An extremely large portion of WWE legends have been confirmed for the SmackDown Live 20th anniversary special and Fox premiere this week, but John Cena's status has been up in the air for a while.
The 16-time World Champion teased an appearance on his Instagram page earlier this week. Cena posted a photo of a watch, with the four hands pointing at 4, 10, 16 and 20. Some believe these numbers were references to the date of the show "Oct. 4" (4/10), Cena's 16 World Championships and the 20th anniversary of SmackDown.
Well, sorry Cena fans, but it sounds like he's not going to be appearing after all. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Cena is started filming Suicide Squad in the state of Georgia this week. Thus, it means Cena is "likely not available," though Johnson said he could still appear "as a surprise."
Even if Cena doesn't end up making it for the show, fans can at least enjoy the many other big-named wrestlers who are slated to appear. This includes The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Sting, Booker T, Trish Stratus, Mark Henry, Lita, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle and Mick Foley, among others.
Related: John Cena Hints At Appearance For Fox SmackDown Premiere
And of course, fans will be greatly entertained by Kofi Kingston's WWE Championship match with Brock Lesnar - one that promises to be among the greatest in the history of SmackDown.
Cena has seen his career as a movie star grow immensely over the past couple of years, so he only makes the odd appearance in WWE today. Over the past eight months, he's only showed up on WWE programming twice: At WrestleMania 35 and on the July 22 Raw Reunion special.
Cena Will Be Back Soon Enough
Even if Cena doesn't appear for SmackDown Live this week, it's safe to believe that he'll show up sooner rather than later. He could appear at the Oct. 31 Crown Jewel event, or perhaps the big Survivor Series pay-per-view. For now, we just have to sit back and play the waiting game while Cena films his next Hollywood blockbuster.
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