John Cena's Road to WrestleMania

"The Time is Now" blared through the arena, being accompanied by cheers and boos combining to form quite the polarizing reaction. This polarizing reaction signaled the arrival of the face of WWE for over a decade, John Cena. Cena had a solemn look on his face as a result of what happened last night at Fastlane.

"Welcome to Monday Night RAW, ladies and gentlemen. Michael Cole here, alongside Jonathan Coachman and Corey Graves. John Cena coming down to the ring with a forlorn look on his face," Cole introduced.

"That's right Cole. Cena tried his best last night. But in the end, he couldn't find a path to WrestleMania he wanted this year," Corey Graves agreed.

"With the Undertaker retired, all his championship avenues exhausted, there may be no hope for him to find a match at WrestleMania," Coachman echoed.

"Well, he technically has the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal," Corey chimed in. Before the others could respond to Corey, Cena grabbed a microphone, and looked at the cheering and booing fans with the same solemn look he had on his face.

"Normally, seeing all of you give me this kind of reaction would put a smile on my face. However, if you all saw last night, you saw me failing to capture the WWE championship from AJ Styles," Cena said sadly. This, much like everything else he did, was met with a mixed reaction.

"Whether you like it or not, and I know there are quite the large number of you who don't, I was this close to winning the WWE title," Cena continued, making the pinching motion, showing very little space between his pointer finger and his thumb.

"And next thing you know, I'm sitting in a corner watching AJ hold the WWE title up high, his road to WrestleMania set in stone. But what about me? Where do I go from here?" Cena asked, in a quiet voice that made it seem as though he was asking himself that question.

"Well, there is still the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal," Corey once again chimed in.

"Corey! Don't be so rude, and let Cena finish," Coachman scolded before he went back to patiently listening to Cena. Corey mumbled some very non-PG things at Coachman before retuning his attention to Cena, who was still looking around the WWE Universe, as if they had the answer to his query.

Just then, "Rebel Heart" by CFO$ started blasting through the speakers of the arena, sending the fans in the arena into a frenzy.

"OH MY GOD! COLE, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!?" Corey yelled due to both the amount of cheers echoing throughout the arena, and his own excitement.

"I SURE DO COREY! JOHNNY WRESTLING IS HERE!" Cole responded.

As if on cue, Johnny Gargano came out, taking in the massive ovation he was getting. He started walking to the ring, taking notice of the surprised look on Cena's face.

"Last time we saw Johnny Wrestling, he was fired from NXT after losing a career vs. title match against Andrade 'Cien' Almas after Gargano's former best friend and tag team partner, Tomasso Ciampa interfered in the match," Coachman elaborated.

"That's right Coach, but the question is why Johnny Wrestling is here," Corey responded. By this point, Johnny Gargano had gotten into the ring, and was posing on the top turnbuckle, with Cena having recovered from his shock and applauding the former NXT Tag Team Champion's arrival. Johnny came down from the turnbuckle, and turned to smile at Cena. The two shook hands before Johnny beckoned one of the ringside staff to bring him a microphone.

Before Gargano could say something, the crowd started cheering louder than before, with chants of 'Johnny Wrestling' thrown in there. Johnny beckoned the crowd to quiet down a little before he started speaking.

"First off, I wanted to thank you all for that warm welcome," Johnny said to both the crowd and Cena. Cena responded with a nod, and the crowd responded with more cheers.

"As you all know, my former friend, Tomasso Ciampa, cost me my match with Andrade Almas, and now I am no longer an NXT superstar," Johnny said with a hint of anger in his voice. The fans voiced their disdain for Johnny's former tag team partner by booing viciously.

"However, I just spoke with Kurt Angle, and it was quite the pleasant conversation. We talked about the weather, what we saw on TV last night, and the fact that I'm going to be the newest member of the RAW roster," Johnny said nonchalantly, resulting in a massive pop from the crowd, many of them on their feet at the news. Johnny got a big smile on his face from the reaction he was getting.

"Man, Kurt is a smart man! We have one of the biggest stars from NXT on RAW!" Corey said excitedly.

"Now John, you may wonder why I chose now of all times to tell the WWE Universe this news. Well, the answer is really simple. The word around the locker room is that you've exhausted all your options for your Road to WrestleMania," Johnny started, with Cena nodding in agreement, with his confusion still very much evident on his face.

"HE STILL HAS THE ANDRE THE GIANT…" Corey started yelling.

"Corey, give it a rest and let the man speak," Michael said simply before turning his attention back to the ring.

"Well John, I want to make an impact on the RAW roster. So, I figure why not kill two birds with one stone. John Cena, I officially challenge you to a match at WrestleMania!" Johnny exclaimed to the massive cheers of the crowd and the smile now engulfing John Cena's face.

"WHAT!?" Michael Cole yelled from surprise.

"Just think of all the great matches we have at WrestleMania this year! AJ vs. Shinsuke, Charlotte vs. Asuka, and many more. This match could blow all of those out of the water," Corey said, completely ignoring Michael.

John Cena was looking at Johnny Gargano with a look on his face that made it appear as though Johnny Gargano was his guardian angel. John stuck his hand out for another handshake, and Johnny accepted it with gusto. John then pulled Gargano close to him.

"Mr. Wrestling, your challenge is hereby accepted. I will see you at WrestleMania, but I expect your A+ game, because I'm going to bring nothing less," John said in almost a lecture like tone. Johnny responded with a nod.

"John, I wouldn't have it any other way. See you at WrestleMania," Gargano said with a smile on his face before releasing his hand from Cena's grip and left the ring to continue interacting with the fans.

"Well folks, if you needed anymore reason to watch this year's WrestleMania, you all just got one," Corey exclaimed as Johnny continued hi-fiving the fans. Michael and Jonathan said nothing, agreeing with what Corey had just said.