An AEW star’s name was mentioned during this week’s WWE SmackDown in a shocking turn of events.
This week’s Friday Night SmackDown kicked off live from the Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois, with around 16,678 in attendance. The Greatest of all Time, John Cena, opened the show, which marked his last appearance on the blue brand.
Cena made his big debut against Kurt Angle, back in 2002, on SmackDown, in the same city. This made him emotional, remembering the moments from 23 years ago. Cena thanked the Chicago crowd, stating they have been the best for him ever since his debut.
Then came Sami Zayn, challenging Cena for the United States title. During the match, the commentator, Michael Cole, mentioned the fact that the first championship Cena ever won in the company was the same United States title against Big Show, who is currently signed with AEW.
https://x.com/MarkinOut/status/1964123139689820351
On March 14, 2004, Cena faced Big Show in a singles title match at WrestleMania XX. With the referee distracted, Cena hit Big Show with hidden brass knuckles and delivered an FU to win the match and the title. This marked the beginning of what later became the most decorated career in all of WWE. Since then, Cena has won the world titles a record 17 times, the United States Championship five times, and the tag team championship four times.
The September 5 Episode of WWE SmackDown
The same episode featured the return of Brock Lesnar for the first time since SummerSlam Night 2. He entered during the Cena vs Zayn match and attacked both wrestlers, decimating both with an F5. During a backstage segment, Lesnar challenged Cena for a singles match at WrestlePalooza, marking Lesnar’s first match since SummerSlam 2023 against Cody Rhodes.
https://x.com/WWE/status/1964128462471311733
Another groundbreaking thing happened during the same show. Arguably, the best Divas champion of all time, AJ Lee, made her return to the company during the main event to confront Becky Lynch. Read that here.