The Road to WrestleMania is right around the corner, and it's almost time for WWE to start ramping up their storylines heading into their biggest event of the year. This year's WrestleMania feels like it will be the biggest in years. With this being Triple H's first fully controlled WrestleMania, you can bet he wants to pull out all the stops to make it the biggest event possible. How do you draw more attention to WrestleMania and make it bigger than it already is? You add John Cena.

WWE announced that Cena would return on the final Smackdown of 2022. The last time John Cena stepped foot in a WWE ring was for his 20th anniversary celebration in June this past year. With WrestleMania coming up, the hope is that this visit isn't a one-time thing again.

The stars need to align for John Cena to be available for WWE appearances nowadays. Still, we'll assume he'll be sticking around to build a storyline for WrestleMania. And what's the easiest way to set up a WrestleMania storyline? The Royal Rumble.

When John Cena returns to Smackdown, he should announce that he is entering the Royal Rumble match in hopes of capturing his 17th world championship. During that match, you can set up a feud going into WrestleMania. The question is, who should be the one John Cena faces?

Austin Theory seems to be the obvious choice. Have you seen Theory? He's a prototype of John Cena. The similarities are jarring, and WWE has already planted the seeds for a Theory and Cena feud in the past. This could be for the United States championship or just simply a classic “passing of the torch” match from Cena to Theory. Think of how big this win would be for Austin Theory. Especially with this new character and edgy side to him, a win over Cena would elevate him to the next level.

The next superstar that comes to mind is Intercontinental Champion Gunther. The story is written for you: John Cena goes after the one title he has never won. Cena has accomplished everything in WWE but being an Intercontinental and Grand Slam champion. This match would undoubtedly be a show-stealer and elevate Gunther just as it would elevate Austin Theory. Of course, Gunther should win this match to put him over one of the most dominant Intercontinental Champions in recent history and solidify him as a main-event superstar.

The last superstar I believe could go one-on-one with John Cena at WrestleMania is Logan Paul. Imagine the number of eyes it would bring to the product. A WWE legend turned Hollywood actor taking on a vlogger turned WWE superstar. This match would be money, and if Logan Paul didn't win you over in his match against Roman Reigns, he'd win you over against John Cena. Call me crazy, but Paul should defeat John Cena in his fourth match in WWE. This would set Paul up for more prominent storylines moving forward, and if he starts being on WWE TV more consistently, a potential championship run in the future.

A handful of other superstars could take on John Cena at WrestleMania, but I believe you can get the best match/story out of these three. The hope is John Cena doesn't return and disappear again but sticks around for a bit to have one big match at WrestleMania. Fingers crossed that's what we get.