John Cena made his return to WWE television on Monday night during Raw and was noticeably emotional when he first came out to the stage, where he got a big reaction from fans in attendance.
The return was done to set up his WrestleMania Goes Hollywood match with United States Champion Austin Theory. At first, Cena turned down Theory’s “gift” to face him in a title match at the biggest event of the year for the company because he thought Theory hadn’t earned the moment. He roasted Theory and noted that WWE has to pipe in crowd noise because fans don’t care about him while he wrestles. They played into the comparisons between them before Cena accepted the bout.
On Tuesday morning, Cena commented on returning to WWE in his hometown of Boston and why he got so emotional.
Cena wrote, “Last night was the first time I entered the arena and had the thought that it might be the last time. I’ll never be able to put into words how much I love the #WWEUniverse.”
This will mark Cena’s first PLE match since SummerSlam in 2021, when he lost to Universal Champion Roman Reigns. It will be his first WrestleMania match since WrestleMania 36, when he lost to Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Funhouse match.
Last night was the first time I entered the arena and had the thought that it might be the last time. I’ll never be able to put into words how much I love the #WWEUniverse https://t.co/FR5T3r1tld
— John Cena (@JohnCena) March 7, 2023
