John Cena is currently on another hiatus from WWE to film Daddy’s Home 2 and The Pact, and to work on some other non-wrestling projects. This follows his lengthy hiatuses (hiatii?) that he’s taken over the past couple of years, as he gets more and more focused on outside projects, like American Grit, and being a legitimate movie star.
But does Cena need to take so much time off from WWE to film these other projects? We’ve seen him host Today and make it to Raw in a different part of the country in the same day, for example. We’ve seen that several times, in fact. But it turns out Cena’s schedule is dictated by the big-budget movies he’s in — more specifically, the bottom line regarding any given major studio’s concerns about liability. He explained during an interview with Metro.
You have been quietly creeping back into movies, taking small roles here and in “Trainwreck” and “Daddy’s Home,” plus a leading role in the forthcoming “The Pact.” You have said you’re trying to wrestle less, act more.
“I would do both at the same time, but the movie guys are a little weird with their insurance. They don’t want me to go smashing my face up. [Laughs] I’m excited for all the opportunities outside the WWE ring, only because it raises awareness of the WWE. I take great pride in my profession, but I’m very aware of the perception of it. I think a lot of people think we are just what we are, and that’s it. There’s nothing wrong with that. But there are plenty of talented people who travel with the WWE and produce wonderful entertainment every week. We do live sports entertainment, and it’s like no other. To be able to do stuff like this outside of the norm and for people to say, ‘Wow, that’s pretty good,’ that bodes well for getting more eyes on the ring.”
So as it turns out, when you’re putting tens of millions of dollars into a movie, you don’t want your star going out and getting Styles Clashed or Phenomenally Forearmed or Sister Abigailed every night. Who knew?
Now all I can think about is Brad Pitt taking piledrivers between days of shooting World War Z or whatever. Maybe I would have seen World War Z if that had been a real thing.
