WWE ‘Survivor Series 2017’ Rumors: John Cena’s Involvement In PPV Match Revealed?
As the WWE Survivor Series 2017 event approaches, there are rumors as to whether John Cena will participate in a match for November’s dual-brand pay-per-view. It appears that he’ll be there as part of the upcoming Survivor Series match card. Cena has been off television for a bit of time since losing his SummerSlam 2017 match to Raw superstar Roman Reigns and looked like he might not return to the ring for a good while. However, new reports indicate that John Cena will be back for another match, but not in the way that WWE fans might expect.
A Facebook post on Monday from The 434’s page notes that PWInsider first reported the news that John Cena is expected to work as part of the Jinder Mahal vs. Brock Lesnar match. However, it won’t be a Triple Threat and there are no titles involved. It will strictly be “Champion vs. Champion” from the two brands, with the WWE’s main free agent officiating the match. Cena will play the part of the special referee at a pay-per-view match, something he did once before when Wade Barrett took on Randy Orton for the WWE championship. This time around, he’s officiating a non-title match involving a superstar he’s faced before with the title on the line and another he’s yet to challenge for the title.
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The addition of John Cena to the Jinder vs. Brock match makes sense, as it puts one of WWE’s biggest stars on the pay-per-view, even if he’s just working in the referee role. It also could lead to a furthering of the WWE rumors that suggest John Cena will challenge Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship at WWE’s WrestleMania 34 in April of next year. Mahal already issued an online challenge to Cena, seemingly indicating that the match will take place, barring any injuries to either superstar.
John Cena has yet to face Jinder Mahal one-on-one since “The Modern Day Maharaja” won the WWE Championship. He’s got plenty of history with Brock Lesnar, as “The Beast” has defeated Cena before. In fact, Brock manhandled Cena at one pay-per-view with multiple German Suplexes around the ring. The two haven’t really crossed paths since that feud from a few years ago, as Cena was mostly on SmackDown Live and wasn’t a contender for the WWE Universal Championship.
Cena has also had previous experiences officiating matches. Back when Cena had to become part of the Nexus stable under leader Wade Barrett, he was ordered to work as a referee for Barrett. The former Nexus leader took on Randy Orton for the championship at Survivor Series 2010. Barrett said if he won the title from Orton, then Cena would be allowed to leave Nexus. However, Barrett said if he didn’t win the title, then Cena would be fired from WWE. In the match, Cena awarded Barrett a win by disqualification after interfering on behalf of Orton.
John Cena was “fired” during that angle where Barrett didn’t win the title about seven years ago, but Cena was brought back after fan petitions poured in. Now, he’s back as a referee for the WWE’s Survivor Series seven years later after looking like he was leaving wrestling for a little while. Will John Cena’s involvement as referee cost Jinder Mahal the match, or will something happen involving Cena and Lesnar?
[Featured Image by WWE]
