Why did John Cena back out from challenging Roman Reigns on SmackDown? Possible reasons explored

John Cena was expected to challenge Roman Reigns at the season premiere of WWE SmackDown. However, he welcomed The Tribal Chief with open arms, acknowledged him, and revealed that he hadn’t earned the right to challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

On the other hand, The Champ revealed that it was LA Knight who had rather earned that right, and stepped back, as Knight entered the ring to confront Roman Reigns. While it’s an excellent spectacle to witness WWE’s top heel vs. WWE’s top babyface, The Champ not dethroning The Tribal Chief is slightly disheartening for his fans.

While what fans see in the ring is kayfabe, Cena introducing Knight as Reigns’ next rival is a creative direction. In reality, John Cena is mainly focusing on tag team matches for his current WWE run. It goes without saying that challenging The Tribal Chief will be a singles match, which is probably not among Cena’s plans right now.

Furthermore, the SAG-AFTRA strike is supposed to come to an end sooner than later, following reports of negotiations between the actors’ union and the entertainment studios & production houses. Once the negotiations are successful and the strike ends, The Champ is expected to return to Hollywood, to resume his schedule. As a result, committing to a singles storyline, especially one involving WWE’s highest gold, isn’t the best way forward for Titanland or The Champ.

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John Cena made his pick for the Greatest Of All Time

The debate of who is the Greatest of All Time has been going on for a while now. In the current era, the battle for being The GOAT is between Roman Reigns and John Cena.

However, The Leader of Cenation revealed who he thinks the greatest of all time is when he spoke to Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta at the WWE Superstar Spectacle media junket.

"In my perspective, I think Roman Reigns is the greatest of all time.”

John Cena reiterated the same on the October 13, 2023 edition of SmackDown. However, fans will always be divided about the real GOAT of WWE, given the legends Titanland has produced over the decades.

Who do you think is the real GOAT? Let us know in the comments section below.