When is John Cena returning to WWE?

John Cena's name is bound to be brought up during a conversation revolving around professional wrestling. A sixteen-time World Champion with an unparalleled legacy, Cena is one of WWE's all-time greats with tremendous star power and a massive fan following.

Much to the disappointment of wrestling fans, The Champ has taken up a reduced role in WWE, making limited appearances. This is primarily due to his filming commitments. Cena's Hollywood career has taken off. Recently starring in blockbuster movies like F9: The Fast Saga and The Suicide Squad (2021), The Leader of the Cenation has become a recognizable celebrity in the industry, often drawing comparisons to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

The 45 year old's filming schedule and commitments are so rigorous that it has become a scarce sight to see him on WWE programming. Other part-timers like Brock Lesnar and Edge make many more appearances than Cena does.

Fortunately, The Champ is coming home. In his second WWE appearance of the year, John Cena will return to SmackDown on December 30 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa. His appearance is certain to raise the ratings of the final WWE event of the year.

BREAKING: John Cena will appear on the final WWE #SmackDown of 2022 (Variety) 🚨🚨🚨

The final SmackDown of the year on December 30th which will take place at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL.

LFG! twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/gs2GFzBgpI

John Cena has not wrestled a single match this year.

2022 could be the first calendar year since his debut that John Cena doesn't have a match of any kind

Had he not been booked for the event, this would've turned out to be the first year since 2002 not to feature a single professional wrestling match involving John Cena. This is a testament to how busy Cena has been in the last twelve months.

The Franchise Player has been deeply entrenched in WWE for two decades, and his absence has been sorely felt, especially with the lack of genuine star power in the locker room. Fans will want to see the Cenation get involved physically, with the expectations of him delivering a couple of Five Knuckle Shuffles and a few Attitude Adjustments.

John Cena's status for WrestleMania Hollywood is not clear

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Due to his schedule, John Cena has not been seen at WrestleMania in the last two years. He last wrestled at The Show of Shows in a theatric FireFly Fun House Match in April 2020 during the early days of the pandemic. Barring his segment with Elias at WrestleMania 35, Cena hasn't had a proper Mania match since his humiliating loss to The Undertaker in 2018.

Mania will take over Hollywood next year. The Rock is reportedly expected to compete for the spectacle, and The Leader of the Cenation may also return to The Grandest Stage of Them All if time permits. However, he may have to miss the show again as he will be filming a comedy called Ricky Stanicky with Zac Efron next year.

As for his opponent, Logan Paul's name has been brought up on social media quite a few times. If that does happen, we may witness a massive spectacle!