John Cena has been absent from the WWE ever since Wrestlemania 33 passed by. It was expected since he was due to a series of Hollywood commitments following the biggest event of the year.
He picked up this knack of being a part-timer from 2014 onwards where he comes back only for big occasions. For the rest of the year, he keeps himself in a hiatus to give the younger generation the spotlight they need.
But, there’s no denying that the TV ratings suffer a lot due to his absence. Half of the crowd might boo him all they want but no one can reach up to the level that the franchise player brings to the table. Even at this year’s Wrestlemania, it was his segment with Nikki Bella that earned the highest attention from the media and fans all around the world.
WWE is indeed feeling his absence and this is the reason why John Cena might return to Smackdown Live, earlier than expected. Ever since the Wrestlemania season has gone, the tv ratings for the blue brand have dipped a lot.
Plus, the superstar shakeup happened to change the intactness of Tuesday Night’s show. The storylines still are lacking to pick up as we see for the past few weeks.
So, as per reports from cagesideseats.com, WWE is willing to bring The Cenation leader back much sooner for the sole reason of pulling up the TV ratings. April 25, 2017, edition witnessed a total number of 2.49 million viewers, whereas, the very next episode of May 2nd recorded 2.3 million. With John Cena being absent from the UK tour, this week too should not be any different.
Both these were an all-time record low in comparison to the beginning of the year when Smackdown dominated the flagship show in ratings. It is to be noted that the women’s division too is lacking a bit with the absence of Cena’s fiancée, Nikki Bella.
WWE is well aware of the popular two superstars’ presence are much needed on the show. While we certainly can expect John Cena to be back by next month’s end, nothing is confirmed for Nikki Bella.