WWE SmackDown Notes: John Cena Announced as Official Host of Payback 2023

Friday’s WWE SmackDown show in Hershey, Pennsylvania featured the announcement of John Cena being the official host for WWE’s Payback 2023 event, which takes place this Saturday at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In the opening segment of the show, Cena came out and gave a promo thanking the fans for giving him twenty years worth of moments from his WWE career. During his speech, Cena also revealed that he was going to be the official host of this Saturday’s Payback 2023 event.

BREAKING: @JohnCena is the host of #WWEPayback tomorrow night!@peacock

🦚 https://t.co/xRBTNzqw23
🌎 https://t.co/aEwGYUp0uE pic.twitter.com/whoMWgDdVg

— WWE (@WWE) September 2, 2023

Current card for WWE Payback 2023:

• WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins (c)
• WWE Women’s World Championship – Raquel Rodriguez vs. Rhea Ripley (c)
• WWE United States Championship – Austin Theory vs. Rey Mysterio (c)
• Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Pittsburgh Steel City Street Fight match – Judgement Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (c)
• Steel Cage match – Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch
• LA Knight vs. The Miz