John Cena is at an interesting point in his WWE career. Whenever he talks about WWE he says all the right things about how he is part of the WWE family for life and it’s honest of him to say it, but he is still considered a part timer by a lot of fans. After WrestleMania this year, Cena left WWE for three months before his return to Smackdown on July 4. Since returning, Cena has worked a full time schedule while working Smackdown TV events and live events for both Raw and Smackdown since he’s a “free agent” now. After just turning 40, it’s realistic that Cena will slow down in the next couple of years. For now, Cena is full time whenever he can be.
Cena opened up about his life, career and future during an interview with Complex.com to promote the new Tapout body spray, which are now available at Wal-Mart. Here’s Cena talking about wanting to be a free agent working on both Raw and Smackdown and how much time he might have left in the ring.
“The reason that I wanted to be a free agent and the reason they kind of granted my request is because I don’t know if I’ll be available for Smackdown-specific only or Raw-specific only, and I also know that my days are numbered. I just turned 40 in April and we have so many young and talented performers, I don’t know how many years I have left. So in the time I have left, I’m gonna do what I can to dedicate to this company I just want to be able to do it the most time that I possibly can.”
Nobody can deny Cena is a hard worker. It’s what has made him one of the biggest names in WWE history. Cena explained his mindset.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of great things happen, a lot of great opportunities, I could’ve just taken a month or two off and just sit back and relax and gotten myself together before the next thing but I don’t want to do that. I think it’s imperative to be home with what I call my family and when I have any time available I will bring it into a WWE ring. I will work nonstop. I won’t just [say], “okay I’ve made it out of the WWE,” which is what a lot of folks aspire to do they want to go onto something bigger and better when I think the WWE is the biggest and the best.”
Cena also explained what he means by being an “all-timer” rather than a part-timer and why he has to take breaks for his acting roles. It’s not his choice; it’s the movies.
“I haven’t danced around it, I explained that the reason I cannot be on the program is because the movie folks, their insurance doesn’t allow you to. That’s a dealbreaker, it’s not negotiable. But instead of laying low for a few months before I start another project, the second that I wrapped, I scurried on a plane and got right back into the WWE fold. I guess that’s what I mean by all-timer.”
For more of Cena’s talk with Complex including more info about the Tapout body spray and his engagement to Nikki Bella, check it out at Complex now.
I’m very intrigued by Cena’s future because he has shown a willingness to work with different talents and put them over when needed. Sure, his feuds with the likes of Bray Wyatt and Rusev didn’t help either guy, but I think Kevin Owens and AJ Styles benefited from working with him.
Cena is sitting on 16 WWE Championship reigns right now, which ties him with Ric Flair for the most all time. Most of Flair’s were from NWA/WCW, but it counts the same in wrestling history. When will Cena get 17? Maybe this year. Maybe next year. I’d be shocked if he didn’t get it in the next twelve months. It might even happen as soon as SummerSlam next month with Cena beating Jinder Mahal for the WWE Title if WWE chooses to go in that direction.
Looking ahead to next year’s WrestleMania, there are already rumors that Cena may face Roman Reigns there. It’s early, but it makes sense since Cena has been Vince McMahon’s main guy for over a decade and we all know Vince sees Roman in that role too, even if the majority of fans don’t agree.
