John Cena Returns To The Ring After WWE SmackDown, More Dark Matches Held For Live Crowd
John Cena returned to the ring after last night's WWE SmackDown went off the air at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
The dark main event held last night saw Cena, Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio team up for a six-man win over WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos.
There was no physical interaction between Reigns and Cena, and Reigns didn't do much wrestling at all. A fan in attendance noted that both of The Usos were pinned for the finish. Reigns only got involved when he hit Rey with a steel chair. He then left the ring when Cena took the chair and confronted him with it.
This was Cena's first match since the Firefly Fun House match loss to "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 in 2020, which was a cinematic bout, and his first match in front of a live crowd since the Fatal 4 Way he worked on the January 14, 2019 RAW show with Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and winner Finn Balor.
As noted, Cena kicked off Friday's SmackDown on FOX broadcast. You can click here for details on what happened on the show with Cena, Reigns and Balor.
WWE also held a six-man dark match for the live crowd in Cleveland while Chad Gable vs. Otis and Carmella vs. SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair aired from the Rolling Loud festival in Miami. The match saw Cesaro, King Shinsuke Nakamura and Big E defeat Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode and WWE Intercontinental Champion Apollo Crews. There was a segment that aired on SmackDown with these six Superstars brawling in the ring before a commercial break. This was done to set up the match for the live crowd.
WWE NXT Superstars were brought in for the pre-show dark matches held before SmackDown hit the air in Cleveland. Odyssey Jones defeated Austin Theory in the first match, while Aliyah defeated Indi Hartwell in the second match.
You can see several clips and photos from Friday's dark matches below:
John Cena's wrestling in a six-man tag team dark match after #SDLive went off the air. Cena is teaming with Rey & Dominik Mysterio to face Roman Reigns & Usos. Was not expecting this for after the show. pic.twitter.com/TXiQjP7IyZ
— Carlos Toro Torres (@CarlosToroMedia) July 24, 2021
John Cena, Rey Mysterio, & Dominik Mysterio beat Roman Reigns & The Usos with Team Cena pinning both Usos. Roman Reigns only gets involved in the match when he hit Rey with the chair and then left the ring once Cena took his chair and confronted him. Fun match to close #SDLive https://t.co/8gbj7PSfYQ pic.twitter.com/1nS2TjmJ70
— Carlos Toro Torres (@CarlosToroMedia) July 24, 2021
I got to see Rey Mysterio, Edge and John Cena LIVE!!!! Also I got to see John wrestle. My childhood is complete ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/iEThmmyJ9J
— chanel. (@ceceInterIude) July 24, 2021
John Cena and the Mysterios won pic.twitter.com/031ILCIgfm
— Soa✨ (@Soawax_) July 24, 2021
John Cena and the Mysterios won this match 🔥 ( first match in front of crowd since January 2019 for Cena ) #smackdown pic.twitter.com/7WEYozBfFB
— Soa✨ (@Soawax_) July 24, 2021
Since this didn't make TV, Cesaro, Big E, King Nakamura beat Apollo Crews, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode in a pretty fun 6-man tag team match. Cesaro does 22 spins late in the match. #SDLive pic.twitter.com/KVke0guhvV
— Carlos Toro Torres (@CarlosToroMedia) July 24, 2021
Odyssey Jones picked up the W against Austin Theory in the first dark match. #WWE #Smackdown pic.twitter.com/0VoGIYmq3z
— Kevbone (kevbone316 on threads & @kevbone on bsky) (@Kevbone) July 23, 2021
Indi Hartwell vs Aliyah in dark match #smackdown pic.twitter.com/bz3rZfpSbZ
— Soa✨ (@Soawax_) July 23, 2021
Odyssey Jones picked up the W against Austin Theory in the first dark match. #WWE #Smackdown pic.twitter.com/0VoGIYmq3z
— Kevbone (kevbone316 on threads & @kevbone on bsky) (@Kevbone) July 23, 2021
Austin Theory vs Odyssey Jones pic.twitter.com/vSnGUyuOGo
— Dean S. (@DSaMpS_216) July 23, 2021
Dark match for the night: Austin Theory/Odyssey Jones. Both from NXT and Jones is in the Breakout tournament. #WWECLEVELAND #SMACKDOWN pic.twitter.com/nhusQ7AgOB
— Camina And The Diamonds (@TheCamSays) July 23, 2021
@davemeltzerWON
Dark matches in ClevelandOdyssey Jones v Austin Theory
Shocked to see him already working loops but his size is impressive. Jones wins in a pretty heavy handed semi squash matchIndi Hartwell v Aliyah
Slower back and forth with Aliyah picking up the victory pic.twitter.com/hGUG2qF342— Big E (@BigESexton) July 23, 2021