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John Cena has been on a hiatus from WWE for almost ten months now. His last appearance for the company was at WrestleMania 36 against The Fiend in the Firefly Fun House match. The match was used as a way of writing Cena off WWE TV so that he could give more time to his other commitments. His last in-ring match took place two years ago on an episode of RAW, which indicates that his full-time days in WWE are long gone. Since it's WrestleMania season, we might see him come back to the ring soon for a big match at The Show of Shows, which will likely have some fans in attendance this year.
John Cena has shown up at every single WrestleMania since 2004 and it seems like the situation may not be any different this time around. Cena recently made an appearance on WWE's social media accounts in a sketch regarding the announcement of future WrestleMania dates.
Even though he is now a part-timer, John Cena has been and will always be a call away from making an appearance for WWE. Cena has proven his loyalty to the promotion for years and is the former face of the company. Given that WrestleMania is just around the corner and the ratings have taken a hit, Vince McMahon might be ready to hit that panic button and bring back John Cena.
Which lucky competitor will get to face Cena at WrestleMania? There is no shortage of talent in WWE. Cena has a whole pool of skilled wrestlers whom he can wrestle, but only a few would be worthy of a WrestleMania match against the leader of the Cenation. WWE needs to create a big match now that Cena is in his late wrestling years, with a story that is worthy of a WrestleMania match.
Here are five WWE stars who could face John Cena at WrestleMania 37.
#5 AJ Styles (WWE RAW)
AJ Styles is one of the most reliable wrestlers in WWE. He can put up a five-star classic in his sleep, figuratively speaking. With so much experience under his belt, Styles can pull out a show-stealer from Cena if they were to lock horns at WrestleMania. In the past, these two produced some stellar matches that fans fondly recall even to this day.
Styles has been circling around the main event scene ever since his arrival in WWE. Since he's recently had his shot at the WWE Championship, a feud with Cena could be the way to go.
With Omos flanking Styles as The Phenomenal One's bodyguard, it could make for an interesting story or even some crazy spots which may involve Cena lifting yet another big man from WWE over his shoulder. All in all, Styles vs. Cena in 2021 would definitely bring a much-needed big match vibe to WrestleMania.
#4 Goldberg (WWE Hall of Famer)
Goldberg made his return to WWE a few weeks ago on RAW Legends Night to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. With Goldberg back and set to face Drew at the Royal Rumble, one of his matches from his two-matches-per-year contract is already booked. Some fans are speculating that Goldberg might be winning the Championship at Royal Rumble, but it could still go either way. If Goldberg loses the match, then there is still room for another bout featuring the WCW icon. In such a case, not booking him on the WrestleMania card would be a missed opportunity.
Since Goldberg might be staying around until WrestleMania, there is a huge match that WWE could make official, and that would be John Cena vs. Goldberg. These two names are some of the most popular wrestlers of their respective generations. Yet, both of them haven't shared the same ring yet. WWE are presented with an opportunity to create yet another icon versus icon match. As most people know, Cena has had his fair share of clashes with megastars from the past, back in the early 2010s. But now might be the time for another one of those 'once in a lifetime' matches.
This may be more of an exhibition match, but it could certainly answer the question of which star out of the two would walk out as the winner from their clash. Goldberg vs. John Cena might be the perfect star-studded match for this year's WrestleMania.
#3 Edge (WWE Hall of Famer)
Ever since Edge's return to WWE at last year's Royal Rumble, people have been fantasy booking him in different matches that he could have during his second run. Apart from the Royal Rumble match, he has only had two singles bouts since his return, and both of them were against Randy Orton. Unfortunately, Edge suffered a torn triceps injury at last year's Backlash event, which effectively put him on the shelf.
It was predicted that Edge would be out for six to eight months, which means that he may come back to WWE anytime now. An interesting rivalry that fans might want to see rekindled would be that of the Rated-R Superstar and the Cenation leader.
The feud between Edge and John Cena is still considered to be one of the best rivalries in WWE history. Both of them became huge stars, as a result. Now that they have achieved the legendary status that they were destined to reach, it might finally be time to revisit their rivalry for one last match.
Even though it can be argued that Edge should face younger WWE Superstars in fresh matchups, a match featuring John Cena and Edge may sell-out an entire arena. With Edge vs. John Cena, WWE fans could be in for an exciting bout at the Showcase of the Immortals.
#2 Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champion)
Ever since turning heel at WWE Summerslam last year, Roman Reigns has been on one of the greatest runs of his career. His character has picked up a strong direction, and it looks like no one can stop him. 'The Head of the Table' is absolutely relentless and shows no mercy when someone disrespects his family. He perfectly slots into the role of the monstrous heel at the top of WWE's roster.
A worthy competitor for this iteration of Roman Reigns would be John Cena. Right now, there are a few names on the roster that the WWE Universal Champion could face at WrestleMania, but none of them would potentially excite fans more than John Cena. Winning over Cena would properly establish Reigns' dominance over the roster. Moreover, a WrestleMania rematch could be a great callback to their rivalry that happened back in 2017.
Reigns and Cena share a lot of similarities, and that was also the premise of their previous feud. However, this time it would be different. Cena would be facing off against a character that Cena himself could have become, had he turned heel. It would be intriguing to see how that dynamic might play out in WWE.
#1 Drew McIntyre (WWE Champion)
WWE has picked Drew McIntyre as the latest face of their company. Drew had a great year in 2020 compared to several other WWE Superstars, and he is still going strong. From winning the Royal Rumble match to beating Brock Lesnar, Drew has accomplished a lot more than he ever did before 2020. Right now, McIntyre is set to face Goldberg in yet another challenge in his championship run.
Goldberg poses a genuine threat to Drew's title reign, judging by WWE's past booking of Goldberg with younger talent. However, this match could also result in Drew beating Goldberg, cementing The Scottish Warrior's position in WWE history. If Drew beats Goldberg, then he will have done everything needed to become the face of the company, except one thing, and that is beating the former face of WWE.
Drew has expressed his wishes to face Cena on multiple occasions. In an interview with SunSport, Drew claimed that he would welcome a match against the leader of the Cenation.
“I would say ‘you’re the one I want to beat’. I want that name on my list. “It’d be a heck of a match.”
Cena vs. Drew would be a true passing of the torch moment. It's time for Cena to fall on his back and stare at the lights, which is the same as what The Rock did for him eight years ago.
Drew McIntyre and John Cena have never faced each other in a singles match, so this pairing would be a fresh one. If there is any time or place for a match of this caliber to take place, it should go down at WrestleMania.
