It was almost a month after Cena beat Styles that he finally returned and declared his want for the Intercontinental Championship, winning it from Mysterio on the same night. It was a long-awaited moment that had looked increasingly unlikely, so there was undoubted relief when it finally came.

But it is also hard to escape the idea that Cena declaring for, challenging for, and winning the title all on the same night came rather abrupt and fast. Clearly, because of the lack of dates actually left. So, without that inconvenience, Cena and The Judgment Day might have been able to get the ball rolling weeks prior to this eventual title win. Cena wound up working Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez, Roxanne Perez, and Liv Morgan into his feud with Mysterio. But that was all done in one single match at Survivor Series – the IC title rematch where-in Mysterio recaptured his title. Those interactions could have been deepened and expanded upon in the weeks that Cena wasn’t present for, his Intercontinental title win might have felt better earned, and then the rematch loss equally in those regards. Maybe for the two weeks he held the title, Cena could have brought back the open challenge once again. The Last Time is Now tournament would have continued after the fact, only Cena could have actually been present for that on commentary or even as a referee.

The main point is that with more dates, the entirety of this run very likely would have felt more befitting of John Cena the workhorse, the face of the company for over a decade, and the most decorated world champion in WWE history.