John Cena's Return Date to WWE SmackDown Live Revealed

John Cena will be returning to WWE programming for the first time since his loss to AJ Styles at No Mercy, on the December 27 edition of SmackDown.

WWE announced the news on Tuesday's SmackDown Live:

Although Cena competed in some dark matches and live-event bouts since then, his last television appearance came at No Mercy when he took on Styles and Dean Ambrose in a Triple Threat match for the WWE World Championship.

The leader of the Cenation came out on the losing end when The Phenomenal One pinned him after hitting him with a steel chair.

Cena was chasing history in that match, as a victory would have made him a 16-time world champion and tied him with the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair for the all-time record.

Instead, Cena took a hiatus from WWE to engage in outside ventures, including hosting the Fox show American Grit and hosting Saturday Night Live. 

During his time away, Styles and Ambrose continued their rivalry with the addition of ultimate underdog James Ellsworth to the mix.

Now that Cena will be back in the fold, one can only assume that both Styles and the WWE World Championship are in his crosshairs.

Cena made it clear that tying Flair's record is important to him, and it seems likely that he wants revenge against Styles as well.

Since Styles signed with WWE, he has had Cena's number. The Phenomenal One defeated Cena at Money in the Bank with help from Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson before beating him at SummerSlam cleanly and then pinning him again at No Mercy with the aid of a weapon.

Cena has lost very few rivalries over the course of his career, but as things currently stand, he is on the losing end of his feud with Styles.

Above all else, Cena's return will be huge for the blue brand, as he remains the biggest and most recognizable Superstar in wrestling.

SmackDown was put in a difficult position in the brand split draft since Raw was given the opportunity to select more competitors due to the fact that it is a three-hour show.

That adversely impacted SmackDown in terms of depth and big-time star power, but Cena helps immensely in both areas.

It is unclear if he will be back for a long run or simply will be making an appearance, but if Cena is ready to engage in a weekly storyline on SmackDown programming, then the level of intrigue surrounding the product is about to increase significantly.

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