5 things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown: Huge in-ring return confirmed after 7 months, Legend teases retirement in main event segment? (February 28th, 2020)

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on SmackDown! We're edging closer to WrestleMania and the blue brand saw the final episode for the month before another episode awaits ahead of Elimination Chamber.

Things are building quickly and this episode saw two blockbuster WrestleMania 36 matches confirmed, with the show opening with a legend and ending with one as well.

We're not going to drag the introduction on much further because the ending of the show saw a major talking point - not just for WrestleMania 36 but for the future of WWE.

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#5. What did John Cena hint at in the final segment?

It seems like it's all coming full circle. It was six years ago when John Cena took on Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX in a match that Wyatt should have won. He didn't and it would be the start of an unfortunate story where his undeniable charisma and momentum would be squashed at its peak in favor of another superstar.

John Cena returned to SmackDown after a long time in the final segment of the show and hinted at a clear retirement. He said that "WrestleMania 36 should go on without John Cena" and the indication was that it could be the end for him soon.

Just as he was about to exit, the lights went off and The Fiend was behind him. Rather than attacking Cena, he simply pointed to the WrestleMania sign and Cena tipped his hat, accepting the challenge.

It could be a retirement match for Cena, with or without the stipulation. Given his appearances are drastically reducing, it wouldn't be surprising to see him go out on his back quietly and not return to milk his legend status like certain part-timers.

Also read: 5 reasons why John Cena accepted 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt's WrestleMania 36 challenge

#4. A big in-ring return is confirmed

The contract signing hosted by Renee Young was to make the Intercontinental Championship match official between Braun Strowman and Shinsuke Nakamura. As we know, in WWE, contract signings are rarely ever peaceful.

Sami Zayn stalled a bit before signing to make sure the terms of the contract were to his liking. Strowman said that he didn't care and he'll sign regardless because he "knows" that he'll have to take on Nakamura, Zayn, and Cesaro at the same time.

Zayn spun it and held Strowman to his statement, signing himself before making Cesaro and Nakamura sign on the dotted line. As a result, the Elimination Chamber will see a 3-on-1 handicap match.

This is either going to work well, or it's going to fail astoundingly. Perhaps this is their way of getting the title off Strowman, but we see no reason for him not to walk into WrestleMania holding the title.

He never does anything significant at the show of shows anyway, so why not give him a solid title match? As for Zayn, this will be his in-ring return for the first time since August.

#3. Why did Sasha Banks lose on her return?

Sasha Banks was announced and returned in the perfect place - her hometown of Boston. But as we know, it's tradition to lose in one's hometown, for some odd reason. While Bayley vs Naomi was the match booked at first, The Boss caused a DQ and it quickly turned into a tag team match when Lacey Evans made the save.

In the match, the Champion Bayley would be pinned, making Sasha Banks' returning effort a losing one. While it might seem bad at first, this is more based on the upcoming Elimination Chamber match, where the SmackDown Women's roster is expected to have a match inside the structure as well.

Interestingly, this is the first time in a few years where there hasn't been a men's singles Elimination Chamber match. We aren't complaining, but in this case, Naomi and Lacey Evans' big win was mainly to build them up ahead of Elimination Chamber.

It makes sense to do that and we expect Sasha Banks to enter the fray as well.

#2. The build to the Tag Team Championship match begins

It's not often that we get to see WWE emphasizing the tag team division but the latest episode of SmackDown was an exception. The first match of the night saw Kofi Kingston take on Robert Roode, losing after Big E was forced to leave and Dolph Ziggler helped with a little assistance.

However, the more significant happening in the Tag Team division on the night was when the new Champions The Miz & John Morrison came out for their celebration and had a match against The Usos.

The Champions were informed that they will have to defend their titles inside the Elimination Chamber against The New Day, The Usos, Heavy Machinery, Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler and for some reason - The Lucha House Party.

While we expect the Champions to walk out with the titles intact, the indication seems to be that we'll have yet another multi-man Tag Team title match at WrestleMania.

The New Day and The Usos make the most sense being in the mix for that.

#1. Roman Reigns is next

Admittedly, this one wasn't subtle. It was clear as day but it would be wrong not to include this on the list. Roman Reigns is the man who confronted Goldberg when he said: "It's not about who's last - it's about who's next?".

Unsurprisingly, The Fiend didn't confront Goldberg. It was The Big Dog who did so, two years after having a staredown with the legend on RAW. It's another major money match for The Big Dog, who we don't expect to headline WrestleMania for the fifth time in his career.

He'll probably get a solid 5-7 minutes out of Goldberg, but hopefully, he walks out with the Universal Championship. We would have loved to see Reigns vs The Fiend at WrestleMania for the title, but it's something that we'll have to wait longer to see.

It certainly feels long overdue that Reigns has gotten back in the Universal Championship picture - especially since he didn't even challenge for it once after vacating it in October 2018.

Throughout 2019, he was kept away from any major title picture and that's the reason he was able to get over as well as he did without getting booed.

Also read: 5 reasons why Roman Reigns is Goldberg's Universal Championship opponent at WrestleMania 36