WWE officials have discussed a feud between John Cena and Cody Rhodes, two of the company’s top babyface Superstars.
According to a new report from WRKDWrestling, Cena vs. Rhodes has been discussed as a possibility during Cena’s return stint, which begins tonight on FOX’s SmackDown.
Cena will return to WWE TV during tonight’s SmackDown in Hershey, PA, and his next scheduled appearance will be at the WWE Superstar Spectacular in India on September 8. However, on Thursday, it was reported that WWE was considering Cena as a possible special guest host for Saturday’s WWE Payback event in Pittsburgh. Rhodes is also set to appear on Payback as a guest on The Grayson Waller Effect’s special PLE debut.
It’s worth noting that Rhodes was recently added to the September 8 SmackDown in Cena’s hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. Cena will not be present that night because he has been booked for the Superstar Spectacular in India.
Cena returned to RAW earlier this year on March 6 in Boston to promote his WrestleMania 39 loss to Austin Theory. After agreeing to the match, Cena cut a promo on the then-United States Champion, declaring that he was not ready for the WrestleMania stage. Cena then introduced Rhodes, who was primed for The Grandest Stage of Them All. Cena and Rhodes then reunited on the RAW stage, hugging and exchanging friendly words that fans couldn’t hear. Cena’s advice on the stage that night was later revealed by Rhodes.
Cena and Rhodes have wrestled many times before, mostly in multi-man matches when Cena worked with Legacy from 2008 to 2009, but their most recent match saw Rhodes work as Stardust. Cena defeated Rhodes by DQ on the September 7, 2009 RAW; Cena defeated Rhodes on the February 1, 2010 RAW; Cena defeated Rhodes on the January 28, 2013 RAW; Cena defeated Rhodes on the April 6, 2015 RAW; Cena retained the WWE United States Title over Stardust on the April 6, 2015 RAW.
Cena’s current WWE schedule is as follows:
* Friday, September 1 at the GIANT Center in Hershey, PA (SmackDown, Payback go-home show)
* Friday, September 8 at the GMC Balayogi Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad, India (Superstar Spectacle, teaming with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins to take on Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci)
* Friday, September 15 at the Ball Arena in Denver, CO (SmackDown)
* Friday, September 22 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ (SmackDown)
* Friday, September 29 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA (SmackDown)
* Friday, October 6 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO (SmackDown, Fastlane go-home show)
* Friday, October 13 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK (SmackDown)
* Friday, October 20 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX (SmackDown)
* Friday, October 27 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI (SmackDown)
John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes has been discussed as a possibility during Cena’s return stint. pic.twitter.com/c2WSJo8UbW
— WRKD Wrestling (@WRKDWrestling) September 1, 2023
