Massive WWE return after 2045 days; John Cena reacts!

John Cena has reacted following a massive WWE return after 2045 days. The promotion's partnership with TNA has allowed for a lot of talent to cross over into NXT, and a superstar recently made his in-ring return on WWE TV.

A few weeks ago, Matt Cardona, aka Zack Ryder, appeared on NXT during TNA's invasion of the show. While he was left off from the SHOWDOWN card, he competed on NXT this week.

The former United States Champion took on Josh Briggs on the October 14 show. This marked Cardona's first match in WWE since March 9, 2020, when he faced Bobby Lashley on an episode of RAW.

While the return wasn't fruitful, with Briggs emerging victorious, this was still a big moment for Cardona. His return also drew a reaction from John Cena. On his Instagram account, Cena posted a photo of Cardona from his appearance on NXT.

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Cena and Cardona were part of a storyline in WWE between 2011 and 2012. The duo teamed up together, with the 17-time World Champion also helping out Cardona in his singles career.

Cardona was released by the promotion in April 2020 as part of pandemic-related budget cuts. Since then, he has made his name on the independents and is currently signed with TNA.

John Cena paid a tribute to his former rivals at Crown Jewel

Since turning babyface at SummerSlam, John Cena has been relishing the final leg of his WWE retirement tour.

At Crown Jewel, he faced AJ Styles in a one-on-one match and paid a tribute to his rivals from the past. He pulled off The Miz's Skull Crushing Finale and even put Styles in The Accolade, a move associated with Rusev.

He also paid a moving tribute to Bray Wyatt after hitting the Phenomenal One with a Sister Abigail. The finish of the match also saw Cena deliver The Undertaker's Tombstone Piledriver followed by an Attitude Adjustment for the win.

About the author

Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.

While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.

Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.

If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.

When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.

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Edited by Sherjeel Malik