John Cena is expected to make his WWE return as part of a feud with the company's current top star at one of its biggest events of the year.
Spectrum Sports' Jon Alba confirmed previous reports that Cena is expected to be WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns' opponent in the main event of the SummerSlam pay-per-view event on August 21.
WrestleVotesinitially reported WWE was working toward a Cena-Reigns match headlining the event if possible.
Alba reports Cena's acting schedule will be cleared in the beginning of July, which will coincide with WWE's return to a live event touring schedule, as well as a potential buildup to the SummerSlam match.
Cena missed this year's WrestleMania event, in April due to prior obligations and international travel restrictions amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic while filming the HBO Maxseries Peacemaker in Vancouver. The 15-time World Champion had never previously missed WWE's biggest annual event since his debut in 2003.
Cena, who was professional wrestling's top superstar throughout his career, was credited for always making a demanding WWE schedule prior to transitioning into an acting career. Since then, he's taken a part-time role with the company, still managing to make sporadic appearances, but hasn't appeared on WWE television since WrestleMania 36 in 2020.
Reigns has served as WWE's franchise player in Cena's absence. The former Georgia Tech football standout has closed out WrestleMania during five of the last seven years, which included retaining the Universal title by defeating Edge and Daniel Bryan in April.
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