John Cena has been a member of the WWE Universe since 2000.
The “prototype” of professional wresting who rapidly became the prototype of what WWE was looking for in a singles babyface Superstar, Cena has won 25 titles over his professional wrestling run, has main evented shows the world over, and has the unique distinction of having granted more Make-A-Wishs wishes than any other WWE Superstar in wrestling history.
And yet, much Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and the other legends of WWE/F past, eventually father time will come for his career too, and the seemingly unbeatable Cena will too have to hang up his boots for the final time, both as an active wrestler and an occasional guest far after his induction into the Hall of Fame Trish Stratus-style.
Discussing his WWE career and however much time is left on his proverbial clock, Cena told Entertainment Tonight‘s Nischelle Turner that while he doesn't have an exact retirement date in mind just yet, he does have a soft deadline he wants to honor that is approaching rather quickly.
“I made a promise to the consumer early on, to WWE fans, 'cause I know how tough it is to be a fan. You gotta come out of pocket — and WWE has a ton of content — it takes a lot to be a passionate fan and our fanbase is passionate and global. I never wanted to go out there just for the sake of going out there. And I'm gonna be 47 this year. I feel great. So inside I feel great, but I know what it takes to be a WWE performer night in and night out and I don't ever wanna just go out there and do it to do it. I wanna have the passion — the same passion as the fanbase — and I wanna give them exactly what they give me. The miles on the speedometer say, ‘Hey, that's gotta be done before 50. That's the timeline I've put on myself,” John Cena told Entertainment Tonight.
“It's tough to juggle both because, you know, when you're filming Argylle, Matthew [Vaughn] won't let you go do anything else because of insurance. So as long as the phone keeps ringing and we've had some good opportunities here, I'll kind of preserve that for as long as I can. But even coming back for these one-at-a-time things or short three-month periods, it takes its toll more and more and I've just had an incredibly fortunate run with my health. I feel great. I just want to continue to feel great the rest of my life.”
While John Cena isn't ancient by professional wrestling standards, as at 46, he's younger than performers like Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, and especially younger than soon-to-be retiring “Icon” Sting, he has worked an incredible number of matches considering his age, with 2,285 matches on his resume despite being a very part-time performers over the past few years. If he wants to leave wrestling behind to focus on acting and avoiding the sort of life-altering injuries that could happen any time someone steps into the squared circle, he's unquestionably earned that right.
John Cena is pretty sure he's free on WrestleMania weekend.
Elsewhere in his conversation with Entertainment Tonight, John Cena discussed the biggest elephant in the room regarding his WWE future: WrestleMania 40.
After working a match against Austin Theory in Los Angeles last April, would the leader of CeNaiton be heading to South Philadelphia for another match? Or do his Hollywood commitments come first and, as a result, prevent him from another appearance at the “Showcase of the Immortals?” Well, while Cena isn't 100 percent sure what he's up to that particular weekend, he does know that movies don't shoot on weekends, so there's a chance he'll be available.
“I don't know if I'll be free that weekend, but it is a weekend, and movies don't shoot on the weekends,” John Cena told ET. “But when I say I'm done — in WWE, they say never say never, and a lot of people retire and come back — I'm just being honest with myself. There's such a great new generation now as well. It's time to pass the electric energy on to the folks that can be there every day.”
Oh snap, is Cena coming to WrestleMania? I mean, that certainly wasn't a no, and as fans learned last year, all it takes is a few television appearances to set up an early card match, even at the biggest show of the year, so do you know what? It feels like a pretty safe bet that the “Face That Runs the Place” will be running his mouth and/or the ropes at WrestleMania 40 one way or another.
Follow Us
Subscribe
