5 reasons why John Cena accepted 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt's WrestleMania 36 challenge

It's happening! John Cena returned to SmackDown for the first time in a long time and the expectation was that this WrestleMania 36 announcement would be made. Instead, Cena teased the fans with the big question about his WrestleMania appearance, only to reveal that he thinks that WrestleMania 36 should go on "without John Cena".

Just as he was getting ready to exit the arena and close the show - it happened. The lights went off and behind him stood 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt. There was no mandible claw, there was no direct attack. It was simply Wyatt pointing to the WrestleMania 36 sign, with Cena tipping his hat to confirm that he accepts.

So the rumors are, in fact, true. The original WrestleMania 36 plan was reportedly for The Fiend to face Roman Reigns, but things changed in a big way once Cena and Goldberg were onboard for the event.

WWE has confirmed it - John Cena accepts The Fiend's WrestleMania 36 challenge. Why did it happen? Here are a few possibilities.

#5. Best utilization of a rare John Cena match

Do you remember when the last time John Cena wrestled was? It was in the first half of January 2019 in a match to determine Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship opponent at Royal Rumble 2019. The objective of that match was to put over Finn Balor and Cena did exactly that, getting pinned by him and endorsing him.

He hasn't wrestled since and his appearances have drastically reduced. WWE knows how rare it is to get a match from John Cena, who has understandably taken a step back. The rumors of him facing Elias caused a lot of outrage and that was fixed instantly.