From the WWE Rumor Mill: John Cena returning for 4th of July SmackDown

SmackDown Live's viewership has dipped this year but made a slight increase last week, which could be a reason for Cena's return.

Will the Face That Runs the Place help to bring the ratings up?

                                      

                         What’s the story?

Cena is currently being advertised to appear on the 4th of July SmackDown which will be held at the Talking Sticks Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.SmackDown superstar John Cena has been absent from WWE programming since WrestleMania 33 but could be returning on a more patriotic note.

In case you didn’t know...

Cageside Seats reported that Cena was rumoured to be making an appearance on SmackDown sometime soon to help the WWE’s ratings slump.

The last three weeks of SmackDown Live have resulted in the lowest viewed episodes of the year. This past week’s episode of SmackDown showed a slight increase from last week’s 2.3 million viewers. However, the rating for this episode of SmackDown reached a record low for 2017 with 0.74 and the gain in viewership was only 48,000.

SmackDown Live’s decline in viewership could partially be attributed to the NBA Playoffs, though some fans are claiming it’s the creative direction that’s leading in the decline.

The heart of the matter

The last WWE show to air on the 4th of July was Monday Night Raw in 2016. The viewership for the Independence Day episode only garnered about 2.6 million viewers and the rating hit an all-time low of 1.87.

Another important factor regarding that episode of Raw was that Cena was on the show and the ratings were bad despite this fact.

What’s next?

If it’s true that the WWE are attempting to get ahead of this ratings slump, how they bring back Cena, as well as the entire 4th of July SmackDown, will determine whether they can determine catastrophic numbers.

If Cena’s return to TV is saved for the 4th of July episode, in addition to several great matches and storylines moments, then the Independence Day edition of SmackDown may do better numbers than expected.

Author’s Take

While the recent rating decline is a cause of concern for the WWE, they ultimately have no one to blame but themselves.

The WWE chose to handle the Superstar Shakeup the way they did and now the only major players left on SmackDown are Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles. Nakamura may be the only exception, but only time will tell if the WWE will give him the chance to be the star fans believe him to be. Aside from those four, nobody on the show truly matters.

Coupled with the fact that the WWE are pushing Jinder Mahal without any type of buildup or character change, it’s no wonder SmackDown’s ratings are in the state that they’re currently in.

So whatever happens in regards to viewership and ratings on the 4th of July is ultimately the WWE’s fault.