It was earlier reported the Elimination Chamber PPV will be back next year. The Smackdown brand-exclusive PPV will take place in the month of February i.e. prior to Wrestlemania. As per the early traditions, this is going to be the last PPV fom the blue brand before the biggest PPV of the year set to take place on April 2, 2017.
Since Elimination Chamber is going to be one of the biggest events of the year which in turn will set up the final lineup for Wrestlemania, we were supposed to see all the big names from the brand. But recent rumors suggest the franchise himself will be missing the Elimination Chamber PPV.
Although, no confirmation has been given officially by the WWE, an advertisement from the venue does not list his name. The venue of the event is the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
“This will be your chance to see some of your favorite WWE Smackdown Superstars battle inside ten tons of unforgiving steel!
See: Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, The USO’s, Becky Lynch, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Natalya, Nikki Bella, and many more of your favorite Superstars”.
Cena is expected to be back to the WWE as a full-time at least till Wrestlemania. The Smackdown roster is already lacking big names and his presence is missed big time. So, if he misses out this one then it might turn out to be a big blow for the company.
However, the live event schedule for the WWE House Shows does advertise Cena in every single Smackdown show, January onwards. This includes every Smackdown episodes pre and post Royal Rumble PPV. He has already been advertised for a house show in Illinois. The scenario will remain uncertain until Cena returns. We are also waiting to see how the WWE decides to book the franchise after he makes his return.