WWE gave its program the final push for Payback as the most recent episode of SmackDown aired from the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This week’s show was the first one of September 2023, and the Stamford-based promotion did its best to make it a memorable one.
As John Cena made his highly anticipated return on this week’s SmackDown, he was obviously the highlight of the show. His return on Friday’s episode was his first appearance since MITB 2023, and fans were elated after he made an exciting announcement about his role at WWE Payback.
The 16-time World Champion will return to the event in a never seen before role, as he will be hosting the Triple H-led promotion’s upcoming premium live event. As announced by Cena, he’ll host the show on Saturday, September 2, and it’s sure that the crowd in Pennsylvania, will welcome him wholeheartedly.
BREAKING: @JohnCena is the host of #WWEPayback tomorrow night!@peacock
— WWE (@WWE) September 2, 2023
🦚 https://t.co/xRBTNzqw23
🌎 https://t.co/aEwGYUp0uE pic.twitter.com/whoMWgDdVg
It must be noted that following his appearance at Payback, John will be seen regularly on WWE TV, as he is scheduled to make seven SmackDown appearances. The thing that’s even more exciting is that he’ll be making them consecutively across the months of September and October.
As it’s been announced that The Cenation Leader will serve as the host on the PLE; it’ll be interesting to see if he’ll make an in-ring appearance in any of the matches. It remains to be seen what he’ll actually be doing next, but one thing is sure: this run is going to give fans a lot of nostalgia, as it’s going to be his longest WWE run in the last decade.
John Cena will make his in-ring return after WWE Payback
While it’s not really sure if John Cena will be seen making an in-ring appearance at WWE Payback. But his return to action has already been announced by the Triple H-led promotion, as the 16-time World Champion will be making his in-ring return after Payback.
As announced by WWE on their X handle, The Cenation Leader will be making a return to in-ring competition at the company’s Superstar Spectacle show in India, on Friday, September 8, 2023. While sharing this exciting news, the Stamford-based promotion announced that Cena will team up with Seth Rollins for a four-man tag team encounter.
The 16-time World Champion and The Visionary will be competing against Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci from SmackDown’s Imperium. It’s important to point out that this will be Cena’s first ever match in India, and his popularity among the local audience guarantees a lot of support for him. Looking at the fanbase, it’s safe to say that John’s team will probably come out on top in this match.
Even during this week’s appearance, The Cenation Leader referred to this match, as he thanked the WWE universe for giving him the opportunity to travel to India. While John’s return to in-ring action is already confirmed, it remains to be seen what he’ll be doing across the next two months on SmackDown.
