Here’s What WWE Officials Have Planned For John Cena’s WWE Return

A couple of days ago, it was revealed that John Cena would be making his return to WWE television during the Christmas Day edition of Monday Night Raw. WWE officials made the decision to keep most of WWE’s roster on the road during the big holiday and want Raw to be a live show on Christmas Day. However, they are facing a challenge to get most fans to tune in, which is why they’ve given Cena a big title match right away.

It has been reported that WWE officials want to book a rematch between John Cena and Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Title. It makes sense because Cena and Reigns already have a match scheduled for the day after Christmas in Madison Square Garden. However, WWE officials believe it’s important to give fans a real reason to watch Raw, so they could be thinking about booking Cena to win the IC Title from Reigns.

The expectation is Roman Reigns will retain the Intercontinental Championship, but Cena’s status with the company isn’t clear heading into the end of the year. It’s unclear if Cena is staying on WWE television after Christmas or if he’s just helping out the company for one night. The odds are if there is a title change, Cena could also drop the IC Title back to Reigns during the Holiday Tour, but his title reign would be legitimate.

As of this writing, the Intercontinental Championship is the one singles title that John Cena hasn’t won yet in his WWE career. WWE officials probably want to change that fact, but it’s unlikely they are willing to do it at the expense of “The Big Dog.” John Cena’s WWE return could be enough to save Raw from a bad night in the ratings, but that’s not a guarantee since fans have already seen Cena vs. Reigns at WWE No Mercy.

John Cena is also scheduled to be featured in a Triple Threat Match with Jinder Mahal and AJ Styles at the December 30 WWE live event for SmackDown Live. His status as a “free agent” means Cena can perform for both brands, but he will be working for both over the Holiday Tour. With the WWE Royal Rumble PPV and WrestleMania season coming up, Cena is expected to return to WWE full-time for a decent stretch of time. However, it’s unclear if his film schedule will keep him off WWE television until sometime next year.