John Cena

John Cena appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday and expressed doubt about appearing at WrestleMania 38 in April while also noting that he's "not done with WWE by a long shot" (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc.):

WrestleMania is usually in the cusp of late March, early April. I don’t know if I’m going to make it this year. And that’s a good conundrum to have because there’s a lot of good opportunity coming up, which I would love to take and if all those things line up, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make WrestleMania.

But I will tell you and everybody watching, I’m not done with WWE by a long shot. That’s my home, I love it. I was able to go back during the summer for a few months and entertain audiences when they welcomed audiences back to arenas, so I’ve far from had my last performance.

The last time Cena appeared in a WWE ring was Sept. 10, when he, Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio won a six-man tag team match over The Bloodline in a dark main event at SmackDown.

In August, Cena lost to WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.

Cena was talking to Ellen DeGeneres to promote the series Peacemaker on HBO Max.

The wrestler-turned-actor has been busy outside of the ring lately, appearing in three movies released in 2021 (F9: The Fast Saga, The Suicide Squad, Vacation Friends). He'll also appear in two projects in production (Argylle, The Independent).

In other words, Cena simply may not have the time to make WWE cameos right now.

WrestleMania 38 will take place at AT&T Stadium on April 2 and 3 in Arlington, Texas.

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The Undertaker would likely make the WWE Mount Rushmore for every wrestling fan, but who would crack the Dead Man's all-time top four?

Appearing on Kevin Hart's YouTube show, Cold as Balls, the Undertaker answered that very question (around the 11-minute mark) by putting Andre the Giant, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Shawn Michaels on his personal Mount Rushmore. 

The most interesting name on that list is Michaels, only because it shows how much The Undertaker's opinion of The Heartbreak Kid has changed over the years. 

Undertaker once said on WWE Untold (h/t Gary Stonehouse of The Sun) that in the 1990s he "probably wouldn't piss on him to put him out" if Michaels was on fire.

The Dead Man has been open about changing his opinion of Michaels over the years, culminating with their two-match series at WrestleMania in 2009 and 2010. 

“I think Shawn Michaels probably is the greatest in-ring wrestler of all time, Undertaker told Vipin Raghuwanshi of ITN in May. 

One of The Undertaker's final matches in WWE came against John Cena at WrestleMania 34. 

According to Taker, one of the people who wasn't a fan of the match was his daughter. 

"My daughter loves Cena," he explained around the 6:30 mark of the video. "You know, eventually, we have a match, right? She's sitting front row with her mom. It was a real quick deal, I squash him in like five minutes. I just kick the s--t out of him, drop him on his head and pin him. And I'm looking at my daughter, looking for that 'Yay, dad,' right? And she's giving me this (thumbs-down gesture)."

The build for the match saw Cena call out The Undertaker on television for weeks. Even though the bout was never officially advertised by the company as happening, the result on the night was disappointing to some because of the stature of both men as WWE legends. 

Undertaker's final match wound up taking place at WrestleMania 36 in a Boneyard Match against A.J. Styles. 

"In my mind, I wanted to do it," he said around the 2:45 mark of the video about continuing to perform in the ring. "In my heart, I still wanted to do it. But I realized, my body couldn't do what it used to do."

WWE gave Undertaker a proper send-off at the 2020 Survivor Series to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his debut with the company. 

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From beloved babyface to polarizing tweener, Cody Rhodes' role in All Elite Wrestling has drastically shifted since the launch of the promotion two years ago.

Truth be told, he hasn't done much differently, either. In many ways, he is still the same character now that he was then, except the crowd support isn't as strong as it once was.

His falling out with the AEW faithful was only inevitable. Anyone who has followed his run since late 2019 should be aware of where he went wrong and why he hasn't exactly been a crowd favorite as of late.

The 35-year-old's constant breaks from television combined with his inconsistent storylines and lack of character development have made him an easy target for criticism. John Cena suffered from a similar issue for a good chunk of his WWE career, and now Cody is quickly becoming his AEW equivalent from that standpoint.

Prior to his recent return to WWE, Cena was renowned for receiving mixed reactions from fans. That was due to him being tailored to the younger demographic for so long and the older male segment of the audience resenting him for it.

Some of the booking decisions WWE made with The Cenation Leader during that long stretch of time weren't always the most popular, but there could be no doubt he was the franchise player.

The same can not be said for Rhodes, though. Despite being one of the founding fathers of AEW, he has been bouncing around from feud to feud with no real sense of direction for the past year and a half. Unlike with Cena, not everything involving The American Nightmare has been exactly must-see.

In addition to his rivalry with The Factory that had no business being as long as it was, Rhodes hasn't done anything of importance in ages. Per the stipulation he agreed to upon losing to Chris Jericho at Full Gear 2019, he can't contend for the AEW World Championship and that has severely limited what he can do.

Cena, on the other hand, was always chasing championship gold no matter how bad the backlash got. In fact, his constant presence at the top of the card was part of the reason why he was resented by such a noticeable portion of the audience at the peak of his popularity.

There's no telling if he would have won over those fans had he remained full-time in wrestling, but with how long he's been gone from WWE, he's had no trouble endearing himself to virtually everyone in the WWE Universe any time he's been back since 2019.

Following in Cena's footsteps may be a much tougher task for the AEW executive vice president if he sticks around and doesn't disappear for years at a time.

At the very least, one thing Cena had going for him during his time on top and Rhodes has going for him today is that they never fail to deliver when the lights are bright regardless of who they're in the ring with and how the crowd feels about them.

Cena earned his "Big Match John" nickname by showing up and showing out on countless occasions. Meanwhile, Rhodes has had multiple Match of the Year contenders in AEW and lives up to the hype when it matters most.

Better yet, both men have done an exceptional job of putting over and elevating talent when necessary. There have been a few cases here and there arguing otherwise, of course, but all in all, they haven't gotten proper recognition for doing the honors and helping push the future forward more often than not.

Perhaps what gets under the skin of fans more than anything when it comes to Rhodes is his blatant acknowledgement on TV of not wanting to turn heel. Cena was guilty of the same thing for many years and was one of the elite few to never succumb to the negativity.

The biggest difference between the two in that regard is that the AEW EVP has proved in other promotions that he can work as a viable heel in the main event scene. He has said before that becoming a villain at this point would be "too easy," but all of his efforts to turn the crowd around in his favor since then have come up unsuccessful.

Even with all the commonalities the characters share, Rhodes can't be considered a carbon copy of Cena. Both men are established but in two totally different ways and Cena was far more important to WWE's week-to-week programming than The American Nightmare currently is to AEW.

With that in mind, there are lessons AEW can learn from how WWE booked Cena when he was at his most despised. It did the right thing by eventually flipping the script with Roman Reigns, and if AEW did something similar with Rhodes down the line, he can also rejuvenate his career and embark on an epic heel run.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.

Jon Moxley was not about to allow The Shield become the Nexus.

Moxley wrote in his new book that The Shield was originally supposed to lose to John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus at the 2013 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, but the group approached Vince McMahon to squash the idea. 

“If [we] went out there with Cena and took the f--kin’ schmootz and got pinned like everybody else, we would then become everybody else,” wrote Moxley. “It would kill us. I remember…being in the car with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. ‘I ain’t f--king doing it,’ I said. ‘Whether they fire us or we get Cena’d and killed off…we’re dead either way.'"

Moxley's book, which came out this week, is littered with his grievances from his time in WWE—ranging from booking, to scripted promos, to his general unhappiness with how the company viewed professional wrestling. 

The Shield was one of the hottest acts in the company heading into the 2013 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, with Moxley, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns positioned as future stars.

However, the same could have been said about members of The Nexus three years prior before a run-in with Cena essentially stripped them of their momentum. Cena's burial of The Nexus isn't some wrestling folklore, either; the 16-time world champion has essentially admitted to picking up the shovel.

Losing to Cena—and becoming the latest in a long line of rising stars to drop a feud to Cena in that era—would have ruined The Shield's momentum. Moxley was luckily able to talk McMahon into having The Shield go over in that match, but it's clear Mox's issues with booking weren't a new thing by the time he departed. 

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HBO Max released a trailer Saturday for the upcoming Peacemaker series starring WWE Superstar John Cena.

The trailer features Cena reprising his role as the superhero Peacemaker, which was a role he first tackled this summer in the critically acclaimed film The Suicide Squad:

Peacemaker the series appears to pick up where The Suicide Squad left off with Peacemaker recovering in the hospital after being left for dead.

In the trailer, Peacemaker is told he can avoid going back to jail if he serves as a vigilante who targets criminals.

In The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker was an antihero of sorts who was all for murder and violence in the name of keeping the peace. He was also something of a comedic character.

Cena captured the essence of Peacemaker perfectly in the movie, and all signs point toward the new series being a huge hit as well.

The 44-year-old Cena has carved out a highly successful acting career for himself after first reaching stardom in WWE.

Cena was the company's top star for well over a decade, and he is tied for the all-time record with 16 world title reigns.

He made a brief return to WWE over the summer and headlined SummerSlam in August against Roman Reigns. The match was won by Reigns, allowing Cena to once again focus on his outside endeavors.

Cena will return to the spotlight January 13, which is when Peacemaker will begin streaming on HBO Max.

If you had the choice between 16-time WWE champion John Cena and some 5'7" guy named Zeke who is afraid to go swimming, who would you choose?

Well, Kim Kardashian West chose the obvious during her Bachelorette spoof on this week's Saturday Night Live.

The newly single mother of four seemed in her element in her first SNL hosting gig and played the part of dimwitted Bachelorette contestant well. She went down her star-studded group of suitors, with actors Chase Crawford and Jesse Williams, comedian Chris Rock, Brooklyn Nets forward Blake Griffin and reality star Tyler Cameron of Bachelorette fame all advancing to leave Cena and Zeke (played by Kyle Mooney) as the final two.

Anyone who watches the Bachelorette would easily note that this was a near-perfect spoof and a good opportunity for some celebrities to make a cameo.

That said, we do feel bad for poor Zeke. 

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Big E Discusses Overcoming Mental Health Struggles

Big E produced one of the most memorable moments in recent wrestling history Monday night when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to capture the WWE Championship with a win over Bobby Lashley.

The longtime member of The New Day has deserved a serious singles push for a while and the fact it has finally arrived led to a massive pop from the WWE Universe on Raw.

Yet, the 35-year-old Florida native explained on WWE's The Jump (via Brie Coder of Wrestling Inc.) it wasn't an easy road to the top of the card amid a long-term battle with depression:

I can't say enough. I'm so incredibly humbled and appreciative. On our podcast, we had an episode about mental health. That was important for us to have that conversation, especially after the passing of [former WCW and TNA wrestler] Daffney. You know, I talked too about the fact that I'm someone who struggled with my mental health and with depression for a long time. And not seeing much value in myself to go from thinking about the juxtaposition of being 20 years old and really struggling and trying to find my way in the world, to now, where people around the world know who I am [and] find value in my work, and find joy in my work. It's a blessing. I'm grateful to have found purpose and passion.

Big E earned a lot of fan support during his journey through the WWE ranks, including stops in FCW and NXT, before making his debut on the main roster and eventually linking up with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to create one of the most successful tag-team groups in history.

Now he's one of the company's top champions and it wouldn't be a surprise if he receives an extended run at the main-event level heading toward next year's Royal Rumble, and potentially even beyond.

John Cena Says He Won't Wrestle Outside WWE

Cena recently returned to WWE for a brief run leading up to a SummerSlam match for the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, which he lost.

The 13-time WWE champion, who now spends most of his time working as an actor, hinted toward another return to the squared circle in a goodbye message:

While it's always been assumed Cena will only wrestle in WWE, the recent trend of high-profile wrestlers departing the company and landing in AEW raised the intriguing possibly of the longtime face of WWE ending up in the rival promotion.

The 44-year-old Massachusetts shot down that idea during a Q&A session at the Florida SuperCon convention, per Brandon Ewing of E-Wrestling News.

"There's a whole like 'never say never' philosophy and I'm also that way in life because you never know what life will bring you. But, I can with certainty say no," Cena said about the potential of signing with another wrestling company.

It's not a surprise given his loyalty to WWE. Vince McMahon and Co. figure to bring him back for any key events that fit in his schedule in the years ahead.

Paul Wight Lauds AEW For Creative Freedom

Wight, best known as Big Show during his time in WWE, has a unique perspective after two decades in WWE and now serving in both an in-ring and broadcasting role for AEW.

He explained during an interview on the Adam's Apple YouTube channel (via Robert Gunier of Wrestling Inc.) he doesn't hold any ill will toward WWE and thinks "both products are amazing" despite their differences.

Wight noted the one thing working to AEW's advantage is the willingness to let performers have a little more creative freedom to build their gimmick:

If you have a promo, you have a promo, and if you have a match, you have a match. There's not as much upper-level handling on what they want during the match and what they're trying to present for the extra property they own. Even for me, I'm doing Paul Wight but I've never had as much freedom as I do now in AEW doing this. Before, when I was in WWE as Big Show, it was a committee to get anything done.

That's even more important now that AEW has become a destination for wrestlers seeking more of that individuality they became accustomed to on the independent scene, whether it's CM Punk, Bryan Danielson or Adam Cole.

AEW has attracted a lot of attention with its marquee signings and now comes the tough part: retaining that viewership for the long haul. Letting wrestlers push boundaries and use their own vision in terms of character development should be helpful, especially in keeping the diehard wrestling fans.

Don't expect John Cena to be Hulk Hogan.

During an appearance at Florida Supercon, the 16-time world champion signaled he doesn't expect to ever wrestle for another promotion.

"There's a whole like 'never say never' philosophy and I'm also that way in life because you never know what life will bring you," he said, per Wrestling Inc's Marc Middleton. "But, I can with certainty say no."

CM Punk and Bryan Danielson recently signed with All Elite Wrestling, giving WWE what appears to be its first serious competition domestically in years.

If AEW wanted to follow the path WCW set in the mid-1990s when it took on WWE, then Cena would be the proverbial white whale. The "Monday Night Wars" don't happen without Hogan going to WCW, and Cena is the most obvious parallel available to AEW today.

One could question the long-term value in signing Cena, though. The 44-year-old returned to WWE for a brief run this summer, but his days as an active wrestler on a more regular basis are seemingly over. 

Hogan wrestled a limited schedule for WCW, but the company could count on him to show up regularly on Nitro and for most of its pay-per-views. Cena, on the other hand, has had two televised bouts since 2019.

As with that long-sought-after heel turn fans desperately wanted, the time for the future Hall of Famer to jump ship to a rival promotion has almost certainly passed.