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Over the last few years, WrestleMania's entire shape and form have changed. Long gone are the years where WWE needed major stars to sell the PPV. Not that they don't put on the best matches possible anymore, but the fact of the matter is that WrestleMania itself is a brand that sells itself - resulting in sell-out crowds year after year.
John Cena is one star who has taken a back seat in the last few years. 2019 was his least-active year since joining WWE, having only wrestled a couple of times in January, helping put over Becky Lynch and Finn Balor before leaving again.
He did, however, appear at WrestleMania 35, confronting Elias using his Doctor of Thuganomics persona after years. There has been a lot of speculation about Cena's return in 2020 and a potential match at WrestleMania 36.
Tom Colohue dropped the unfortunate backstage news that the 16-time World Champion isn't expected to wrestle at the grandest stage of them all. He could, however, return when the time is right:
We are not expecting to see him at this year's WrestleMania. He's currently filming with DC for the new Suicide Squad. He's not expected to be back. He may make a late appearance but he's not expected to be wrestling. Much similar to last year, we may see John Cena again, but it's more likely to be later in the year when he's finished filming and he believes he is necessary.
He mentioned that there are rumblings backstage about the future of John Cena and that soon enough, he can't be classified as a "part-timer" either:
There is some discussion as to how much John Cena will be involved in the future. It looks like his full-time schedule is very much done. It looks like his part-time schedule is very much done and he will be approaching closer to a 'non-contract' contract where he appears for one-off paydays, one-off big shows.
He added that around this time last year, he wasn't expected to return but he did so out of wanting to work with Becky Lynch. The Rock would do the same thing 9 months later:
And to be fair - he wasn't expected to appear this time last year with Becky Lynch, but he made the call, he made the contact and he wanted to work with her. So he made that happen.
John Cena has earned his time away from WWE but there's no denying that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Hopefully, we get to see him this year in a small run. There's no denying that his aura has grown the longer he's been away from the company.
