At Money in the Bank on July 18, John Cena make his long-awaited WWE return, confronting Universal Champion Roman Reigns, who'd just retained his title over Edge.

Wrestling Twitter over the next few days pretty much exclusively featured people resharing the clip of John Cena returning at the end of the pay-per-view, with many dubbing the return as an "all-time" top moment in WWE history.

What makes Cena's return this time around even more impactful is, while preparing to face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, Cena has several movies coming out, including Suicide Squad and Fast and Furious 9.

Over the last few weeks, GiveMeSport has had the pleasure of speaking to several members of the WWE roster about just how impactful John Cena's return has been, whether from an on-screen perspective, or by looking at things behind the scenes.

Speaking with us after winning the 2021 Money in the Bank ladder match, Big E spoke about how he spent time after the pay-per-view rewatching Cena's return, which he described as one of the "best pops" he's ever heard:

"I didn’t know that he was coming out. I was like 30 seconds late, I missed the very beginning, so I went back and watched that pop, and I stopped being a wrestler, a performer, a fellow WWE Superstar, and I just became a fan. I just kept watching that over and over again, because that’s one of the loudest and best pops I’ve heard since I’ve been signed here, that’s an all-timer. That’s an incredible pop. It’s cool to see that buzz again."

The excitement was shared by NXT UK star Flash Morgan Webster, who despite being an active member of the roster, recalled getting "goosebumps" when he saw Cena return at Money in the Bank:

The crowd went absolutely mental. I had goosebumps when he came back. And yes, SummerSlam the thought of him and Roman, like Roman is on absolute tear at the moment having some of the best maybe the best title matches since Bret Hart. That's that's something I would put out there potentially. And yeah, I'm really excited.

So much is the impact of having Cena back in WWE that Big E spoke about not feeling envious of the Hollywood meagstar for being involved in top storylines:

I can compartmentalise enough to not always, I can see someone do well and shine without being envious and like ‘that’s my spot’ or ‘that’s where I should be’. I can take a step back and say ‘man, that’s just a really cool moment

It isn't only just what he brings to the product that WWE stars appreciate about John Cena, but multiple members of the roster spoke about how the former WWE Champion has been someone they seek out advice from.

Despite being a former WWE Champion himself, Drew McIntyre spoke to GiveMeSport about how he "harrassed" Cena whenever he's backstage, simply because of how much he wants to learn from him:

It's awesome having John backstage because he genuinely wants to be there. He loves this and he'd being doing it full-time if he physically could. When he's there, you're an idiot if you don't pick his brain. That's somebody who doesn't just get it, he gets it at the highest possible level when it comes to the storytelling, the psychology, and every possible area of the company. I know I harass him as soon as I get the opportunity to because I just want to learn from him.

This was a sentiment shared by Big E, who even brought up how Cena had donated a considerable amount of money to his 'Our Heros Rock' Kickstarter, with the SmackDown star even highlighting how Cena has always been someone who has looked out for him:

He’s done a lot over the years to be helpful, to give me advice, or to offer me a place to train, and I appreciate that. He contributes to our Kick Starter for ‘Our Heros Rock’, contributed a lot of money to it, so I always appreciate that he’s someone who has looked out for me.

Drew McIntyre also brought up just how important John Cena's Hollywood movie status is in bringing new eyes to the WWE product, something that McIntyre said he's been trying to do in his media appearances:

When it comes to being on the show, he's in all these giant Hollywood movies that are out or coming out, and he's bringing those eyeballs. All those eyeballs when I do all my media interviews, I'm trying to attract or explain to people who maybe don't watch us or are lapsed fans and why you should check (WWE) out. Hopefully, they listen to me and check it out, but for a lot of people it's 'Oh, John Cena is back' and they check it out or 'Oh, that guy from the movie is wrestling, I didn't know he was a wrestler, I'm going to check it out.' They see him, but they also see our other superstars and how good they are and they are like, 'Okay, I like this guy, I like this girl, I will continue to watch the show.' Someone like John Cena has a massive impact and the best thing of all is he genuinely genuinely loves WWE more than anything.

While Cena may be involved in some of the biggest movies at the moment, a common theme amongst the wrestlers we spoke to was how committed Cena is to the WWE product.

Samoa Joe spoke to GiveMeSport about how admiration for how Cena always tries to return to WWE in between his filming schedule.

John has always been a guy who has been adamant and this has been a big part of his ascension to where he is now. He is going to do his best by it to come back whenever he can. It's always good to have him back, especially for a big SummerSlam, and one like this where we have fans back and it's looking to be a big event to kick off, hopefully, better things to come.

Samoa Joe continued on that point, highlighting just how rigorous Cena's Hollywood movie schedule is, again just showing his devotion and love for the WWE product to make sure he could come in and work SummerSlam.

A million percent positive. John is obviously beloved as a superstar and he's doing fantastic in Hollywood. I just saw the new Suicide Squad movie and thought it was great. It was really exceptional. John did a great job. Having him back is great. It's great for the WWE Universe. Anytime these guys who have gone on to monumental heights and take some time; in a very busy schedule, don't get it twisted, guys like The Rock, Cena, and Batista, if you see some of the schedules these guys live, it's tough to take this time and come back and compete in a physical capacity. It's different. Coming from a man who has taken some time off, it's no so easy to rev up the engine and get it back going to performance mode. I give him all the credit in the world to take the time and come back. 

Speaking about the real impact that John Cena can have on the WWE product, Flash Morgan Webster brought up how his brother, who wasn't really that interested in wrestling growing up, became a fan after seeing John Cena's feud with Randy Orton:

I remember kind of sitting there eating my Kebab and chips, my little brother and I on a Thursday night or Friday nights, wherever it was that Raw and SmackDown were on, and absolutely loving it. My brother, like Cena and Orton was what really grabbed my brother and brought him in. He really wasn't interested… So yeah, he transcends. It doesn't matter if you're a small child. It doesn't matter if you're a teenager, doesn't matter if you're a woman in her 40s apparently, yeah, they all love John Cena.

The excitement about John Cena's match and segments with Roman Reigns has been felt by not just fans, but also members of the roster. 

Before the match was even announced, John Cena highlighted his excitement at the prospect of seeing the former WWE Champion and Roman Reigns go one-on-one at SummerSlam:

I think what makes it cooler too, that it’s not just Cena coming back and standing in the ring to cut a promo and go away, but Roman has been on such a tear right now and he’s had such an incredible run. To see what feels like two titans, like is this going to be a passing of the torch moment, or is this going to be a ‘no kid it’s not your time moment’? I think that’s the interesting part, and I’m just really looking forward to their promo stuff, man. I vividly remember Cena saying ‘hey, the reason I’m still here is because you won’t do your job, you can’t do your job’. The whole thing about ‘hey, you know how to cut a promo?’ Those are fighting words in a very very real way. I’m just intrigued to see them go back-and-forth, I almost wish we had a little more time with their build-up just to see. Those two are going to do something pretty cool I think.

You can watch John Cena take on Roman Reigns in his first proper televised match since 2019 at SummerSlam on August 21 live on the WWE Network and in the US on Peacock.