On the February 28th episode of Smackdown Live, WWE officially began the build towards John Cena and Nikki Bella vs The Miz and Maryse at Wrestlemania 33. This is a match that had been rumored for several weeks now, but not everyone believed that WWE would go in this direction.
This came out of nowhere a few weeks ago when rumors started circulating. Fans expected Cena to be involved in a high-profile singles match at Wrestlemania 33 considering that he had just won his 16th World Title at the Royal Rumble.
According to rumors, Cena was in-fact scheduled to be in a big-time (singles) match at Wrestlemania but WWE seemingly changed their minds. It is circulating that Cena was supposed to face off against Samoa Joe at the big event.
In case you are unfamiliar with their history, Joe and Cena have known one another since the early 2000’s, as they both worked for Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW). They had a try-out match against one another for WWE during this time. Cena would get signed and go on to become a 16 time World Champion for the company. Samoa Joe would go on to travel the world and find success outside of WWE.
Their relationship would have provided a unique storyline for WWE to use in a feud. Joe would be bitter that he wasn’t the one that got the opportunity all those years ago.
WWE posted a teaser video for this feud, detailing their history back in December. This is another tease that this match was supposed to happen:
[irp posts=”21087″ name=”Samoa Joe Comments On His Relationship With John Cena And His Desire To Wrestle Him”]
As we known now, the plans were scrapped and Samoa Joe ended up on the RAW brand. WWE brass changed their minds and wanted Joe on RAW and aligned with Triple H. Interesting to see what could have been at Wrestlemania for both men. We have to assume WWE is keeping this match and feud in their back-pocket to use at a later time.
Let us know what you think in the comment section below.