WWE confirms Major John Cena appearance at upcoming special event
WWE is on The Road to WrestleMania 41, but in a much bigger happening, the company is barely two months into John Cena's retirement tour. The 16-time World Champion has several big bookings on the horizon, and now he's been confirmed for a major show that could see Cena enter with new hardware.
Big Match John won his final Elimination Chamber match, then turned heel by joining The Rock and Travis Scott to destroy Cody Rhodes. Cena will now challenge The American Nightmare for World Wrestling Entertainment's Undisputed Championship at WrestleMania 41 in an attempt to break Ric Flair's legendary record. Cena is also confirmed for upcoming RAW tapings in Brussels, Glasgow, and London, and will be working until he officially retires at the end of the year.
The Face That Runs The Place is now official for his fifth career WWE SNME event, and he could enter the show as Undisputed Champion if he dethrones Rhodes on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX has been announced for May 24 at Yuengling Center in Tampa, FL, and Cena is the only confirmed name as of now.
WWE's primetime television extravaganza is a part of its Memorial Day Weekend takeover of Cigar City. The 39th SNME episode will air live at 8pm ET on NBC and simulcast on Peacock. Combo ticket packages will be put on sale next Friday, March 14 at 10am ET via Ticketmaster, but the pre-sale will begin two days prior. On Location is also selling SNME Priority Passes priced at $700 and $2,250.
WWE Memorial Day Weekend takeover to impact AEW
AEW previously moved its seventh annual Double Or Nothing PPV from Las Vegas to the Phoenix area due to WWE hosting WrestleMania 41 in Sin City a month prior. Now, Tony Khan's signature PPV has taken another hit from the competition.
World Wrestling Entertainment, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, and Vinik Sports Group announced today that four events will be held in the city during Memorial Day Weekend. The Yuengling Center, formerly the home to WWE's Thunderdome, will host the following events: SNME on May 24, NXT Battleground on May 25, RAW on May 26, and NXT on May 27. Battleground will go head-to-head with AEW Double Or Nothing as the companies did in 2023.
Officials will put three-day and four-day combo tickets on sale beginning Friday, March 14 via Ticketmaster, but prices have not been announced. It was noted that additional information on individual tickets will be announced at a later date.