John Cena Returns to WWE SmackDown, Will Face AJ Styles at Royal Rumble 2017

John Cena returned to WWE programming Tuesday night on SmackDown Live, as he riled up the Chicago crowd with a spirited promo to kick off the show.

He issued a challenge to the winner of the Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship between AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin. Once Styles retained his title, Cena officially challenged the champ, via WWE: 

Covering a variety of topics in his promo, Cena overcame "Cena sucks" chants to pull off a promo that featured a ton of energy as he told the crowd his thoughts on the new era, via WWE Universe:  

Ringside Xcess believed this is a preview of coming attractions for Cena's role in WWE:

Cena's appearance came on the final SmackDown of 2016, which was already stacked with three championship matches.

Although he wrestled some live-event matches during his absence from television, Cena's last official business with WWE came in October at No Mercy, when he lost to Styles in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship that also included Dean Ambrose.

After that, Cena tackled numerous outside projects, such as hosting the reality show American Grit and Saturday Night Live.

The Phenomenal One continued to reign supreme on the blue brand by winning feuds with Ambrose and James Ellsworth while Cena was gone. Now that Cena is back in the fold, it's safe to assume he will be placed in a high-profile position moving toward WrestleMania.

The resumption of his rivalry with Styles is possible, especially since the leader of the Cenation lost to the former TNA world heavyweight champ on multiple occasions, including singles matches at Money in the Bank and SummerSlam.

Cena is also just one world title victory away from tying "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair for the most such reigns with 16.

Additionally, there has been speculation among fans that a program with The Undertaker could be on the horizon for Cena.

While they have faced off before, they haven't crossed paths in many years, and the Showcase of Immortals would be a perfect stage for them to do battle. The Deadman made his televised return on SmackDown prior to Survivor Series and suggested his return to in-ring action was imminent.

Cena vs. The Phenom has the chance to be one of the biggest and greatest WrestleMania matches of all time, and it would give two legends of the business an opportunity to add to their already-impressive resumes.

Regardless of what the plans are for Cena moving forward, he adds a ton of credibility to SmackDown, and his mere presence promises to increase interest in the blue brand.

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