Update On John Cena's WWE Plans

Though John Cena's professional wrestling career has begun winding down in recent years, the 16-time WWE Champion has maintained an impressive feat of wrestling in every single calendar year since 2002. "The Champ"'s appearance on the December 30 edition of "SmackDown" in Tampa, FL kept that streak intact, but many speculated he'd step back into the ring much sooner in the year. A new report from Fightful Select confirms the two have recently come into contact with a familiar face.

As Cena arrived in Tampa, Austin Theory was slated to face Seth "Freakin" Rollins at a house show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada the same day. WWE soon pulled the plug on Theory's appearance, rerouting him to the Sunshine State. There, the United States Champion filmed a segment with Cena. The capacity in which the segment will air — a digital exclusive, for the company's 2K video game, or otherwise — is unknown, but the filming of it is confirmed.

Theory had been among previous discussions to be a potential WrestleMania 39 opponent for Cena. Also included in the list were "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes and Logan Paul. "Loose plans" penciled in November appointed Paul as Cena's opponent, but as of now, the confidence in that direction is unclear.

In the leadup to his 20th-anniversary special on "Raw," Austin Theory set his sights on Cena, as the two exchanged messages on social media, and Theory called for a match with him at last year's SummerSlam. The two would meet backstage on June 27, but no further plans ever came to fruition at the time.