From the WWE Rumor Mill: Big update on John Cena's return

One of the many matches the fans deserve to see one more time! — The showdown that needs to happen again!

What's the story?

The upcoming Clash of Champions PPV will be devoid of a John Cena appearance as the Cenation leader is not scheduled for wrestle at the SmackDown exclusive PPV, according to NODQ.

However, Cena is set to appear at a major live event in December.

In case you didn't know...

The 16-time WWE Champion returned to in-ring action at the recently concluded Survivor Series PPV as part of team SmackDown in the Traditional 5-on 5 Elimination Match.

The surprise return ended in a losing effort as Team Raw walked away with the bragging rights courtesy of Triple H's devious plan that backfired in monstrous fashion.

The spotlight has shifted on Cena's future yet again with Survivor Series in the books and the free agent is expected to return to action very soon but there's a catch.

The heart of the matter

The next SmackDown exclusive PPV, Clash of Champions is scheduled to take place on December 17th and the advertisements currently don't feature the 'Face That Runs The Place'.

However, Cena has been announced to return at WWE's next MSG special on December 26th. The MSG house show is a Raw branded event with Cena all set to have his rematch against Roman Reigns.

In case you didn't know, the 5-time US Champion was originally supposed to face Samoa Joe at the MSG show before WWE had to cancel the dream match under mysterious circumstances.

Cena vs. Reigns may be a solid replacement, but Joe vs. Cena is a pairing of a different calibre altogether. WWE ought to give us the dream match in 2018!

What's next?

AJ Styles will defend the WWE Championship against Jinder Mahal at Clash of Champions. No other matches have been announced for the final PPV of 2017 as of this writing.

As for John Cena, there is no word on what the WWE has in store for his return. Kurt Angle recently teased a nostalgic rematch against John Cena on Twitter and it will be interesting to see if the WWE pulls the trigger on it anytime soon.

Author's take

It's pretty surprising that John Cena was just an afterthought in a star-studded Survivor Series line-up. While that is not essentially a bad thing, it could hint at WWE's large-scale plans for Cena upon his return.

With a record-breaking 17th world title around the horizon, the prospect of putting over many more upcoming talents, and marquee dream matches against Samoa Joe and the rest, the sky is the limit when it comes to the televised comeback of the legendary WWE Champion.