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A whole year later, John Cena made his in-ring return on the latest WWE SmackDown and cut a staggering promo. It was his first and only match in 2022 and the 16-time champion did not disappoint with his performance.
The Cenation Leader teamed up with Kevin Owens to face off against Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn in tonight's main event. The babyfaces were able to pick up the victory after a slight error from The Tribal Chief resulted in an opening for Cena.
Sami Zayn was subjected to an extended beatdown during the whole match. It remains to be seen how Reigns will react to his Honorary Uce's incapabilities. Meanwhile, Kevin Owens suffered a bruised eye during the end of the year's proceedings on WWE SmackDown.
Following the bout, a tweet by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful has gone viral on Twitter. In the video, John Cena can be seen addressing the audience and disclosing the reason for his return to the squared circle.
"I just want to say thank you so much for the greatest gift you can ever give, that is allowing me to step inside this ring for 20 straight years."
John continued, while on the topic of his grand return on WWE SmackDown:-
"I have had one match, at least, every single year since I started in 2002… so I found out the last event of the year was right in my backyard in Tampa Bay."
Towards the end, The Cenation Leader thanked the WWE Universe and wished them a prosperous 2023. He also acknowledged his opponents.
Prior to his fight on WWE SmackDown, John Cena unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2021. It was his loss that made his recent fight require no storyline on WWE's part.
Besides John Cena's return, WWE SmackDown turned out to be a cracker
We have a new champion heading into the new year. Making her return to the ring after six months, Charlotte Flair has dethroned Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown Women's Championship. The Queen goaded the former champ to take the fight, although Shayna Baszler warned Rousey against it.
Uncle Howdy also appeared on the blue brand and laid out Bray Wyatt with a Sister Abigail. This almost confirms Howdy's theory of Howdy being a separate identity rather than a personification of Wyatt's consciousness.
John Cena's tag team match with The Bloodline may have been in the spotlight on WWE SmackDown, but another bout received a lot of fanfare. Solo Sikoa fought Sheamus and after a constant back-and-forth, The Enforcer planted Sheamus with a Samoan Spike and got a pinfall win.
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