John Cena Announces Return Date to WWE Raw Following Shoulder Surgery

WWE will have its biggest star again as it begins putting together its plans for the summer. 

John Cena announced Monday he'll return to the company on the May 30 edition of Raw.

At least on a full-time basis, the 15-time world champion has been out of action since revealing on Jan. 6 he was set to undergo shoulder surgery. He made a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 32 to help The Rock fend off The Wyatt Family, via WWE, which proved to be a special occasion rather than a sign he was healthy enough to wrestle:

Before Monday, Cena's return date remained a major question mark. In March, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton) reported a July comeback was the likeliest estimate inside WWE.

In the tweet officially announcing his impending arrival, Cena mentioned shoulder surgery can require a nine-month recovery, which would've kept him out until the fall. Of course, this isn't the first time the Cenation leader has healed well ahead of projections. He suffered a torn pectoral tendon in October 2007 and then shocked the WWE Universe at the 2008 Royal Rumble three months later:

It will be interesting to see how WWE utilizes Cena when he's back on Raw in a month. He'll miss Extreme Rules, which is on May 22, but he'll have more than enough time to get on the Money in the Bank card, with the pay-per-view on June 19.

Cena will tie Ric Flair's 16 world title reigns eventually, but having him challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship right out of the gate doesn't make sense, especially with SummerSlam in August. That 16th title reign should kick off at an event befitting its lofty status.

Cena has either challenged for or defended WWE's top title in each of the last five SummerSlams. If the company is planning something big for him going forward, then it will likely happen at the summer's biggest PPV.

The morning after winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Roman Reigns teased on Today a potential clash with Cena, which begins at the 4:19 mark of the video below:

Reigns vs. Cena is one of the most intriguing matches in WWE's pocket, and should it ever happen, the company will almost certainly save their first clash for the Royal Rumble, SummerSlam or WrestleMania.

Plus, Cena already proved with his United States Championship Open Challenge series he can create engaging storylines and provide entertaining matches outside the world title picture. There's no need to rush that right away.

Whatever WWE has in store for Cena this spring, his return is a welcome development considering how many Superstars, including Randy Orton and Seth Rollins, remain out injured.