John Cena Talks WWE Return for 20-Year Anniversary: ‘I’ve Been Gone for Too Long’

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WWE legend John Cena teased a potential return to the company in the near future on Wednesday.

Speaking to Adam Glyn of the Adam’s Apple podcast (h/t Fightful’s Robert DeFelice), Cena discussed when he plans to resurface in WWE:

“Oh, soon. I know in WWE, I turn 20 pretty soon so that’s a pretty big thing. From a pretty storied class of folks Batista, Randy Orton, Brock [Lesnar], we kind of all turn 20 this year, so I’m aware that that’s coming around the corner, and who knows, but it’s one of those hard truths to bear. There’s a lot of cool stuff going on, and I don’t want to say no to any opportunities that are on my doorstep. So I don’t know when I’ll be back. But hopefully, it’s soon. I’ve been gone for too long.”  

The 45-year-old Cena is primarily focused on his duties in Hollywood these days, but he has still found a way to make time for WWE in recent years.

Cena’s transition from full-time WWE Superstar to movie star essentially took place in 2018. Since then, he has still had at least one match for WWE each year.

After working two matches in 2019, Cena faced “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 in a Firefly Fun House match in 2020 with no fans in attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cena didn’t come back again until the fans had returned, as he made a surprise appearance at Money in the Bank in July 2021 to confront Roman Reigns.

That led to a match between Reigns and Cena at SummerSlam, which Reigns won. That turned out to be Cena’s only televised match in 2021.

Cena worked upward of 15 matches during what was billed as the Summer of Cena by WWE, but almost all of them were dark matches or house show matches.

If another Summer of Cena is in the works for the 16-time world champion, his WWE return would likely occur within the next couple of months.

With Cena having so many commitments as an actor in movies and television series, however, his WWE return will be based solely on whether he is able to find some free time.

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