John Cena is now being advertised on the official WWE Backlash event listing for May 9 in Tampa, with the arena page reading “JOHN CENA RETURNS TO TAMPA AT BACKLASH!” alongside the rest of the card. The listing went up on the Benchmark International Arena event page, and has fueled speculation that Cena could be in line for some form of in-ring return. That’s not happening.
On April 23, his 49th birthday, Cena posted directly to X about his Backlash plans.
“Man if only it were 2023 again!! I might have different business at @WWE #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,” Cena wrote.
Cena retired from in-ring competition on December 13, 2025, tapping out clean to Gunther in his final match at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. The 24-minute match closed out a year-long farewell tour and a 23-year career that included a record 17 world championships. Days before the match, WWE confirmed Cena had signed a five-year extension to remain with the company as a brand ambassador after his retirement from in-ring competition.
Also, worth noting that Cena lives in the Tampa area so it would make sense for him to appear.
Backlash will be the first WWE Backlash to livestream on ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service in the United States, the first to air live on an ESPN linear channel via a first-hour simulcast on ESPN2, and the first major Tampa-area WWE event since Hell in a Cell in 2021. Doors open between 60 and 90 minutes before the 5:30 p.m. ET start.
WWE Backlash 2026 takes place Saturday, May 9 from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Man if only it were 2023 again!! I might have different business at @WWE #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. https://t.co/I1Y9YiG06k
— John Cena (@JohnCena) April 23, 2026
