Former WWE Champ to Get Another John Cena Tournament Match

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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The John Cena tournament moved forward with Friday's SmackDown in Colorado, but also revealed another mystery opponent in the tournament bracket. The Celtic Warrior, Sheamus, suffered a shoulder injury during his recent matches, forcing him out of the tournament.

Sheamus initially defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in the first round of Cena's "Last Time is Now" tournament on "Monday Night Raw." The Celtic Warrior then teamed up with Cena and Rey Mysterio for a six-man tag match on this week's Raw against Judgment Day. While Cena's team won, Sheamus became medically unable to compete in the tournament's second round sometime this week.

Read more: WWE SmackDown Reveals Big News for John Cena Tournament

During Friday's SmackDown, several more matches occurred, including Carmelo Hayes defeating Bronson Reed due to a countout, and Penta defeating Finn Balor via pinfall. After Penta's win, SmackDown's Michael Cole and Corey Graves discussed the tournament bracket, which showed LA Knight needed a second-round opponent due to Sheamus' injury.

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Based on a PWInsider update (via EliteRockerz) after SmackDown, WWE decided which superstar would take Sheamus's spot in the quarterfinals. Former WWE Champion, The Miz, will get another chance to win a match in the "Time is Now" tournament.

The Miz previously competed against Jey Uso in the first round and lost, making his second-chance opportunity intriguing. Fans online are already questioning why a different superstar who hasn't competed yet couldn't get the vacant tournament spot.

"They couldn’t get creative and find someone who hasn’t gotten a chance yet?" one fan commented on X.

Another X commenter said, "Why the Miz? La knight def winning this match It should been Joe Hendry in my opinion."

"My guy already lost and he gets another shot holy WWE is in trouble so many other superstars," another fan wrote.

Other suggestions included fans interested in seeing NXT star Oba Femi or popular WWE star R-Truth get a shot at LA Knight in the quarterfinals match.

LA Knight versus Miz will commence on WWE SmackDown on Friday, Nov. 28, just one day before Survivor Series WarGames arrives on the ESPN app. The winner of John Cena's "Last Time is Now" tournament will face the wrestling legend at Saturday Night's Main Event on Saturday, Dec. 13, which Cena announced would be the final match on his retirement tour.