Yesterday, PEOPLE broke the news that John Cena will compete in his first singles match for WWE since WrestleMania 39 at Crown Jewel next weekend. His opponent? The Bloodline's Solo Sikoa!
The leader of the Cenation returned to WWE in August (largely due to the fact Hollywood is on strike) and has been welcomed with open arms by fans. Billed as the "greatest of all time," it's a moniker even those who used to loudly chant "Cena Sucks!" have gotten on board with.
A WWE source tells the site, "Cena is energized by the idea of working with younger talent" and that he's "been blown away by the response from the WWE Universe" since returning over the summer.
During last night's episode of SmackDown, Cena hit the ring to talk more about the fact he's gone without a win for years now and admitted he feels like he's in jeopardy of losing the crowd's respect. He knows he needs to win at Crown Jewel, prompting Paul Heyman to come out and reflect on their shared history.
The Wiseman said that Roman Reigns ended Cena's time as the best there is when they clashed at SummerSlam and, as he continued to taunt the Babyface, Solo sneak-attacked Cena and laid him out with a Spike.
It's true that Cena needs a win and, while it's a shame it will likely come at Solo's expense, sharing the ring with the 16-time WWE Champion will do nothing but elevate the up-and-coming Superstar.
Check out some highlights from SmackDown below.
Here's Crown Jewel's current confirmed match card ahead of it taking place next Saturday:
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Seth "Freakin" Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
Women's World Championship - Fatal Five-Way Match
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Zoey Stark vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match
Roman Reigns (c) (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. LA Knight
United States Championship Match
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Logan Paul
Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest
John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa