5 Big WrestleMania plans for John Cena that were canceled

If John Cena's latest comments about his WrestleMania 37 status are to be believed, the former World Champion won't be a part of the grand event this year.

John Cena first appeared at WrestleMania, way back in 2003. Cena rapped to cardboard cut-outs of Jay-Z and Fabolous, who were set to engage in a rap battle with him, but no-showed the event.

John Cena has done it all at WrestleMania. He has been featured in world title matches, has wrestled the very best, and will be remembered as one of the biggest Superstars in the event's history. As WrestleMania approaches closer, WWE starts making big plans for its top Superstars at the event, and the same has been the case for Cena over the years. Sometimes though, these plans end up getting canceled and replaced.

In this list, we will take a look at five original WrestleMania plans that WWE had for John Cena, which were canceled in favor of other plans that eventually made the cut.

#5 John Cena's planned match with Lars Sullivan at WrestleMania 35 did not happen

At WrestleMania 35, John Cena didn't compete but was involved in a segment with Elias. To the surprise of the fans in attendance and the millions watching at home, Cena came out donning the rapper gimmick that he had popularized during the height of the Ruthless Aggression Era.

Initially, WWE had planned a match for John Cena at WrestleMania 35, against Lars Sullivan. In early 2019, Sullivan was supposed to make his debut and target Cena on WWE TV, kicking off their feud on the Road to WrestleMania. Lars ended up leaving due to an anxiety attack, thus forcing WWE to cancel the plans.

At WrestleMania, Elias didn't expect John Cena's "Doctor of Thugonomics" persona to interrupt his concert. Cena insulted Elias using his rap skills, and then put him down to a huge pop from the WWE Universe. As for Lars, his career never picked up, minus a few short-lived dominant runs, and he was released in early 2021.