BSB #56 – Will John Cena Return?

By Ryan Joy
Updated: May 28, 2021
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Image Credit: WWE

Body Slam Brigade May 28, 2021

BSB #56 – Will John Cena Return?

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John Cena Returning?

One of the newest subscribers to the Body Slam Brigade Newsletter (William Cole) requested an article about John Cena and whether he’ll ever fully come out of retirement or just do spot appearances like the Undertaker.

The short answer is that John Cena can pretty much do whatever John Cena wants. Having said that, the likelihood of him coming back to WWE for an extended run seems far fetched at this point.

We have seen Brock Lesnar as a “full time” competitor for long stretches while only making a handful of appearances in any calendar year. The difference is that Lesnar was not working in other industries (film and television) that could be negatively impacted or put at risk due to suffering an injury inside a wrestling ring.

When questions of Cena’s involvement with WrestleMania came up earlier this year, John explained that while he would have loved to be a part of WrestleMania, his participation would delay his film schedule and cause the entire filming team to sit around and wait for him to travel and quarantine (his series is being filmed in Canada).

As a result, John Cena missed WrestleMania 37 ending his streak of consecutive WrestleMania appearances at 17.

SummerSlam

In the future, I’m sure Cena could commit to a program where he makes 1-3 appearances prior to a larger PPV match at WrestleMania or Summer Slam. In fact, there are plenty of rumors circulating right now about whether Cena will return this Summer to do just that.

Dave Meltzer reported that the leading rumor for Summer Slam is Cena v. Reigns, but he hasn’t been able to confirm it. Meltzer also reported that discussions between Cena and WWE were being held last week to have Cena appear on the 7/16 Smackdown from Houston. Those talks were not finalized.

If the idea is to have a big match at Summer Slam with Roman Reigns defending against a part-time wrestling star, then John Cena is the best option outside of The Rock. Brock Lesnar is probably the third name followed by Goldberg.

According to PW Insider, John Cena’s current filming commitments for his HBO Max Series (Peacemaker) end on July 6th. That is great timing for Cena to make the 7/16 Smackdown and a potential Summer Slam program. Cena’s return to WWE television might even serve as good PR for the Suicide Squad film that comes out on August 6th (as long as members of the Suicide Squad don’t serve as lumberjacks).

While the timeline looks nice and the rumors are swirling, absolutely nothing has come out to substantiate a Cena-WWE collaboration at this time.

If John Cena does return, you’ll know in advance because WWE will certainly advertise him before he appears on television. The only possibility of not advertising would be if he made a surprise return at one of the WWE Network specials (Hell in a Cell or Money in the Bank), but that could be viewed as a wasted opportunity to drive television ratings for Fox.

In summary, we’ll probably see Cena with the WWE before the end of the year (maybe even soon). A lot of factors seem to be coming together to make a Cena return possible within the next couple of months, but it’s really just a matter of time (and scheduling) before we see John Cena back in the ring. As far as him ever being a full-time wrestler again, those days are over with the exception of infrequent 4-6 week periods.

The China Situation

While everyone wonders about John Cena’s participation with WWE this Summer, Cena made headlines earlier this week when he made a public apology to China.

The Chinese government became outraged when Cena made a public comment stating that Taiwan was the first country to see his new movie F9.

While Taiwan is independently governed, China has long considered Taiwan to be part of their territory. Cena made the following apology over social media.

Hi China, I’m John Cena. I’m in the middle of Fast & Furious 9 promotions. I’m doing a lot of interviews. I made a mistake in one of my interviews, Everyone was asking me if I could use Chinese… the staff [of the movie] gave me a lot of information, so there was a lot of interviews and information. I made one mistake. I have to say something very, very, important now. I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry about my mistake. I apologize, I’m very sorry. You must understand that I really love, really respect China and the Chinese people. My apologies. See you.

Cena spoke the apology in Mandarin, and we should note that he never once apologized for calling Taiwan a country. He did say he made a mistake though, so we just assume that calling Taiwan a country was his mistake.

Due to the sheer size of the Chinese market, American businesses have a history of placating China. Cena’s F9 movie alone made 137 million dollars over the weekend, so Hollywood has a lot to lose.

While politicians, journalists, and regular people everywhere have called Cena “gutless” and “pathetic,” he probably needed to make the apology to keep Hollywood in the good graces of China. I’m not making an excuse for John, but that’s probably why he made the choice.

For me, I’m just wondering what the public would have done if John posted a video of him waving his hand in front of the camera while spouting, “Hey China. You can’t see me!” That’s how he handled his enemies in WWE, so why not try it when he makes an enemy out of the Chinese government. . . . I am being sarcastic of course.

Have a Great Weekend!

Ryan Joy

PS – Keep sending me your choice for topics to [email protected]

Daily Wrestling News Show

If you want to stay up to date on Pro Wrestling News, subscribe to the Daily Wrestling News Show – the podcast that sorts through all the BS in wrestling news to find you the truth.

Here are this week’s top stories:

Episode 103 – WWE Returns to Live Wrestling
Episode 104 – Will Ospreay Vacates the IWGP World Championship
Episode 105 – Adnan Virk is Out as Raw’s Lead Commentator
Episode 106 – Jimmy Smith is the new Raw Lead Commentator

Subscribe at www.DailyWrestlingNewsShow.com

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General News

Former Bellator and UFC announcer Jimmy Smith will be the new voice of Monday Night Raw. The announcement was made by WWE on May 26th. Earlier in the week, WWE announced that they had come to terms on the release of Adnan Virk.
Smith is the current host of Sirius XM’s Unlocking the Cage and ESPN’s International UFC Fight Camp Show. He recently appeared on the NXT TakeOver Stand and Deliver Pre Show and the Prime Target video package ahead of Finn Balor v. Karrion Kross.
Adnan Virk spent seven weeks as the play by play commentator for Monday Night Raw before his announced departure on Tuesday. Virk has other jobs in sports, and he did explain that the WWE job was getting to be too much.
Tom Phillips, the man that Virk replaced in April, was also officially announced as released by WWE on 5/27. Phillips spent nine years working with the company offering his commentary (at one time or another) to every brand currently being presented by WWE: Raw, Smackdown, NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live.
WWE announced late last Friday that they were going to begin touring the country again starting with Money in the Bank weekend in Texas. This week, WWE announced three more dates and cities fro their summer tour:
- July 23rd – Cleveland – Smackdown
- July 26th – Kansas City – Raw
- July 30th – Minneapolis – Smackdown
PW Insider reported that WWE held an “All Hands” meeting to inform their employees that they will be called back to the office in July
In addition to the shake-up in the WWE Announcing division, WWE also terminated the employment of several leaders and staffers in the WWE Advanced Media Group, WWE Studios, and WWE International. In all cases, the effort was meant to streamline efforts across the company.
There were rumors going around about Keith Lee getting released. While it certainly seems like everyone in WWE is vulnerable, there is nothing to those rumors.

Upcoming:

Hell in a Cell on 6/20

The next major WWE Show will be Hell in a Cell on 6/20

Rhea Ripley (c) v. Charlotte Flair – Raw Championship

Smackdown on 5/28

Jimmy and Jey Uso v. The Street Profits

205 Live on 5/28

Ari Sterling v. Ariya Daivari
Asher Hale v. Tony Nese

NXT on 6/1

Johnny Gargano v. Kyle O’Reilly v. Pete Dunne – NXT Championship #1 Contender Match
MSK v. Legado del Fantasma – NXT Tag Team Championships

NXT UK on 6/3

Ilja Dragunov v. Noam Dar

NXT UK on 6/10

Kay Lee Ray (c) v. Meiko Satomura – NXT UK Women’s Championship

Results:

Smackdown Results from 5/21

Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Bayley defeat Natalya, Tamina, Bianca Belair – 10:17
Shinsuke Nakamura defeats King Corbin – 05:22
Dominik Mysterio defeats Bobby Roode – 02:42
Apollo Crews defeats Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Big E – 21:54 (Aleister Black attacked Big E).

205 Live Results from 5/21

Ari Sterling defeats Asher Hale – 12:13
Ikeman Jiro and August Grey defeat Samir and Sunil Singh – 08:31

Raw Results from 5/24

Kofi Kingston v. Drew McIntyre Ends in No Contest – 21:51 – WWE Championship Opportunity – Adam Pearce later rules that Drew and Kofi will have a rematch next week. Bobby and MVP will be suspended if they get involved.
Nikki Cross defeats Rhea Ripley – Beat the Clock Challenge – 2:00
Charlotte Flair defeats Asuka – 21:25
Cedric defeats Shelton Benjamin – 11:54
Matt Riddle defeats Xavier Woods – 12:49
Match Announcement: Rhea Ripley v. Charlotte Flair at Hell in a Cell
Jaxson Ryker defeats AJ Styles – 02:02
Sheamus defeats Humberto Carrillo – 03:45
Natalya and Tamina defeat Shayna and Nia – WWE Tag Team Championships – 08:04 – Reggie got attacked by fire again causing a distraction that led to a decision.

NXT Results from 5/25

Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart defeats Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez – 11:26 – Raquel destroyed Shotzi after the match.
Pete Dunne defeats Bobby Fish – 12:10 – Lorcan attacked Fish after the match.
LA Knight interrupted the Million Dollar Face Off. After beating up Grimes, Knight left with Dibiase. Ted was looking for someone to carry on the Million Dollar Legacy.
Mercedes Martinez defeats Zayda Ramier – 03:23 – Mercedes got marked by Xia Li after the match.
Franky Monet defeats Cora Jade – 03:12
Bronson Reed’s promo got interrupted by Legado del Fantasma. Santos Escobar wants the North American Championship. MSK made the save before things got bad for Bronson.
Karrion Kross defeats Finn Balor – 22:24 – NXT CHampionship

WWE Main Event Results from 5/26

Ricochet defeats Mustafa Ali – 2 out of 3 Falls Match – 13:18

NXT UK Results from 4/27

Nathan Frazer defeats Sha Samuels – 09:04
Teoman defeats Ashton Smith – 06:39
Kenny Williams defeats Andy Wild – 04:05
Trent Seven defeats Sam Gradwell – 14:07

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Kenny Omega by My Ill Gotten Brain

AEW News

WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff returns to AEW Dynamite this Friday to host the Inner Circle Celebration.
After a foreign language announcer accidentally posted a match announcement, AEW formally announced that Serena Deeb will defend the NWA World Women’s Championship against former AEW World Women’s Champion Riho on the Double or Nothing Buy In Preshow.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Cody Rhodes said that he’s 99% sure the TNT Title will remain the TNT Title even after their move to TBS.
Fightful Select reported that the Stadium Stampede match will have a significant live element. This is different than last year as the entire match was a taped presentation in 2020.
AEW Dynamite will air on Friday Night next week too.
AEW did file to trademark “Rampage” – the name of their new television show.

Upcoming on AEW Double or Nothing on 5/30

Hikaru Shida (c) v. Britt Baker – AEW World Women’s Championship
Kenny Omega (c) v. Pac v. Orange Cassidy – AEW World Championship
Casino Battle Royal featuring Matt Sydal, Christian Cage, Private Party, Evil Uno, Colt Cabana, Preston Vance, Matt Hardy, Jungle Boy,
Cody Rhodes v. Anthony Ogogo
Hangman Page v. Brian Cage
Inner Circle v. Pinnacle – Stadium Stampede. If Inner Circle loses, they must break up.
Young Bucks v. Moxley and Kingston – AEW World Tag Team Championship
Miro v. Lance Archer – TNT Championship
Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page v. Sting and Darby Allin
Riho v. Serena Deeb (c) – NWA Women’s World Championship

Upcoming on AEW Dynamite on 5/28

Miro v. Dante Martin – TNT Championship
Joey Janela v. Adam Page
Weigh In – Cody and Ogogo
Jade Cargill Open Challenge
A Celebration of the Inner Circle
Uno and Grayson v. Sky and Page
Orange Cassidy answers Kenny Omega
Celebration of Hikaru Shida’s Year as Champion

AEW Dark Elevation Results from 5/24

QT Marshall defeats Robo – 04:48
Abadon defeats Leila Grey – 02:55
Thunder Rosa defeats Ashley D’Amboise – 05:00
Profile on the Gunn Club
Lee Johnson defeats Daniel Garcia – 06:05
Nyla Rose defeats Robyn Renegade – 02:35
Ethan Page defeats Alex Reynolds – 09:31
Tay Conti defeats Queen Aminata – 03:01
Penta El Zero Miedo defeats Mike Sydal – 06:14
Scorpio Sky defeats Alan Angels – 06:12
Matt Hardy defeats Fuego del Sol – 04:15
Ren Narita defeats Royce Isaacs – 06:04
Rocky Romero defeats JD Drake – 11:29

AEW Dark Results from 5/25

Nick Comoroto defeats Duke Davis – 00:50
Aaron Solow defeats Gannon Jones – 1:45
Preston Vance defeats Dillon McQueen – 06:26
Evil Uno and Colt Cabana defeat Steven Andrews and Simon Lotto – 02:43
Big Swole and KiLynn King defeat The Bunny and Madi Wrenkowski – 07:21
Billy and Colton Gunn defeat Kal Hero and Liam Gray – 05:58
Leyla Hirsch defeats Vertvixen – 02:45
Dante Martin defeats Jason Hotch – 05:06
Diamante defeats Reka Tehaka – 02:56
Joey Janela defeats Bear Bronson – 08:45
Angelico defeats Ryzin – 04:51
Julia Hart defeats Tesha Price – 04:15
Brian Cage defeats Sonny Kiss – 05:26 – Hook attacked Sonny Kiss after the match and Joey Janela did not come to the rescue.

Introducing the Daily Wrestling News Show

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Jon Moxley by My Ill Gotten Brain

General News

New Japan has yet to announce their plans for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship that Will Ospreay vacated last week due to his present neck injury.
NJPW have also yet to announce a card for the June 6th Dominion Pay Per View show or revised dates for the two stadium shows (Yokohama and Tokyo) postponed last month.
Ospreay wrote on twitter that he’s going for another MRI to determine if he has a similar issue with his lower back that he is known to have with his neck.
Kazuchika Okada and Taichi both confirmed positive COVID diagnosis. Okada has already returned to television.
Dave Meltzer reported in the 5/28 Observer Newsletter that WWE President Nick Khan has been in talks with New Japan to have WWE become New Japan’s exclusive partner. Meltzer, himself, said this might not go anywhere.

Upcoming Show Lineups

Upcoming on New Japan Strong on 5/28

Clark Connors v. AJZ
El Phantasmo v. Wheeler Yuta
Tom Lawlor v.Chris Dickinson – Strong Openweight Championship

Major Show Results –

New Japan Strong Results from 5/21

Bateman defeats Alex Coughlin – 09:42
Karl Fredericks and Brody King defeat Danny Limelight and JR Kratos – 08:02
Fred Rosser defeats Hikule0 – 15:32

Tommy Dreamer by My Ill Gotten Brain

General News

Fightful has reported significant buzz from the Impact locker room regarding an X-Division Iron Man match that took place at the last taping. We don’t know when that match will air or who will participate.
The Wrestling Observer reported that Moose, whose contract with Impact was set to expire in June, did sign a new deal.
Satoshi Kojima made his Impact Wrestling debut on 5/27. Kojima challenged Joe Doering for a match at Against All Odds.

Impact Against All Odds – 6/12

The next major Impact show will be Impact Against All Odds on June 12

Moose v. Kenny Omega (c) – Impact World Championship
Satoshi Kojima v. Joe Doering
Rosemary v. Deonna Purrazzo (c) – Knockouts Champion

Upcoming on Impact Wrestling – 6/3

BTI – Josh Alexander v. TJP
Jake Something v. ROhit – Tables Match
Kojima v. Deaner
Fire N Flava v. Grace and Ellering – Tag Title Match

Show Results –

Impact Wrestling from 5/27

TJP and Fallah Bahh defeat Josh Alexander and Petey Williams – 12:04
Jordynne, Rachael, Rosemary, Havok, and Tenille defeats Fire N Flava, Deonna, Susan, Kimber Lee – 12:05
Crazy Steve and Black Taurus defeats Johnny Swinger and Hernandez – 03:55
The Good Brothers defeat Sami Callihan and Moose – 11:08

Essential Wrestling Podcast Episode 55 – Click Here

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General

MLW Had The Opening Round of Draft Announcements as they reload their roster. Here are the talent announcements so far:
- Marshall and Ross Von Erich.
- Gino Medina.
- King Muertes – I must have missed the name update from Mil Muertes
- Davey Richards – Richards is a former ROH Champion
The May 5th episode was the season finale. MLW does not plan to return with programming until the July dates, which will include fans.

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ROH News

Mazzarati has been announced as the latest participant in the ROH Quest for Gold Women’s Tournament.
Mazzerati joins Allysin Kay, Trish Adora, Rok-C, Angelina Love, and Miranda Alize.

Upcoming on ROH Best in the World

The next major PPV from Ring of Honor will be on July 11th. The show will include fans. No matches announced yet.

Upcoming on ROH TV Episode 506

The Foundation (Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus) vs. Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Chris Dickinson & Homicide)
Joe Keys vs. LSG

ROH TV 505 Results

Fred Yehi defeats Rocky Romero – Pure Rules Match – 14:44
Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus defeat Mike Bennett and Matt Taven – 16:38

Women’s Wednesday – 05/26

Angelina Love defeats Mazzerati – 11:18

NWA

NWA Powerrr Results for 5/25
- Aron Stevens and Kratos defeat The War Kings – 05:45
- Nick Aldis defeats Matthew Mims – 02:18
- Thunder Rosa and Kamille wrestle to a draw – 20:00
- Trevor Murdoch wins 14 man battle royal to become #1 Contender
The next PPV for NWA takes place on 6/6 under the When Our Shadows Fall Name
- Nick Aldis (c) v. Trevor Murdoch – NWA World Championship

Coastal Championship Wrestling (South Florida)

Bash at the Brew 5 takes place on June 5th at Unbranded Brewery in Hialeah, FL.
- Will Austin v. Alex Ocean – Last Man Standing
- Vandal Ortugan v. Nick Turner – GWE Latin American Championship
- Leila Grey v. JC Storm
- Jake Tucker v. Cha Cha Charlie
- Super Crazy and Ricky Marvin v. South American Alliance
- Mantequilla v. Vic Arson
Wynwood Fight District – June 18th at Fun Dimensions – Miami, FL
American Made – July 2nd at the Boca Black Box in Boca Raton, FL
Patriot Games – July 10th at the MidFlorida Event Center in Port Saint Lucie, FL
CCW’s Summer Glory featuring Brian Cage takes place on June 19th at Xtreme Action Park.
- Jackal Stevens (c) v. Davey Richards – CCW Southeaster Championship
- Brian Cage v. Facade
Music City Fight Night – August 28, 2021 – Nashville

Ignite Wrestling (Vero Beach, Florida)

Ignite Rewind this wee features
- Victor Vences v. Gabriel “Gabezilla” Lacey
- Tripp Cassidy v. Serpentico

MCW Pro Wrestling (Joppa, Maryland)

This week’s MCW Cast featured Phil Stamper, Tara, Larry, and Kekoa (The MCW Champion)

Game Changer Wrestling

Hybrid Wrestling Roll of the Dice – June 4
- Lio Rush v. Homicide
- Gangrel v. KTB
- Jordan Oliver v. JJ Garrett
- Masha Slamovich v. Holidead
- Willow Nightingale v. Marti Belle
- Fire ‘N Flava v. Yoya and Janai Kai
- Mance Warner v. Manders
Death Match Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony – Atlantic City, NJ – June 5
- Sick Nick Mondo
- Supreme
JCW – June 5
GCW Tournament of Survival – Atlantic City – June 5
- Alex Colon
- Nolan Edward
- Bam Sullivan
- Effy
- Orin Veidt
- Manders
- Atticus Cogar
- G-Raver
GCW Show – June 6 – Zombie Walk
- Ninja Mack v. Joey Janela
- Lio Rush v. Dante Leon
- Tony Deppen v. Jack Cartwheel
- Dickinson v. Starboy
- Grim Reefer, Nick Gage
Outlaw Mudshow from Laramie, WY – June 19th
- Jordan Oliver
- Mance Warner
JCW – Ridgefield Park, NJ – July 3
Backyard Wrestling – 7/4
Fight Club Houston from Houston, TX – 7/9
- Nick Gage v. Sadika
- Arez featured on the card
GCW You Only Die Once from Dallas, TX – 7/10
- Bryan Keith Returns
Mixco v. Zona 23 – July 18
GCW Homecoming from Atlantic City, NJ – July 24, 25
Los Angeles – 8/7
Chicago – 9/3 – 9/4
Los Angeles – 9/17
Los Angeles – 10/23

Other General News

AAA TripleMania will take place on August 14th. Announced for the Show
- Andrade v. Kenny Omega – AAA Mega Championship
- Faby Apache v. Deonna Purrazzo – Title for Title