There is a popular saying, “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone,” this is exactly what WWE and its fans feel about John Cena. He drew polarizing reactions from the fans early in his career. But now Cena has become an entity that the WWE Universe constantly misses. Fans have clamored to see more of him since he transitioned to Hollywood and became a part-timer. But that regret is being felt more by the WWE management. And the recent revelation further added to their anguish over losing a key player like Cena.

The last SmackDown episode of the year saw the 16-time world champion John Cena return to in-ring action after over a year. A few weeks ago Cena announced he will be Kevin Owens‘ partner for his match against Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn. He stayed true to his word and wrestled for the first time in over 470 days picking up the win.

It was expected that Cena’s appearance could boost SmackDown’s numbers and recent data has only confirmed that.

John Cena gives SmackDown its largest audience since 2020

The signs were already positive when John Cena was advertised for the tag team match against The Bloodline. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cena’s star presence helped WWE to sell thousands of tickets for the show in advance. During his time at the top of WWE, Cena was a major draw for the company. And as it turns out, he can still get eyes to follow him on WWE. The SmackDown viewership had received a major boost following the return of the “Peacemaker” star.

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According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, the December 30 edition of SmackDown had an overnight viewership of 2.441 million viewers. This is a bump from last week’s number of 2.376 million. This number is the highest viewership for the blue brand since September 23. However, Thurston further noted that this is the preliminary data. In fact, this figure could be close to 2.6 million when the final viewership report is released on Tuesday, January 3.

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If the viewership reaches that number, it could mean that SmackDown will have its highest audience since late 2020. The fact that an in-ring appearance by the Doctor of Thuganomics could give SmackDown its highest rating in two years showcases how sorely WWE has missed him.

Cena’s transition to Hollywood happened during Vince McMahon‘s time and he has grown as a star since. A look at these impressive TV numbers would certainly make Triple H happy. But it will also fill him with regret knowing he can’t have Cena’s services on a regular basis.

There is no doubt that the current generation of wrestlers are stars in their own right. But they have a long way to go before they can catch up with the leader of Cenation. WWE losing John Cena was thought to be a blow but these numbers have only magnified his impact.

Even after his move to Hollywood and being away from WWE, he once again proved that there is indeed only one John Cena.

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