Many fans were surprised when Logan Paul vs John Cena was confirmed for Clash in Paris, but now the real reason has been revealed.
Brock Lesnar attacked John Cena at SummerSlam, which seemingly confirmed one final bout between the two rivals on Cena’s WWE retirement tour.
However, Cena’s appearance on SmackDown was interrupted by Logan Paul, who challenged Cena to a match at Clash in Paris.
The Maverick was reportedly picked for Paris because WWE had much bigger plans for Cena vs Lesnar at a future show.
Brock Lesnar vs John Cena will go head-to-head with AEW All Out
Lesnar vs Cena will reportedly be held at an unnamed WWE PLE on September 20, which will go head-to-head with AEW’s All Out.
The show will reportedly take place in Indiana, Indianapolis, although neither the show nor the location have been announced yet.
Speaking about WWE’s decision to counter-programme their closest rivals, Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio confirmed Lesnar vs Cena will main event the September 20 show.
“It’s a big one,” said Meltzer. “Which is why Brock’s not in Paris—because of this. They wanted him for this show, not for the Paris show, and that’s where Logan Paul got the gig.”
Lesnar and Cena’s match will be their first meeting since a triple-threat at the 2015 Royal Rumble, which also involved Seth Rollins.
John Cena could have more matches left than initially thought
With Cena’s match against Lesnar now reportedly taking place at an unadvertised date, the 17-time champion could have at least one more match than we thought.
Cena is advertised for Crown Jewel: Australia and Survivor Series, as well as an unconfirmed final date in December.
With fans lobbying for the likes of Gunther, Joe Hendry, The Miz, and AJ Styles to take on Cena before he retires, there’s more of a chance of the star taking on someone new before he hangs up his boots.
The star has faced Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and R-Truth in singles matches in 2025, and Gunther is rumoured to be Cena’s final opponent.