Warriors Saturday night to keep the NBA away from the Monday night time slot. So instead, Vince McMahon and company have been trying to drum up interest in Monday’s broadcast as best they can.

The show is shaping up to be pretty special, so it’s just a matter of WWE being able to deliver. The long-awaited return of John Cena will help. This is also the first RAW since the announcement of the impending brand split. WWE has posted several cryptic tweets revealing the opening of some kind of “hatch” with the tease of the debut/return of another superstar. Plus, they’re well on their way to building the card for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Roman Reigns is set to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins, who is fresh off his own return from injury. In addition, six of the seven slots have been filled for the ladder match, where the winner will capture the briefcase and the ability to cash in a title shot anytime they please. With one spot remaining and Cena making his triumphant return, many speculated and put the pieces together that he’d be the one to round out the match.

However, on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that John Cena will not be in the Money in the Bank ladder match, and thus will not be qualifying for said match Monday night. Fans will still likely find out who does earn the seventh and final spot on Monday’s show, but it will not be Cena. Meltzer believes that Cena will most likely enter a program immediately upon his return for the June pay-per-view, but that program will be a singles feud. The names making the rounds to face Cena in his first angle back are Rusev, Alberto Del Rio, and Bray Wyatt.

The Inquisitr reported on potential comeback feuds for John with Rusev and Del Rio, but the Wyatt prospects are intriguing in that it would mark the Eater of Worlds’ return as well. Many expect the aforementioned cryptic tweets to be Wyatt Family-related, but we’ll have to find out if the two returns blend into one big feud. Detractors have noted that John Cena should not face Bray Wyatt again until the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is on the line due to their lengthy feud in 2014, especially since Cena went over in the program.

The significance of Cena facing Rusev, of course, would be to win the United States Championship on his first night back on this particular holiday. Whether Cena feuds with Rusev or Del Rio, it’s likely a placeholder angle before a major feud at SummerSlam. The brand split has and will affect most plans WWE has laid out for its second-biggest show of the year, with reports last week indicating that they’re going to hold off on a Roman Reigns/John Cena match originally penciled in to headline in August.

[Image via WWE]

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Alberto Del Rio John Cena Bray Wyatt
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