What’s the story?
Over the past week, news has broken that John Cena will return to WWE television as a free agent, first appearing on Smackdown on July 4th, then jumping between shows as creative sees fit. Today, Cena finally broke his silence on his free agent status via Facebook live
In case you didn’t know...
The wrestling world has been abuzz lately after learning about Cena’s status upon his return later this summer. News broke that when Cena returned, he would do so as a “free agent,” someone who would be able to jump between Raw and Smackdown at will.
The former 16-time champ left after Wrestlemania to finish up his contractual obligations to Hollywood and Fox, leaving a big gap in the star power of Smackdown Live.
The heart of the matter
Cena’s free agent status has the WWE Universe, fans, and sceptics alike, in a frenzy. Some believe that allowing Cena to appear on both brands will elevate talent that works with him while also bringing ratings back up on Monday nights.
Others believe it ruins the point of splitting the WWE into two separate brands, and feel Cena is only getting this treatment due to his “golden boy” status. Cena himself has yet to comment on his free agency until today, where he discussed what being a free agent means for him in the foreseeable future.
“Ah, oh yeah, I’m coming back as a free agent, which means that I can be on Raw or Smackdown...I’m coming back to Smackdown Live on July 4th, so that is my focus. I know that they’re gonna volleyball me between shows and between brands...I’m gonna come back and do the best I can and I’m very very happy to be back.”
Cena seems ready to get back to work in the WWE, and while he knows he’ll get some backlash for this move, he’s as ready as ever to come back and do what he does best.
What’s next?
Cena will be making his way back to Smackdown Live on July 4th and is expected to be thrust into the WWE title picture very soon. As we have reported here at Sportskeeda, it’s understood that Cena will enter into a program with Jinder Mahal in the near future, depending on where the Modern day Maharajah lands after his feud with Randy Orton ends.
Author’s take
Cena’s free agency is a hot topic right now, with a lot of people up in arms about it. However, given the past few years, I can only see this as a positive move. Not only will Cena help with the failing ratings on Monday Night Raw, but he has the ability to elevate guys to a higher status.
Men like Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin, and Braun Strowman have yet to have a lot of interaction with Cena, so we can expect to see that in the near future. It’s also possible that we get to see Cena take on Roman Reigns in a much-anticipated battle of the giants.
We don’t know for sure how long he’ll be around, but we know whenever he’s on WWE programming, it will be can’t-miss TV.
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