3. Reason Behind WWE Bringing John Cena Back Earlier Than Originally Expected
Due to the recent decline in SmackDown Live viewership, WWE is planning to make the 16 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena return prior to his original return schedule.
Cena is currently being advertised to return on the July 4th edition of SmackDown Live. No word yet on if this would be Cena’s permanent return for a feud or just a one-off appearance for now.
It should be noted that when Cena’s return was heavily promoted in December 2016, SmackDown Live beat Raw in viewership for the first time ever after the Brand Split in July 2016 (and it hasn’t beaten Raw in viewership ever since).
Last week’s episode of SmackDown Live, which was taped in UK and featured a 6 man tag team match in the main event, drew 2.35 million viewers. This is up from previous week’s 2.30 million viewers. Below are the results:
– Natalya def. Becky Lynch
– Erick Rowan def. Luke Harper
– Dolph Ziggler confronted Shinsuke Nakamura
– Breezango def. The Ascension
– Jinder Mahal, United States Champion Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin def. WWE Champion Randy Orton, AJ Styles and Sami Zayn