John Cena made his return to the WWE at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view earlier this month, kicking off what WWE is now calling “The Summer of Cena.” The 16-time world champion was then confirmed for a number of appearances on Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, various house shows and next month’s SummerSlam event in Las Vegas. Considering that he’ll likely be facing Roman Reigns at the event and has several upcoming film projects, many fans assumed Cena’s latest tenure would end with that Reigns match. But, thanks to an official announcement from WWE, that’s no longer the case.
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Cena was officially confirmed for WWE’s return to Madison Square Garden when Friday Night SmackDown emanates from the iconic venue on Sept. 10. You can see the full list of Cena’s confirmed appearances below.
- July 23: Friday Night SmackDown, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland
- July 24: WWE Supershow, PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh
- July 25: WWE Supershow, KFC Yum! Center in Louisville
- July 26: Monday Night Raw, T-Mobile Center in Kansas City
- July 30: Friday Night SmackDown, Target Center in Minneapolis
- July 31: WWE Supershow, Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee
- Aug. 1: WWE Supershow, Little Caesars Arena in Detroit
- Aug. 6: Friday Night SmackDown, Amalie Arena in Tampa
- Aug. 7: WWE Supershow, Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, Florida
- Aug. 9: Monday Night Raw, Amway Center in Orlando
- Aug. 13: Friday Night SmackDown, BOK Center in Tulsa
- Aug. 14: WWE Supershow, Spectrum Center in Charlotte
- Aug. 15: WWE Supershow, Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina
- Aug. 20: Friday Night SmackDown, Footprint Center in Phoenix
- Aug. 21: SummerSlam, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas
- Sept. 10: Friday Night SmackDown, Madison Square Garden in New York City
.@JohnCena will be in the house when #SmackDown returns to @TheGarden on Sept. 10! #SummerOfCena https://t.co/8vfpDHz4Ez
— WWE (@WWE) July 26, 2021
Cena appeared on last week’s Raw and explained that he returned in order to challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship, believing that his tyrannical rule over the Blue Brand is hurting the fans. Reigns scoffed at Cena’s challenge on SmackDown, calling out the former WrestleMania main event for reverting back to the same insults and criticisms he’s used before. He outright rejected the match with Cena, then accepted a challenge from Finn Balor (who returned to SmackDown last week following a successful second run in NXT). Cena also competed in a pair of six-man tag matches at house shows over the weekend.
