With a tournament announced to determine who will become John Cena’s final WWE opponent, several SmackDown names should be considered.
From longstanding rivals of Cena to others that are looking to make a big impact in their relatively young careers, there are a lot of intriguing options for entrants from the SmackDown roster.
Here are 8 SmackDown stars that should be included in the Last Time Is Now tournament to decide John Cena’s final opponent.
8. Damian Priest
After losing a last man standing match against Aleister Black on October 10, Damian Priest has not had another WWE match.
However, Priest has been announced for the tournament, with him set to face off against Rusev in the first round of the tournament on next week’s WWE Raw show.
Coming out of feuds with both Drew McIntyre and Aleister Black, Priest could use a first round victory to re-establish himself on the roster as a force.
With a presumably crowded field of top names, Damian Priest could end up being a quiet threat in the tournament to determine who will be John Cena’s last opponent on December 13.
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7. The Miz
A potential veteran that could end up taking the tournament by storm in order to get one more bout against longstanding rival John Cena could be The Miz.
Certainly able to join the tournament and possibly take it all the way, The Miz would have a compelling reason to want to go up against John Cena again.
After their storied careers have intertwined, The Miz could be looking to prove himself against Cena once and for all before the 17x World Champion departs in-ring competition for good.
With the limited dates left in his retirement tour being two episodes of WWE Raw, Survivor Series and his final appearance at Saturday Night’s Main Event — it could be that The Miz and Cena need to go toe-to-toe one more time.
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6. Aleister Black
Recently uniting on-screen with his real-life wife Zelina Vega, it seems that Aleister Black’s influence over the SmackDown roster is only just beginning.
Potentially looking to take over as one the most dominant and dark forces in WWE, the Last Time Is Now tournament would hold a unique opportunity for Aleister Black.
Able to use the platform to showcase his evolved character, Black could certainly end up going the distance in the tournament.
Offering matches against other big names throughout the roster, the tournament could be an important reinvention for Black even if he didn’t win the entire thing.
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5. Carmelo Hayes
One SmackDown star that fans continue to hope gets a bigger role on the blue brand is Carmelo Hayes.
After debuting to much fan-fare as a first round draft pick in the WWE Draft 2024, Hayes went on to have a great best of seven series against Andrade before forming a tag team with The Miz.
More recently, The Miz has turned on Hayes which could see the pair go to war with one another soon, possibly even in the tournament.
Potentially able to use the tournament as a career launching point, Hayes could end up showing off his in-ring abilities against other top names sure to participate.
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4. Axiom
A fun entrant into the Last Time Is Now tournament could Axiom. While Axiom has primarily been presented in a tag team while on the main roster, he boasts plenty of experience in past singles action.
Going unmasked and under the name A-Kid during his time in NXT UK, the tournament could showcase Axiom’s skills in the ring even if he didn’t go all the way in the tournament.
Alternatively, it could be amazing to see Axiom’s tag team partner Nathan Frazer get an opportunity to show his singles match skills by being included in the tournament.
The former NXT Heritage Cup champion was notably trained by Seth Rollins and could bring a unique emphasis on speed to the tournament’s potential heavy hitters like Bron Breakker.
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3. Tommaso Ciampa
While Ciampa continues to remain united with Johnny Gargano in their #DIY tag team on the main roster, there was a time that he was on a singles run in NXT.
While Ciampa captured the NXT World Championship twice, he has yet to win a singles title on the main roster and instead has found tag team success with Gargano.
However, possibly looking to prove himself still in a singles capacity, the Last Time Is Now tournament could be a good showcase for Ciampa as a singles star.
Although Gargano could certainly enter the field, it would be more fascinating to see a driven and vicious Ciampa looking to secure the tournament victory to be Cena’s final opponent.
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2. Bo Dallas
An entrant that could serve as a touching tribute, Bo Dallas should be included in the Last Time Is Now tournament.
With John Cena having recently noted his cinematic match with Bray Wyatt the Firefly Funhouse match as the only one that he has ever written from start to finish, the experience clearly holds a special place to Cena.
While Dallas wouldn’t necessarily have to win the tournament, his inclusion would be an important acknowledgement of the ways that Bray Wyatt and John Cena’s careers intertwined.
Although Dallas certainly could go all the way, other members of the group Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy or Dexter Lumis could be entrants in the tournament.
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1. Solo Sikoa
At one point in the past, it seemed as though it would be Solo Sikoa who would have a major future feud with John Cena.
Sikoa previously captured a massive victory over Cena at Crown Jewel 2023, a decisive victory that seemingly cementing his role in the Bloodline.
However, since the pair have yet to tangle during Cena’s retirement tour — he could be the perfect entrant into the Last Time Is Now tournament.
With an entirely new faction at his behest, Sikoa has good odds of being able to cause enough distractions and interferences to get him all the way to the tournament finals.
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