Next week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown will be the final SmackDown of 2022 and it looks like WWE will be closing out the year in a big way. It’s been confirmed that John Cena will be returning to the ring next week as he’s set to team with Kevin Owens to face Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn.
For years John Cena was the face of the WWE, but his run with the company didn’t kick off with the smoothest start. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that Cena struggled at first and he was actually on the verge of being fired.
Vince McMahon had made the decision to end John Cena’s push early in his career, but things changed when Stephanie McMahon saw Cena rap off television. Stephanie then put in the word for WWE to go with Cena as a major star.
Cena’s match next week on SmackDown will be his only match of 2022. There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not Cena will be involved with WrestleMania next year, and you can get more details on his status for the event here.