A top superstar is slated to miss WWE’s next PPV (pay-per-view) event.
That superstar is former WWE Champion John Cena. The WWE Universe has a love-hate relationship with the former WWE Champion.
If you recall, Cena was first introduced as a babyface on the SmackDown brand back in 2002 when he made his debut with the company in a singles match against Kurt Angle.
They would later turn Cena into a heel, and he would portray that character until 2004 when he turned into a babyface. After winning the WWE Title from John Bradshaw Layfield at WrestleMania 21 in 2005, the sports entertainment company has continued to keep him as a babyface due to his popularity with younger fans.
For years now, the older male audience has called for the former WWE Champion to turn heel and go to the dark side. Not only because they want to change Cena from being portrayed as a babyface, which he has done for over a decade but also because he was such a great heel back in the day.
WWE has considered doing this in the past, but at the end of the day, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and other WWE officials have yet to pull the trigger on a Cena heel turn.
According to The Wrestling Observer (via sportskeeda.com), Cena is not scheduled to be part of the Clash of Champions PPV.
The former WWE Champion is booked for several WWE live events in December. As of this writing, Cena is scheduled for a few Raw live events after Christmas as well as a SmackDown live event on December 30th. Here is his updated schedule:
--- Tue. Dec 26: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY (RAW)
--- Wed. Dec 27: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY (RAW)
--- Fri. Dec 29: Times Union Center, Albany, NY (RAW)
--- Sat. Dec 30: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL (SmackDown)
The Clash Of Champions pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, December 17th, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts at the TD Garden and will air on the WWE Network and some traditional pay-per-view outlets. This will be an exclusive SmackDown Live brand event.
Only one match for the upcoming event has been officially announced, which is AJ Styles defending the WWE Title against Jinder Mahal. Here is the rumored card for the upcoming event:
WWE Title Match: AJ Styles (c) vs. Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Title Match: The Usos (c) vs. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin
United States Title Match: Baron Corbin (c) vs. Bobby Roode
Tag Team Match: Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Tag Team Match: The New Day vs. Rusev and Aiden English
Six-Woman Tag Team Match: Charlotte, Natalya, and Naomi vs. Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan