What’s the story?
John Cena returned tonight for the 4th of July edition of SmackDown Live and was confronted by the returning superstar Rusev.
Following their exchange, General Manager Daniel Bryan booked John Cena vs. Rusev in a flag match for Battleground.
In case you didn’t know...
The rivalry between Cena and Rusev began in 2015 when Rusev interrupted Cena’s interview backstage. Their first match took place at Fastlane and saw Rusev defeat Cena via submission. Cena received a rematch at WrestleMania 31 and defeated Rusev to claim his 4th United States Championship.
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This would eventually lead to Cena having a reign that many fans felt was the best in recent memory. He would then have an open challenge each week challenging a variety of wrestlers, including Rusev.
The heart of the matter
Aside from their first match at Fastlane 2015, Cena has defeated The Bulgarian Brute in nearly every encounter they’ve had.
Their next match at Battleground will be the first time in two years that the two men will compete in singles action against each other and it's more than likely that Cena will go on to defeat Rusev to gain a win heading into SummerSlam.
What’s next?
With no championship on the line nor any major implications for any title shots, it's more than likely that this feud between Cena and Rusev will be a one off.
Many fans expect Cena to challenge Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam, but his free agent status may also lead to him facing a Raw superstar after the Battleground pay-per-view.
Author’s take
Cena’s return on tonight’s episode saw The Face That Runs the Place renew an old rivalry with a wrestler who just returned to TV. Neither man can really afford another loss, but it may make the program that much more interesting.
