John Cena is set to face Austin Theory in the opening match of WrestleMania 39 on Saturday, despite other prominent wrestlers vying for the same opportunity, per a recent report from Fightful Select.
The report notes that several “top level talent” attempted to secure a match against Cena for the pay-per-view event as early as the summer of 2022. Although the report doesn’t specify names, it indicates that various WWE Superstars were aware of Cena’s interest in competing at WrestleMania 39 and were keen to work with him in his first live singles WrestleMania match since 2018.
The report also suggests that some individuals within the company were advocating for a John Cena-Cody Rhodes match, even though it had been determined by August that Rhodes would be facing Roman Reigns. Additionally, there were tentative plans in place for Logan Paul to face Cena in the fall, as per internal WWE documents.
Meanwhile, Austin Theory wasn’t originally scheduled for the event, but it was eventually confirmed in December that he would be facing Cena, and the match between Seth Rollins and Logan Paul was finalized shortly thereafter.
