Has John Cena signed a new WWE deal after retirement? Backlash return confirms rumours – Report
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Has John Cena signed a new WWE deal Backlash return confirms rumours – Report Photograph: (AFP)
Is John Cena coming back? After hosting WrestleMania 42, John Cena confirms his appearance at WWE Backlash 2026 in Tampa. Reports suggest a new multi-appearance deal has been signed despite his in-ring retirement. Read Cena’s "history-making" announcement and Dave Meltzer’s latest update!
Just weeks after hosting WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, the Cenation Leader, John Cena, has confirmed his appearance at WWE’s next pay-per-view, the Backlash 2026, in Tampa, Florida, on May 9. Taking to his social media handle (X), Cena confirmed his appearance at Backlash; however, reports have emerged that the 17-time world champion has signed a new WWE deal despite his in-ring retirement, leaving fans wondering if this is true.
“It’s official! I’m headed to #WWEBacklash! After months of planning and effort, I am SO excited to break some history-making news! I can’t promise it’ll be perfect, but I can promise it will change the WWE experience for Superstars and fans! C U Live Saturday in Tampa or at home on the @espn app!," Cena posted on his X handle on Monday (May 4).
Veteran wrestling journalist, Dave Meltzer, on Wrestling Observer Radio, confirmed that Cena signed a new WWE contract, which would have him appear for the company. Although he was unsure of Cena’s role at WWE Backlash 2026, Meltzer noted that his appearance is among the dates in his new deal.
“So, the John Cena thing. The situation there is that he is on Backlash. I’m not sure what the role will be because he said he’s never going to wrestle again. They signed him to a contract, which called for a number of appearances, so this is one of those appearances.
"His deal called for these things, so I mean, to me it’s kind of weird because he just did WrestleMania, which was supposed to be something special, and here we are, a couple of weeks after WrestleMania, he’s doing it again,” Meltzer said, as quoted by Itrwrestling.com.
Meanwhile, Cena hung his in-ring boots following conceding a loss at the hands of Gunther via submission in his final WWE match on the December 13th episode of Friday Night Main Event. Absent until the end of March, Cena shockingly announced his new role as the WrestleMania 42 host on his social media, later appearing across two nights of the spectacle.
