John Cena
John Cena made his first in-ring appearance in over two months at a live event in Madison Square Garden on Boxing Day. In this picture, SiriusXM host Hoda Kotb talks with John Cena at the SiriusXM Studio on October 10, 2018 in New York City. Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

John Cena made his much anticipated return to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on Boxing Day, at a live event in Madison Square Garden, New York. It was his first appearance since the Super Showdown in Melbourne, Australia over two months ago.

The 16-time WWE champ has been making fewer and fewer appearances in the squared circle in recent years as he focuses more on his budding movie career in Hollywood. Cena was busy promoting his latest movie Bumblebee – a Transformer franchise spinoff – while also shooting with martial arts legend Jackie Chan.

The 41-year-old is still considered amongst the most popular stars in WWE, but he has not been active for most of 2018. Cena has been booked in multiple live events until mid-January, but there seems to be no plans as of yet about his potential appearances at pay-per-view events Royal Rumble and WrestleMania in 2019.

There are reports that suggest plans to promote Cena as the ‘greatest ever’ in the future, but according to Forbes, the West Newbury-born professional wrestler could be nearing the end of his in-ring career. He is likely to focus more on becoming a movie star, similar to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Brock Lesnar is another part-time star, whose future in the WWE remains unclear at the moment. But the ‘Beast Incarnate’s’ situation is not similar to Cena as he is currently contracted to the WWE and is the Universal champion.

He recently signed a new deal said to be worth over a $1 million, but it is unclear when he will return to in-ring action. Lesnar is also making a return to the UFC in the early part of 2019, but is said to be in the plans for WrestleMania 35 in April.

There could be numerous changes in the WWE in the coming months after chairman Vince McMahon returned to take over the running of both their flagship brands Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live.

Another superstar, whose future is in the balance is AJ Styles. The former WWE champion was one of the faces of SmackDown, but has now been pushed to the back as he is yet to agree to a new contract.

Styles was recently beaten by Daniel Bryan in a championship match and according to the Forbes report, he maybe “de-pushed” if he does not agree to a new deal sooner rather than later. Another reasoning is that his sparing use, is due to the wrestler’s demand to be given more time with his family and that the WWE is planning a character change for the much loved Styles.