Though John Cena has fully moved on from his wrestling career, it’s clear that fans of the sport can’t get enough of the actor. The 45-year-old Massachusetts-born star enjoyed a stellar career in the ring and then followed a well-trodden route to Hollywood, following the likes of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in doing so.
Cena has proven very successful as an actor, surprising critics and fans alike, especially when charged with the job of performing in comedic roles. He has appeared in a plethora of movies, including hugely successful turns in films like Bumblebee, The Suicide Squad, and Daddy’s Home. Basically, he’s about as bankable as a real-money casino; click here for more information on how those work.
This year he will appear in Fast X, the latest in the long-running Fast and Furious franchise, but he can still help shift a ticket or two in the world of WWE. It appears those very fans who helped make Cena a celebrity, which then aided his progression to film and tv shows, are still very much interested in seeing the former WWE Championship winner in action.
On Cena’s abilities to shift tickets, wrestling columnist Dave Meltzer commented;
“They announced John Cena on Monday night, right? They’ve sold 2,000 more tickets as of this (Wednesday) morning with the announcement, so they’ll probably end up selling out.”
“The guy, make no mistake about it, just the announcing of John Cena… when he was in Laredo, Texas, the first one, where he sold out the building (for his 20th anniversary show on June 27, 2022). And then Tampa he sold out again (December 30, 2022).”
“Tampa did not have anything special as an advance, it was a normal advance, and then as soon as they announced John Cena, tickets started moving really, really quick. And the other show was the same thing.”
“Boston was fine (March 6, 2023), they were over 7,000 tickets – 7,700 tickets out when they announced him. And they’re at probably 10,000 right now, just under 10 as of this (Wednesday) morning, so I would guess over 10 right now. So the guy can move tickets, that was pretty impressive.”
Fans of wrestling are a loyal bunch, and any heroes they’ve had over the years are always warmly received when they make a return, of any kind, to the ring.
Cena made his WWE television debut way back in June 2002 and was first WWE Champion between 2005 and 2008. In 2017 he moved to a free agent status, which meant he could fight with both Raw and SmackDown brands.
Indeed his first leading role in movies was in a WWE-produced film, The Marine, which was a moderate success and started the ball rolling on Cena’s Hollywood career. Over time he has moved away from those more action-based movies to comedy-based projects, which have shown how capable an actor he can really be.
Cena will appear on Monday Night Raw in Boston on the 6th of March. It has also recently been announced that he will appear alongside Awkwafina and Simu Liu in ‘Grand Death Lotto,’ a new Amazon Prime-backed movie directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids & Spy).
