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Arena Advertising John Cena's Next WWE Appearance Later This Week

Will John Cena be at WWE Backlash this Saturday night in Tampa, Florida?
Rick Ucchino|
John Cena
John Cena | WWE

WWE has yet to make any kind of announcement, but John Cena is being advertised for his return to programming this week.

The Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida is getting set to host WWE Backlash this coming Saturday, May 9 and the arena website is claiming that the Never Seen 17-Time World Champion will be making his return to The Big Guava.

"John Cena returns to Tampa at Backlash," written in bold all caps, headlines the arena's rundown for the show that includes only three of the five matches that have currently been booked for the annual Premium Live Event.

As everyone knows, John Cena retired from in-ring competition this past December following his loss to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event. He's in the process of figuring out his long-term post-wrestling role with the company that, so far, has included his work with Club WWE and his role as the host of WrestleMania 42 last month in Las Vegas.

It's not clear what Cena would be doing if he were to appear at Backlash, but he did tease doing something at the show back in April.

“Man if only it were 2023 again," Cena wrote on his X account. "I might have different business atWWE Backlash. Alas, the years pass. I am still gonna try to do something epic in Tampa for 5/9. I promised Club WWE something special, stay tuned.”

No, John Cena is not going to return to the ring at Backlash

Danhausen
Danhausen | WWE

Even though his new BFF, Danhausen, is in need of a tag team partner to face The Miz and Kit Wilson this Saturday night, another match is most assuredly out of the question for the future Hall of Famer.

Cena has been adamant from the moment he announced his 2025 retirement tour that when his time was up, he would be done for good. A sentiment he reiterated in a recent interview with TMZ.

“I’m one of those folks who will be the first wrestler to actually retire and I hope I set a trend," Cena said. “I think it’s very important that we respect our audience and when they invest in us to see us for the last time, I think that that has weight and importance.”

We'll keep you updated on any additional information that may emerge regarding on a potential role for John Cena this Saturday night at WWE Backlash.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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