From the WWE rumor mill: Big update on John Cena's Raw appearances

What’s the story?

13 months on from his last match on Raw, it looks like John Cena could be headed back to Monday nights. PWInsider is reporting that Cena will be making his return to the brand on the post-SummerSlam showing of Raw.

In case you didn’t know…

Following the recent Superstar Shakeup, Cena was officially listed as a free agent. The only problem was, nobody was quite sure exactly what that meant. Even WWE.com noted that “not much else is known about what that status entails.”

What we do know is that since making his return to television, he’s wrestled exclusively on SmackDown—the brand to which he had previously been drafted. However, he did compete on two Raw-branded house shows in July, headlining against Bray Wyatt in Huntington, West Virginia and Lexington, Kentucky, suggesting future appearances were in the pipeline.

The heart of the matter

Cena’s return to Raw isn’t scheduled to be a one-off. He’s currently being advertised for four of the five Raw TVs between SummerSlam and the No Mercy pay-per-view on Sep 24. The only show he’s set to miss is the Sep 18 episode, as he’ll be busy in China with the SmackDown crew.

That episode also happens to be the go-home show before that No Mercy PPV, which is indeed a Raw-exclusive event this year and is indeed set to feature Cena.

What's next?

Prior to this slated Raw return, there’s the small matter of SummerSlam to be addressed. Currently, Cena doesn’t have anything confirmed for the PPV, but it’s almost impossible to imagine him being left off of the card completely, with rumours suggesting a possible match with Baron Corbin is the likeliest option at this point.

But beyond that, it’s looking all but certain that Raw will be his next destination—a move which could be designed to sow the seeds for a potential showdown with Roman Reigns. Although, that one’s been touted as a possibility for WrestleMania 34, so perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves there.

Author’s take

Regardless of who Cena goes on to face—at both SummerSlam and on Raw in the following weeks—his “free agent” status and the move to Monday nights says a lot about the current state of the company.

Not only does it undermine the whole concept the brand split, it also undermines the rest of the roster. Allowing Cena to be the only man eligible to appear on both brands tells us that he’s the company’s one true star, emphasizing WWE's inability to produce an heir to their poster boy of the last decade-and-a-half.