John Cena's original plans for WrestleMania saw him set to face two top stars instead of current champion - Reports
Ahead of WrestleMania 39, it has been reported that Austin Theory was not locked in to face John Cena for the United States Championship until December 2022.
Instead, top WWE Superstars Logan Paul and Cody Rhodes were in line to go head-to-head with the 16-time world champion because it was a big decision as to who would face Cena in his first WrestleMania singles match in front of a live crowd since 2018.
According to the latest reports by Fightful Select, although Austin Theory was chosen, several wrestlers wanted the opportunity to work with John Cena.
They also reported that at one point, people within WWE pushed Cody Rhodes to face the Leader of the Cenation. However, by August 2022, it was almost inevitable that Cody would battle Roman Reigns.
Bruce Prichard says that WWE started planning for Cody Rhodes vs Roman Reigns back in August
"I would say that getting to this place, where we are, started probably in August. We were really shooting for that and trying to make things work so that by the fightful.com/wrestling/bruc…… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/lRlnqMBtqp
According to internal WWE documents, in addition to The American Nightmare, Logan Paul was considered an opponent for Cena and was even tentatively planned due to the whispers on the internet.
According to Fightful, Theory was planned in December 2022. WWE finalized on Theory vs. Cena and, shortly after booking Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul.
Austin Theory issued a warning to John Cena ahead of their match at WrestleMania 39
During this week's Monday Night RAW, Austin Theory put the former WWE Champion on notice ahead of their match.
The future is now 🙏
@_Theory1
#WWERaw https://t.co/NhOY8HVoo8
WWE featured a vignette on RAW in which Austin Theory was shown cutting a promo in an empty arena. He claimed, referring to himself, that John Cena could not see destiny before his eyes.
The United States Champion then told the 45-year-old WWE legend that he would make him believe in him while making the fans doubt Cena.
Do you think Theory would defeat Cena at the Showcase of the Immortals? Sound off in the comments section below.