Will John Cena be on WWE RAW after Backlash?

WWE Backlash 2025 marked John Cena’s first title defense since he became a history-making 17-time world champion, beating Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.

The Last Real Champion contested against his arch-rival Randy Orton in the “One Last Time” superbout in The Viper’s hometown of St. Louis. The contest was a back-and-forth affair, and R-Truth played a key role in Orton’s loss as his distraction allowed John Cena time to recuperate and use nefarious means to retain the gold.

Following his win, Cena grabbed a mic and yelled that he strives for real competition and this was what the last real champion looked like as the show went off-air. Many fans have since speculated whether the star will be on RAW after Backlash. The likely answer to that is no, as WWE has not announced his appearance yet. Unless he makes a surprise or unannounced appearance, which in all likelihood he won't, since he hasn't done that following his heel turn, Cena will be off television for the upcoming episode of RAW.

The star only has a little more than 20 dates left in the year, and WWE will surely save the majority of those for the rest of the year. Therefore, fans shouldn't expect to see Cena on RAW unless a major announcement comes in at the last second.

However, Cena could appear on SmackDown and build a rivalry for the upcoming Saturday Night’s Main Event card. After John Cena laid R-Truth out, putting an Attitude Adjustment at the post-show press conference, many feel that Truth would be Cena’s opponent for SNME.

Wrestling veteran says John Cena vs. Randy Orton was “incredible,” other than one thing at WWE Backlash

While speaking on SportsKeeda Wrestling, veteran journalist Bill Apter reviewed John Cena vs. Randy Orton’s main-event bout in St. Louis. The veteran journalist expressed that the Orton-Cena match was incredible, other than its controversial finish.

"The Cena and Randy Orton match, other than the finish, was incredible. I didn't know that John Cena still had what he has after not working for such a long time. And Randy Orton was just amazing. Great false finishes, just a great match overall," said Apter.

It will be interesting to see when Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena returns on television and who is next in line to face him.

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