John Cena made his return to WWE on last night’s episode of SmackDown, opening the show with an amped-up promo and the reveal that he would be hosting WWE Payback. Cena would end up facing off with Jimmy Uso, who compared Cena to a corrupt Roman Reigns. Cena would hit him with the Attitude Adjustment before all was said and done, but in a digital exclusive interview with Cathy Kelley, Cena also addressed his eventual last match in WWE. Cena said, “As I said out there in the ring, the last one is not tonight, but I know it’s soon.” (H/T Fightful).
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“Every single chance I get to go out there becomes more and more special. There is no denying the fact that I’m 46 and staring down 47,” Cena said. “I’ve been here for over two decades. As I said out there in the ring, the last one is not tonight, but I know it’s soon. To speak candidly, when you’re involved in this every day in a full-time capacity, you just think about what’s next.”
“The WWE Universe being gracious to invite me and allow me back to be part of this family, for the last two or three years, I’ve been able to focus on what’s now. I never miss any of those wonderful moments in the ring. I know it may sound repetitive, but so is me saying ‘Never give up,’ and I never mind saying that, so I never mind saying ‘thank you’ to the people that make this special,” Cena said. “Without them and them caring, I don’t get to come back.”
Cena will be back in WWE for a while this time around, as he’s already listed for a lengthy run on SmackDown and could very well end up being part of the next premium live event after Payback. In the meantime though he will be the host of Payback, but Cena expressed in the same interview that he doesn’t really know what that means.
“I’ve never quite hosted. I just found that out right before I went down there and I want to make sure everyone knows I’ll be at the premium live event Payback as the host, and I don’t even know what that means,” Cena said. “I have a lot of mutual respect for The Miz, he’s a man that wears many hats, maybe I can engage in a conversation with him and get some suggestions, he’s done the job quite well.”
You can find the updated card for WWE Payback below.
World Heavyweight Title Match: Seth “Freakin” Rollins (C) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Steel Cage Match: Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
Women’s World Title Match: Rhea Ripley (C) vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Title Steel City Street Fight: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (C) vs. The Judgment Day
United States Title Match: Rey Mysterio (C) vs. Austin Theory
LA Knight vs. The Miz
The Grayson Waller Effect with Special Guest Cody Rhodes
Are you excited for Cena’s return? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
