John Cena's Best Booking Options For Upcoming Run of 7-Straight WWE SmackDowns

Credit: WWE.com

The Champ. Is. Back.

John Cena returns to WWE for seven consecutive SmackDown appearances, beginning Friday night in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

There is no readily apparent indicator of what the veteran's role will be with the promotion as part of the upcoming run, outside of a tag team match at Superstar Spectacle in India with Seth Rollins against Imperium's Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci.

The impending return of Cena has some wondering what he may have in store for the WWE Universe this time around.

As it turns out, there are plenty of potential creative options for the future Hall of Famer.

Cena was once the focal point of SmackDown, rising to prominence with the blue brand before rocketing into the stratosphere as WWE champion and the industry's top star.

He was able to do that because a preview generation, such as Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Undertaker, Booker T and John Bradshaw Layfield readied him for that role.

Cena has since made a career of getting guys such as Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan and the late Bray Wyatt ready to run atop WWE as the next crop of industry greats.

Now, the future WWE Hall of Famer has the opportunity to use his considerable star power to give two of the most promising young stars in the company a "rub" while signing off on the hottest star in professional wrestling.

Cena has already lent his credibility to Austin Theory, elevating the former United States champion by putting him over in the opening contest of WrestleMania 39. In his only other premium live event appearance of 2023, he shared the spotlight with Grayson Waller at Money in the Bank.

As the top heels on SmackDown in the absence of The Bloodline, Theory and Waller can wrap up their rivalry with the LWO's Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar as soon as Saturday's Payback and transition into a program with Cena and a tag team partner of his choosing.

Enter, LA Knight.

The Megastar arrives at the final quarter of 2023 as the hottest star in WWE, thanks to a fanbase that has been behind him for months. His pops are as loud as anyone's on the main roster, and his push has caught up recently.

A signature win at SummerSlam in the Slim Jim Battle Royal, a feud with WWE standard-bearer, The Miz and an emotional moment under the most difficult of circumstances during the Bray Wyatt memorial episode of SmackDown, has Knight on par with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins for recognition as the company's most beloved babyface.

Having the 40-year-old legitimized by way of an on-screen partnership with Cena, ending with a momentous sign of approval, would go a long way in confirming the fans' insistence that the self-proclaimed Megastar is what he says he is.

Validating his popularity via public acknowledgment, while working with Theory and Waller in a weeks-long program that would spotlight them at the top of the card, would help Cena ensure the blue brand has performers it can feature prominently for the future.

Just as a crop of WWE Hall of Famers once did for him.

At WWE Superstar Spectacle from Hyderabad, India, Cena will return to the squared circle when he teams with world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins to battle Imperium's Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser, as revealed by Sportskeeda Wrestling:

While it would appear to be a one-off bout that highlights the star power of Cena and Rollins against a believable heel act, the potential is there to tell the story of a legendary competitor haunted by the one title he has never managed to win: the Intercontinental Championship.

Kaiser and Vinci's Imperium teammate, Gunther, is the reigning champion amid a historic run with the title. He has been seemingly unbeatable having yet to be pinned or submitted since his arrival on the main roster in April 2022.

He has beaten former world champions, conquered every challenger who has stepped up to him and is as credible an in-ring performer as there is in the industry thanks to his punishing style that leaves no doubt he has made contact.

The Ring General has yet to encounter a star the magnitude of Cena, though.

A future Hall of Famer and a guy whose face belongs on the Mount Rushmore of WWE alongside Hulk Hogan, The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Cena is as accomplished and celebrated as any of them.

He would provide Gunther his greatest test while the Austria-born heel would represent the first seemingly insurmountable villain that pro wrestling's resident superhero has encountered since Rusev way back at WrestleMania 31 in 2015.

On top of all of that is the aforementioned title that Cena has not won, which would be the centerpiece of the feud and the greatest benefactor of such a program. Its significance and prestige would be elevated as the object of The Champ's desire and, for the first time in what feels like an eternity, the IC title could headline a pay-per-view.

Whether Cena actually fills that void in his resume or Gunther picks up the most significant victory of his career would be the question, but it's difficult to argue that the biggest star of the last 20 years is not a worthwhile option to dethrone The Ring General.

The greatest long shot of any potential creative choice for Cena in his short comeback, a 17th championship run, appears to be such an improbability that even discussing it feels futile.

Then, one remembers that WWE is in the middle of an initiative to rewrite history books with more modern feats.

Bianca Belair became the longest-reigning women's champion in nearly two decades. Gunther is days away from breaking the mark as longest-serving intercontinental champion. Roman Reigns makes history every morning he wakes up as the undisputed WWE universal champion at this point.

Against that backdrop, it would be ridiculous for WWE not to at least consider putting a world title on Cena and letting its greatest ambassador take over as the sole holder of the claim to the most (recognized) world titles in history.

Clearly, he would not be the one to defeat Reigns and end that monster run as champion but there is a way to get a world title on him. A convoluted and messy way, but a way nonetheless.

It begins with Shinsuke Nakamura taking advantage of Seth Rollins' injured back at Payback. When The Visionary somehow ekes out a win, Damian Priest cashes in his Money in the Bank contract and claims the title.

Cena issues a challenge from there, wins the gold after botched interference from Finn Bálor that intensifies the dissension within The Judgment Day, and grants a healed-up Rollins a shot at his title, perhaps as soon as Crown Jewel in early November.

That accomplishes the goal of Cena breaking the record, provides WWE with a high-profile main event in Saudi Arabia and offers a historic context for his return to the company far and above an eight-week vacation from his day job.

Again, though, it's a huge long shot, and Cena admits another world title is not in the cards. It would be fun, though.