Entertainment
Watch John Cena wrestle first proper WWE match since 2019 in untelevised clash
The match was just for the live crowd (Photo: WWE)
John Cena wrestled his first proper WWE match in over two years after SmackDown went off the air last night.
The former world champion has returned from Hollywood as the company builds to a huge SummerSlam show, and he’s yet to have a match on TV since his surprise comeback at Money In The Bank last weekend.
However, fans at Cleveland, Ohio on Friday were lucky enough to see The Suicide Squad actor back in his natural environment as he teamed up with Rey and Dominik Mysterio once the cameras stopped rolling.
He worked a dark match as the trio faced off against Roman Reigns and his cousins Jimmy and Jey Uso.
Cena looked sharp in the ring as he went through his paces in clips uploaded on Twitter, while WWE wisely didn’t give too much away as the Tribal Chief abandoned the bout rather than get involved with his rival.
Instead, he left his cousins open to 619s and Attitude Adjustments as Cena, Rey and Dominik pinned Jimmy and Jey, and the referee counted both men out.
Cena’s last official match came at WrestleMania 36 in April 2020 when he lost a Firefly Fun House bout to ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt’, although the cinematic masterpiece wasn’t wrestling in the traditional sense.
The last time fans saw him in a straight-up match, he missed out on a Universal Championship opportunity as Finn Balor won a Number One Contenders Fatal Four Way on Monday Night Raw in January 2019.
As well as Cena, both Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin were also on the losing end, and Balor went onto face Brock Lesnar in a losing effort at the Royal Rumble that same month.
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During the SmackDown broadcast itself this week, Cena called out Roman, only for the Universal Champ to reject his challenge by the end of the night.
The Head of the Table even slated his rival’s ‘nostalgia’ act, comparing it to ‘missionary position’ and insisting they won’t be meeting in the SummerSlam main event.
Almost immediately after he spoke, Balor’s music hit and the Prince came to the end, laid down a challenge of his own – which Reigns was quick to accept.
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