Reason Revealed for WWE Superstar Being Pulled from John Cena Segment on SmackDown

Those who watched WWE SmackDown come to a close saw The Bloodline’s Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa take out John Cena in the ring with a Samoan Spike and Uso Splash. You might have assumed someone was going to come out to help Cena out, especially as a few moments earlier it was revealed that Cena’s partner in the match at Fastlane AJ Styles was taken out by Jimmy and Solo. It turns out there was someone scheduled for that spot, and according to Fightful, it was LA Knight. Knight was scheduled to come out to help Cena and set up a dark match with Solo and Jimmy, but the report states that Knight had to leave the building earlier in the night after testing positive for COVID. We wish Knight all the best and a speedy recovery.

Knight was evidently supposed to be a part of that ending segment, but it’s not known if he was going to ultimately be Cena’s partner for Fastlane or if that will still be Styles. It sure doesn’t seem like Styles is in the running after being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, and after Payback, having Knight team up with Cena seems like the natural path to take.

That said, if Knight does have COVID, it remains to be seen if he’ll be healthy in time for Fastlane, as it is only under two weeks away. It is possible he could return well in time for the match, but if he can’t for some reason, WWE will need to figure out a partner for Cena.

Cena and Knight crossed paths at Payback when Cena was the special referee in the match between Knight and The Miz. Cena called the match fair and down the middle, resulting in both Miz and Knight getting upset with him at various times throughout the match. Knight would ultimately walk away the winner, but there was still some tension there, and you could easily see them facing each other down the road.

It still made sense for Knight to come down for the save, and that would also move Knight into direct conflict with The Bloodline. Knight has crossed paths with Paul Heyman already, but he’s never moved straight into conflict with Sikoa, Jimmy, or Roman Reigns. Cena has now fully opposed The Bloodline, so if Knight were to help Cena in this match, that would put Knight directly into that picture, possibly setting up some angles with the Tribal Chief.

Aside from Cena’s match, there haven’t been any other confirmed matches for the Fastlane card. After tonight’s match, you could see IYO SKY defending her WWE Women’s Championship against Asuka in a rematch or a match with an added stipulation at Fastlane, though there could also be a Triple Threat involving Charlotte Flair in some way. Rey Mysterio will defend his United States Championship against Santos Escobar on SmackDown, and Rhea Ripley seems out of action for a minute.

Even with Ripley not defending her Title there, Judgment Day will likely have some sort of involvement at Fastlane, as they hold the WWE Tag Team Championships and the NXT North American Championship. With only two weeks to go, next week will likely fill the card out quite a bit, so we should have far more to go on.

Do you want to see LA Knight team up with John Cena at Fastlane? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!