John Cena was supposed to face released WWE star at WrestleMania 6 years ago

John Cena has a record of 11-6 at WrestleMania, but he could've had another match six years ago before it was canceled. Cena was supposed to face a released WWE Superstar Elias at WrestleMania 35 in New Jersey.

In his legendary career, Cena has appeared in every WrestleMania except at 37 and 38 due to his growing Hollywood career. He didn't wrestle at 19, 32, and 35 due to different circumstances.

Speaking to Kenny McIntosh of Inside The Ropes, Elias, now known as Elijah in TNA, revealed that there were plans for him to face John Cena at WrestleMania 35. It never happened, but they did have a segment together where Cena returned as the "Doctor of Thuganomics" and attacked The Drifter for the second consecutive WrestleMania.

Elias added that the catalyst for Vince McMahon planning a match between him and Cena was his feud against Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship in mid-2018.

"With Seth, it was the right environment, the right match. It was the Intercontinental Championship. There was a real story there, and sure enough, man. I had that match, and it got people talking, and this was the plan. I can remember Vince McMahon came up to me after that and he said, 'It didn't happen at this last WrestleMania, but I want you and John at the next WrestleMania.' And I said, 'Yep. Okay, great. There we go.' I was very excited about that," Elias said. [From 12:06 to 12:39]

Check out the video below:

For some unknown reason, John Cena vs. Elias didn't happen, but they did get a segment at WrestleMania 35. There were also rumors back then that Cena was supposed to face Lars Sullivan at the event.

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Kurt Angle wanted to wrestle John Cena at WrestleMania 35

John Cena not having a match at WrestleMania 35 infuriated WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. The Olympic gold medalist revealed on his podcast back in 2021 that he wanted to have his farewell match against Cena. It would have been a full circle moment since Angle was Cena's first-ever opponent in WWE.

For some reason, Vince McMahon wanted Baron Corbin to end Angle's career, which wasn't a bad idea if WWE did something good with The Lone Wolf following his big WrestleMania win.

While using any quotes from this article, please credit the original source and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

Edited by Gurjyot Singh Dadial