John Cena may have only wrestled once in 2022, but that hasn’t stopped speculation about his next WWE outing.
Cena stepped back into the ring on the December 30th and clearly had the time of his life teaming with Kevin Owens to overcome Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn. Although Cena’s WWE appearances have become less frequent due to his acting career, he’s never fully closed the door on wrestling.
The 16-time World Champion’s appearance on SmackDown came after it was reported that those within the company are expecting him to work WrestleMania 39. This is despite a filming schedule that will leave him unable to attend television tapings for much of February and March. This has naturally sparked speculation about who will get the job of standing across the ring from Cena at the spectacular.
In more recent weeks it has been reported that the sure-fire Hall of Famer will be facing Logan Paul. The YouTube star famously pitched for the match on social media in the wake of his defeat to Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel. Although Paul is currently recovering from a knee injury sustained in the bout with Reigns, it is believed that he will be fit in plenty of time for WrestleMania.
However, another star also seemingly has eyes on wrestler-turned-actor.
Austin Theory Taunts John Cena
On the January 9th episode of Monday Night Raw, United States Champion, Austin Theory came to the ring and proudly declared that “The champ is here!” A reference to Cena, who was famous for doing exactly the same.
Austin Theory has been compared to John Cena ever since making his proper breakthrough on the main roster in late 2021. It has often been said that WWE see Theory as the “next Cena” while the veteran has previously been full of praise for the young star.