John Cena Likely Off SummerSlam 2018 Card, But WWE Return Match Is Imminent

WWE SummerSlam 2018 will feature several big matches with the likes of Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey set to fight for championships, but one notable name could be left off the card. It’s looking more and more likely that John Cena won’t make an appearance at the event on Aug. 19 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Cena hasn’t made a WWE TV appearance since the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, and the company’s biggest show of the summer is less than two weeks away. That leaves just one episode of “Monday Night Raw” and two episodes of “SmackDown Live” remaining before the pay-per-view takes place.

It’s possible that Cena could show up to SummerSlam unannounced. There’s close to no chance that he’d have a match if one isn’t advertised.

Even since becoming a part-time performer a couple of years ago, Cena has always been part of WWE’s biggest shows. He wrestled The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 on April 8, and there was speculation that the two superstars might have a rematch at SummerSlam. Cena hasn’t missed SummerSlam since 2003 when he still had yet to win his first belt in WWE.

It isn’t just that Cena is a SummerSlam staple— his matches are oftentimes the biggest and best on the card. If Shawn Michaels is Mr. WrestleMania, Cena might deserve the moniker of “Mr. SummerSlam” because of how he’s delivered on WWE’s second-biggest annual show.

Every SummerSlam between 2011-2015 had a world title match on the card that featured Cena. He had consecutive classic matches with Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar in 2013 and 2014. Cena lost to Seth Rollins with both the WWE Championship and the United States Championship on the line in 2015 when former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart cost him the match.

SummerSlam 2016 was arguably the site of Cena’s best match. He was defeated by AJ Styles, cementing the former TNA star’s role as one of the top superstars in WWE.

SummerSlam became the event where other wrestlers would be elevated by beating Cena. While already a star, Lesnar truly became the most unstoppable force WWE had seen in years by squashing Cena in their WWE Championship match with 16 German Suplexes. Bryan beat Cena clean to win the WWE Championship for the first time, kickstarting his feud with Triple H and helping him reach heights that few WWE babyfaces had ever seen.

Unless something changes within the coming days, no WWE superstar will get the benefits that come along with beating Cena at SummerSlam this year.

When will Cena be back inside a WWE ring? It won’t be long after SummerSlam. He’s set to appear at WWE’s live event in Shanghai, China on Sept. 1.

Cena defeated Triple H at the Greatest Royal Rumble more than three months ago. He’s participated in five WWE PPVs in 2018.