The rumors ended up being true-John Cena returned to close Money In The Bank Sunday evening. Plus, major Peacock issues plagued part of the PPV broadcast.
John Cena Returned To Close Money In The Bank
Yes, the rumors are true. John Cena returned to close out Money In The Bank.
As WWE prepared to return to the road, we’ve been hearing rumblings of many major returns.
Names have been floated out along the way. For example, there was a lot of talk we’d see Becky Lynch back during Money In The Bank.
We did not, though The Man was in the area, confirmed via her own social media.
But that is not the story.
After the first WWE PPV in front of a sold out, packed arena since 2020…John Cena returned to close the show.
As recently as a few days ago, reports pointed to a John Cena return on Friday’s SmackDown. Plans had him returning to WWE to be the next challenger to Roman Reigns.
Turns out that the booking is the same…but the arrival date was not.
Ahead of the show, rumors began to swirl that we could see John Cena return at Money In The Bank.
Those rumors were confirmed, shortly after Reigns retained his Universal Championship.
Honestly, the surprise return of someone was locked in once Reigns grabbed for the mic…since almost no one, ever, cuts a post-match promo to close a PPV.
He said all of one line, and the familiar theme hit. As it turns out, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
John Cena came out to a tremendous pop. And that was about it.
No mic for Cena yet, but the Superstar did indeed return to close the show and confront Reigns.
Obviously, the return and confrontation gives fans a reason to tune in for the next SmackDown.
Now…will John Cena get that elusive next title win at SummerSlam? Or will he be just the latest Superstar to acknowledge The Tribal Chief?
Major Peacock Issues
So while Sunday’s PPV-and John Cena’s return-were big stories…there were major Peacock issues that almost ruined a lot of it.
While I can’t say precisely when things went haywire, for me personally it was the in-show advertisement prior to the men’s Money In The Bank ladder match.
These major Peacock issues persisted through a huge chunk of the ladder match. Users were switching devices, restarting the app and doing a number of other tricks to resolve things.
While the issues did get resolved, for the most part, prior to the conclusion of the ladder match…social media had plenty of fun with Peacock during the issues.
If you don’t believe me…check out some of these savage Tweets.
Me to PeaCOCK pic.twitter.com/3ZR2GndtES
— John Breeden (@John_R_Breeden) July 19, 2021
WWE has to go back to the Network, Peacock is the WORST #MITB pic.twitter.com/lscpfYrtgK
— (@SquishySnapple) July 19, 2021
WWE has come to terms on the release of Peacock.
WWE wishes it all the best in its future endeavors. pic.twitter.com/L8EfDJgM87
— Kenny Majid – Please Donate to the Corbin Fund (@akfytwrestling) July 19, 2021
WWE Network was NEVER this bad, even when it first debuted with NXT Arrival and Wrestlemania 30….
Tonight has been a DISASTER for Peacock. #MITB pic.twitter.com/DdThy8SRta
— Alex Monroe (@TimeToHunt1) July 19, 2021
Anyone else having flashbacks to when you were 12 and tried to watch PPVs blurry without paying for them? #MITB
— Cageside Seats (@cagesideseats) July 19, 2021
Live look at #MITB !!!!!!! @WWE @peacockTV pic.twitter.com/ELTdxZqk7i
— Dylan McDaniel (@D_MAC_Life) July 19, 2021
Of course, for WWE fans in areas not tied to Peacock (Canada and UK, for example), they apparently had no issues watching via the good old WWE Network.