John Cena on How His WWE Career Shaped His Acting Career

With John Cena’s professional wrestling career set to conclude next year, 2025 will mark his farewell tour around the WWE Universe. Afterward, Cena will fully transition to his burgeoning movie career, making Hollywood, Atlanta, Toronto, and other major film production locations his new playground.

In a talk with Screencrush, Cena delved into his film endeavors and discussed the potential influence of his screen acting on his wrestling performances. Interestingly, instead of drawing from his acting experience for wrestling, Cena revealed he has actually benefited more in the opposite direction. His extensive time in WWE has contributed significantly to his stage presence in acting.

“Amazingly enough, it’s the opposite. I used to always think about how WWE is different from acting because WWE is so big and so theatrical. There are so many more moments now that I’m like, ‘Man, this parallels my existence in WWE.’ And they do run a whole lot of parallel lines,” Cena told Screencrush. “And gosh, am I grateful for the 22 years so far that I’ve had in WWE, and as I retire next year, I’m really excited for that tour and to close that chapter. I will never forget the wisdom I’ve received from that, and it helps me in my everyday professional and personal life.”

Calling WWE Superstars and professional wrestlers actors has often been used to discredit their athletic prowess, given that the sport’s outcomes are pre-determined. However, having a good head on their shoulders and a growth mindset can make a wrestler’s skills quite translatable to acting, as demonstrated by talents like Dave Bautista. Cena’s wrestling background, whether in dramatic or comedic scenes, has undoubtedly served his acting career well.

In his chat with Screencrush, Cena also addressed the landscape of professional wrestling movies, noting that it hasn’t produced as many quality films as other sports. He speculated that the previously secretive nature of professional wrestling may have played a part in this limited success. However, with more promotions releasing behind-the-scenes documentaries, this trend is beginning to change.

“Those are great questions. I think for the longest time, possibly it was just because of the misunderstanding that everyone had, or maybe the cloak of secrecy that the business itself tried to cast. I think now a lot of that cloak has been lifted. As a matter of fact, as we see more and more behind-the-scenes footage from WWE, and they’re doing more and more documentaries, I think the more information that gets out there and the more stories that the world knows, the more movie ideas are out there and the more series ideas are out there,” John Cena told Screencrush.

“There’s been a few that have been really good. I really did like The Wrestler. I thought it was just so sad and emotional. And I remember starting out on the independent circuit and wrestling a lot of guys who had been in the industry for a long time. That movie struck a chord on the beginnings of my career. So it allowed me to look back and romanticize a little bit of that, but also it was a very well done performance [by Mickey Rourke]. When it came out, of course, I’m in WWE, and everyone’s like, ‘What did you think of The Wrestler?’ I thought it was a sad movie. It could have been called The Rockstar or The Baseball Player, but I was so glad they chose wrestling to use as a forum to tell that story because it made a good movie about wrestling. And then with one that’s a success, people were like, ‘Oh man, maybe we can do something with this.’ Iron Claw was another one that just came out; there was a really good one. There’ve been scattered ones, but gosh, what a treasure chest of stories WWE and professional wrestling is in general. So who knows? Maybe there’s a bright future there.”

With films like The Wrestler – which Cena personally favored – The Iron Claw, and the upcoming project about Hulk Hogan’s battle with Gawker, it appears there might be a resurgence in wrestling-themed films. This potential boom could perhaps reach levels comparable to the old Lucha movies of the 1960s and 1970s, featuring top stars of the era, or even more prestigious productions like a Hart Foundation movie.