John Cena On His WWE Future: ‘I’m Going To Wrestle As Long As I Physically Can’
Former 15-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena has been making a lot of non-WWE commitments as of late, which has a lot of people wondering if he’ll end up doing the same thing he criticized Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for, which is leaving professional wrestling and pursuing a career in Hollywood.
While Cena certainly has the potential to successfully crossover to acting, he told ABC News that he’s not planning on leaving WWE anytime soon and that he’ll continue to wrestle for as long as he physically can. It’s pretty clear that Cena will be wrestling for many more years to come.
“It’s taken years and I still can’t jump the hurdle. Everybody’s like ‘OK, when are you getting out of wrestling to do movies?’ And they’re baffled when I’m like, ‘I’m not!’ I want it to be acceptable to do both. I’m going to do this as long as I physically can. There is a definitive end in sight. But man, I’m gonna milk it for all that it’s worth.”
WWE has been trying to find a replacement for Cena over the last year, and they’ve been unsuccessful so far. But, WWE is going to have to keep trying to find that replacement, because Cena, at the age of 39, has made the decision to work a lighter schedule in order to fulfill his non-WWE obligations.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, the days where John Cena wrestles on every television show, live event, and pay-per-view are over. But, unlike The Rock, it looks like Cena is going to make an effort to wrestle as regularly as he can while he’s doing things in Hollywood.
John Cena is reportedly going to be one of the faces of WWE SmackDown after next week’s brand split, but it’s unclear if he’ll actually be touring regularly with the SmackDown crew or if he’ll be too busy with his movie and television commitments. The main attraction at the SmackDown live events may end up being AJ Styles, who has also been rumored to be one of the faces of WWE’s Tuesday night show.
Whether he’s a full-timer or not, John Cena will remain a big part of WWE going forward. It’s expected that he’ll end up breaking Ric Flair’s record for most World Title reigns (16) at some point, and he may end up tying it later this summer. Rumor has it that he’ll end up battling AJ Styles at SummerSlam, and the winner of that match will become the Champion of the SmackDown brand.
With Cena nearing the age of 40, one would assume that he won’t be wrestling 10 years from now. But, you never know. He may end up being like Ric Flair in more ways than one and end up wrestling well into his 60s.
Cena has been injured quite a bit over the last couple of years, which suggests that he’s beginning to break down physically. Choosing to work a lighter schedule could help his durability, and it could add a couple of years onto his career.
Cena has said in previous interviews that he plans to be a part of WWE after his in-ring days are over. We should probably expect to see him appear on WWE television on a semi-regular basis for the next 20 or 30 years.
If you’re hoping to see John Cena retire anytime soon, then you’re probably out of luck. Sure, he may disappear from WWE’s weekly programming at certain points, but he’ll remain a focal point of whichever show he’s on for the rest of his career.
[Image via WWE]
