5 Roles for Potential Roman Reigns, John Cena Returns at WWE SummerSlam 2024 (2024)

WWE presents SummerSlam on August 3 from Cleveland Browns Stadium, with headlining bouts including Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa for the Undisputed WWE Championship and Damian Priest defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Gunther.

Two unannounced stars could leave the greatest impact, though, in the form of John Cena and Roman Reigns.

With potential appearances from both, the question becomes how they will be utilized.

Ahead of the summertime spectacular, find out what roles fans could expect those two to play with this preview.

Roman Reigns has not been seen on WWE TV since losing the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL and in his absence, Solo Sikoa has rebuilt The Bloodline in his own vision.

That includes instigating brutal beatdowns of Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman, two men incredibly close to the one, true Tribal Chief.

One role for Reigns at SummerSlam is that of avenger.

The Head of the Table returning and confronting Sikoa following the main event of the show, in which the latter will challenge Rhodes for the title, is the most appropriate use of Reigns.

The return and long-awaited confrontation is the next logical advancement for the story, with Reigns looking to avenge Sikoa's unearned rise to power and the chaos he has caused in the family's name.

It sets up the next chapter, in which Reigns will look to The Usos to reunite the OG Bloodline and battle the new group, including Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa, just in time to build to Survivor Series and War Games.

The Fall of 2023 saw the rise of LA Knight to the top of WWE, culminating with him challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel last October.

A key contributor to establishing Knight as a legitimate main event star was John Cena, who returned in September and lent his star to legitimizing The Megastar.

With Knight positioned to dethrone Logan Paul for the United States Championship in Cleveland at SummerSlam, Cena returning for one night to congratulate Knight and stand tall with him for the all-important photo op makes sense given how influential he was in his ascension in the first place.

While it is difficult to imagine that WWE would bring him in just for that, and potentially take the spotlight away from Knight in his crowning moment, it would at least make sense within the context of The Megastar's story.

Expectations are high that Reigns will return at SummerSlam to confront Solo Sikoa and start the Bloodline civil war. It is certainly the direction the storyline has taken in recent months and is clearly the most obvious one WWE Creative can take things in come August 3.

What if he does not return, though?

What is Reigns does not step through the curtain but, rather, Jimmy Uso makes his first appearance in four months and fights The Bloodline in the first step toward a reunion with Reigns?

We know that Triple H and his team are slow-burn writers. They take their time and do not let expectation speed up the story they are telling, so it would not be particularly surprising if Reigns does not end his exile in Cleveland.

Cena stunned the wrestling world by announcing his retirement from the ring, which will take place in December of 2025 after a year-long retirement tour.

What better place to kick it off than the annual summertime spectacular?

Cena exploding through the curtain and confronting someone like Seth "Freakin" Rollins, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, LA Knight, or Solo Sikoa would make headlines and give fans something to buzz about, especially if Reigns does not return as expected.

If he does, and there is less pressure on Cena's first opponent, perhaps he calls out Austin Theory, who started his losing streak in singles competition and would make a logical first Superstar for the GOAT to defeat.

Regardless, Cena popping up would dominate social media and give SummerSlam some of that buzz that WWE loves to capture with its top premium live events.

Reigns returning and confronting The Bloodline seems like such a foregone conclusion that it would not be surprising if it did not exactly go down like that.

There is, after all, a current undisputed WWE champion who celebrated to close WrestleMania XL and has thrived in his absence.

What if Reigns attacks the man who began the downfall of The Bloodline, Cody Rhodes, and sets up a third encounter between them?

It is a scenario that is more likely than it may seem, especially as WWE looks to utilize that one-on-one showdown it knows will draw an audience and, potentially, propel two different storylines forward.

Reigns returning to battle Rhodes while essentially ignoring The Bloodline would infuriate Sikoa and set up that inevitable showdown while the champion ignoring his friend, Randy Orton, in favor of another battle with the same guy he has squared off with two other times would plant the seeds for a championship clash between mentor and protege.

Most likely? No, but the longest reaching of them all? Most definitely.