John Cena has been the face of the WWE for many years, and he was drafted to SmackDown Live last summer when the WWE brand split returned. Nowadays Cena is a part-time wrestler as he’s been focusing on his acting career. He wrestled his last match at WrestleMania 33, and he hasn’t made any appearances on WWE programming since.
Related: Simon Gotch Reveals What John Cena Said To Him After Watching The Final Deletion
Cena has made it clear that he plans to always work with WWE in some way or another, but it’s truly the end of an era because his grasp on the top spot is slowly slipping away. This week WWE introduced a new intro video for SmackDown Live, and John Cena is noticeably absent from the video.
Check it out below.
This week it was announced that Tye Dillinger will face Aiden English during the WWE Backlash kickoff show, and Luke Harper vs. Erick Rowan has also been added to the event. You can check out the updated card below.
WWE Championship Match
Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
The Usos vs. Breezango
WWE United States Championship Match
Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles
Naomi, Charlotte and Becky Lynch vs. Tamina, Carmella and Natalya
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Dolph Ziggler
Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn
Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper
WWE Backlash Kickoff Show
Aiden English vs. Tye Dillinger
Well this is cause for celebration!