WWE booked one of if not the biggest match possible for the main event of SummerSlam as John Cena challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Title.
The match had a slow start with a lot of mind games going on. Reigns beat Cena down for the majority of the match with Cena getting small parts of offense in. Cena with an AA for a near fall. Cena with the STF, but Reigns got to the bottom rope. Cena later hit an AA through the announce table.
Cena with an AA off the middle rope for a near fall. Reigns hit the spear for the win. Post-match, Brock Lesnar made his return.
Before this feud, Cena hadn’t been on WWE television since WrestleMania 36 where he took part in the Firefly Fun House match against Bray Wyatt. It was a trip down memory lane for Cena.
It wasn’t a normal match, but rather a series of segments where he went through all of his old gimmicks. The finish saw Wyatt hit Sister Abigail to Cena then choked him out with the Mandible Claw to end the match.
Cena has continued his Hollywood career while being away from WWE. He started serving as the host of TBS’ Wipeout series, filmed the second Suicide Squad movie, the Peacemaker series, and starred in the most recent Fast & Furious movie, F9.
Cena made his return at the WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view event in Fort Worth, Texas at Dickies Arena where he told Reigns that he couldn’t see him. After weeks of Reigns declining Cena’s challenge for a match, “The Big Dog” finally granted it.