John Cena returned to the WWE with a one-off appearance at the Survivor Series PPV. He was called up by Shane McMahon to be the fifth member of Team Smackdown. Being the free agent in the company, the franchise player does not belong to any particular brand and can perform wherever he gets utilised.
It was quite a return for the fans on the night as well as for Team Blue. He was the most experienced name on the blue side in comparison to the other ones available. After all, nobody can claim to have 16 world championship reigns under his name than the Cenation Leader. However, this comeback fell short considering his elimination from the match in a quick fashion.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode were the first two men to get eliminated from Team Smackdown. Considering John Cena was the most massive name on his side, it was expected that he would be one of the last two men standing in the match. But, he was eliminated in a lackluster fashion giving Raw the upper hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsdBNjdqSUU
Kurt Angle delivered an Angle Slam to him which was followed up by a Coup De Grace from Finn Balor to eliminate him from the match. Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted on this in their recent report. They suggested Cena’s inclusion was not that much crucial for the match. He was only used to hype-up the main event, whereas, the creative team did not want to keep any fallout on him following his pinfall.
It is due to the reason he is not expected to return to the WWE until December 26th. Rather, the match was used to put over Braun Strowman who continued his destruction in the match by eliminating Nakamura, Roode and Randy Orton, all by himself with running powerslams.
It is also to be noted that WWE is not giving so much focus on Cena’s elimination means they accept the fact Big Match John has now become a legit part-timer who can get used in only big PPV events. Hence, no special booking was reserved for him on that night. New feud around him might kick-off once he returns on a full-time basis by the end of this year.