John Cena's WWE SmackDown Status, Randy Orton on AEW, Braun Strowman's Contract

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Cena Comments on SmackDown's Fox Debut

John Cena took to Twitter on Friday to wish WWE good luck ahead of SmackDown's Fox debut on Friday night:

There had been some speculation that Cena would appear on the show given his importance to the history of SmackDown and WWE as a whole, but Cena noted that since he is on the set of Fast & Furious 9, he won't be at Staples Center in Los Angeles. 

Cena did tip his cap to former rival Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who is scheduled to appear on SmackDown, marking his first live WWE appearance since WrestleMania 32 in 2016.

With Cena becoming a bigger acting star in Hollywood by the day, his WWE appearances have become far more scarce over the past year. His last appearance was at Raw Reunion in July, and before that, he went back to his Basic Thuganomics character at WrestleMania in April and interrupted Elias' concert.

WWE doesn't necessarily need Cena for Friday's show since The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and many other legends are already scheduled to appear.

If Cena is creating a smokescreen designed to allow for a surprise appearance on the 20th-anniversary edition of SmackDown, though, it could make for a memorable moment that would help WWE build some momentum as a go-to brand on Fox.

Orton Praises AEW

Following Wednesday's successful debut of AEW Dynamite on TNT, WWE Superstar Randy Orton had some good things to say about WWE's chief competition.

According to WrestlingInc.com's Raj Giri, Orton streamed Call of Duty on Twitch on Thursday night and got to talking about AEW: "Speaking of Vince, that AEW was f---ing cool, huh? Did you watch that show last night? Oh my God! I'll tell you what. It's that big match feel, the big show feel."

Orton specifically had good things to say about Sammy Guevara, who pushed Cody to the limit in AEW Dynamite's first-ever match: "Cody and Sammy Guevara, that kid can do some s--t. I'd love to work with that kid. They had a great match. I thought opening the show with that match was a good idea and well received."

Prior to Thursday, WWE had largely been quiet with regard to AEW. That was until it released a statement congratulating AEW on a strong premiere episode: "Congratulations to AEW on a successful premiere. The real winners of last night's head-to-head telecasts of NXT on USA Network and AEW on TNT are the fans, who can expect Wednesday nights to be a competitive and wild ride as this is a marathon, not a one-night sprint."

The debut episode of AEW Dynamite, which went head to head against NXT on USA Network, drew 1.4 million viewers as opposed to 891,000 for NXT.

AEW had the advantage in terms of piquing fans' interest with a brand new show, so the pressure will be on moving forward in terms of maintaining and building on the rating.

Regardless of whether the ratings improve, it is clear that many within the business are taking notice, including those in WWE.

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Tune into TNT on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET to catch all the action of All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite.

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Backstage News on Strowman's Contract

After reports that Braun Strowman signed a new contract with WWE emerged in July, specifics regarding the deal surfaced this week.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), Strowman signed a four-year contract worth $1.2 million per year. Meltzer added that it is above the high-end downside number of $1 million that WWE usually offers.

While Strowman has yet to hold a singles title in WWE, he has been one of the company's top stars over the past couple of years as evidenced by his feuds with Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins.

Most recently, The Monster Among Men faced Rollins in the main event of Clash of Champions for the Universal Championship, but he fell short.

Strowman is seemingly between programs, but with the WWE draft coming up, he figures to be a high pick who will be one of the faces of either Raw or SmackDown.

While it can be argued that Strowman still has a long way to go as a performer in the ring and on the mic, he is a big-time attraction due to his size and strength, and WWE will almost certainly continue to put him in important spots.

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