John Cena to appear at Raw reunion, is SummerSlam next?

Could John Cena’s Raw Reunion appearance set the stage for something bigger later in the summer?

John Cena wasn’t initially scheduled to appear at Raw Reunion on July 22 in Tampa, Florida, but plans have changed. Cena is now expected to be at the show, per Post Wrestling.

This will be the first time we have seen Cena on WWE television since WrestleMania 35, where he came back as the Doctor of Thuganomics to confront Elias. With Cena not fully retired, and only being part-time, one has to wonder whether he could come back for SummerSlam on August 11.

With Cena still able to perform at a high level, and for ratings to be high on pay-per-views, his appearance on Raw on Monday night could serve to set up something for SummerSlam. Maybe perhaps a feud with Elias?

Elias has had a run-in with a couple of WWE legends this past year, including The Undertaker and Jeff Jarrett, along with Cena. However, if the WWE wants to push Elias into being a bigger star, it would make sense for him to feud with Cena, who is one of the biggest Superstars in WWE history.

With Elias’ theme always trying to put on a concert, Cena can again interrupt him as the Doctor of Thuganomics, only this time to set up a match. It would be the perfect mixture. It makes sense for both sides and continues a story the two started in April. And it could be one of the best leading up to SummerSlam, which needs a bit of flair on the match card given its one of WWE’s four biggest shows of the year.

The feud could be similar to the feud between AJ Styles and Randy Orton leading up WrestleMania 35, where the theme was who’s “house” it is, Styles’ or Orton’s. The theme, and the feud could be centered around who is the best musician between the two. This could keep or build the teenage audience that the WWE is very afraid of losing.

No matter how it happens, an appearance by Cena at SummerSlam would be a huge boost in ratings for the company. Whether people love him, or hate him, he draws in ratings no matter what. And with AEW’s All Out pay-per-view coming at the end of August, the ratings for SummerSlam will need to be high to be competitive.

Bringing in Cena for a match at SummerSlam makes perfect sense to do that. We’ll see if Raw Reunion sets the stage for it.