Original Plans For John Cena At WWE Crown Jewel

John Cena was originally set to compete in the WWE World Cup tournament at Crown Jewel on Friday, but Cena pulled out of the event and he has since been replaced by Bobby Lashley.

The World Cup tournament brackets were revealed recently, and the first round matches will feature Raw stars facing other Raw stars, and SmackDown Live stars facing other SmackDown Live stars.

But WWE officials intended for the two brands to be mixed up during the tournament, as the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that John Cena was originally set to face Rey Mysterio in the first round of the tournament.

The report also notes that the belief is Mysterio was set to defeat John Cena, because WWE officials want to push Mysterio as a real life super-hero due to the fact that they’ve had a hard time finding a Latin Superstar to replace Rey.

As far as Cena’s WWE status goes, it’s being said that he’s bullet proof and he likely won’t face any repercussions for pulling out of the event.