I write a wrestling column every Monday and Friday for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The latest edition is looking at how long until John Cena leaves WWE and the full-time schedule for a career in Hollywood. The following is an excerpt:
I think John Cena’s days as a full-time WWE performer could be numbered. Hollywood is already calling and drives a hard bargain to turn down.
Cena will always be a WWE guy. He will be active or associated with the brand in some capacity for as long as he’s alive.
Cena successfully defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday and ended the event holding his head high. Without injury or storyline justification, Cena wasn’t on Monday Night RAW the next night. The reason is he was scheduled to be in New York that day to continue filming for one of the two big-budget Hollywood films he has roles in.
They are “Trainwreck,” directed by Judd Apatow, and “The Nest,” which has an all-star comedy cast of Saturday Night Live alums. Both are scheduled to be released in 2015.
The work ethic and company weight he’s carried on his shoulders for the past decade is something most couldn’t do. Cena certainly deserves a Monday night off from being in a wrestling ring — especially if the night off from wrestling involves making a nice payday for less physical demand.
I won’t be shocked if that exchange of schedule continues to become more frequent.
Who could blame him for leaving behind 300-plus days on the road as his body aches for the big money that can be made while having a stunt double? Vince McMahon shouldn’t blame him. Cena has been all McMahon’s had to rest his money on many times in his tenure. Besides, if McMahon could be Jerry Bruckheimer right now, you can bet he wouldn’t be at RAW every Monday night.
McMahon loves telling stories. He loves movies. Go back and listen to his quotes in the 1999 documentary “Beyond The Mat.” He directly references the audience getting hooked on WWE characters before they find out what they’re really all about, “making movies,” he says before drinking a big gulp of water with a smirk on his face.
WWE did follow through somewhat on that vision and created WWE Studios. It has produced dozens of films, some straight to DVD and others to theaters with big name stars such as “The Call” with Halle Berry.
This gave the movie platform for Cena to get his feet wet with the film-making process. Make no mistake, the WWE films he’s starred in were the minor leagues compared to what he’s involved in now. Valuable experience which he was compensated for.
Now, the big leagues are calling.
CLICK HERE for what Cena’s new schedule would be like, how it compares to The Rock and more.
