From WWE champion to successful action star in Hollywood, John Cena has made the seamless transition from sports to acting like his colleague, Dwayne Johnson. The celebrity used his physicality to perfection and proved his mettle in many action-oriented roles in films like The Marine and The Fast and the Furious franchise, before bagging the marquee role of Peacemaker in DC.
In the field of wrestling, the star has given spectators many memorable moments and has often been viewed as the king of promos, which is an important aspect of the sport. But even he could not live down one particular promo appearance that fans have dug out from the archives, that shows The Wall star completely hamming it.
WWE Fans Are Finding A Promo Of John Cena Cringeworthy
Along with Dwayne Johnson, John Cena has been one of the prominent faces of the WWE for many years. Having won multiple championships while showcasing his ability on various occasions, the DC alum was considered almost a God-like figure among die-hard fans, before making a successful shift to Hollywood.
But evidence from an old WWE video shows that even Cena had moments in the ring that he would want to forget. The Suicide Squad actor has always been known for his rocking promos, which are monologues that are aimed to promote the wrestler’s personality and agenda to fans before entering the ring.
While Cena’s promos have been hugely popular, one old video that has now become viral online on X is making fans cringe at the star as he hams his way through the monologue. Many netizens took to social media to comment on the Blockers star’ melodramatic rendition, which belied his true ability to engage with audiences. In one dialogue, the actor who is seen looking agitated, says,
I haven’t been this flipped out since my mom cancelled my subscription to Warcraft.
A few questioned former WWE boss Vince McMahon’s thought process behind the scripting of this promo, while others believed that this was Cena’s worst promo performance of his career.
This gotta be the WORST promo of John Cena's whole career. 💀
This has to be in the same list as Roman's "Sufferin' succotash" promo.
WTF WAS VINCE COOKING, MAN? 😭 pic.twitter.com/guPkLxwIL8
— EliteRockerz 𝕏 (@EliteClubS0B) June 22, 2024
This era of Cena was insanely bad. It’s so easy to see why a certain demo didn’t like him. The material was horrific.
— Wrestle Features (@WrestleFeatures) June 22, 2024
WWE from 09-11 was just awful 😭
— EliteRockerz 𝕏 (@EliteClubS0B) June 22, 2024
That era was bad
— Julian Weeks (@JulianWks) June 22, 2024
The “anonymous GM” was some of the worst wwe tv I’ve ever seen
— MayWay (@La_Clair42) June 22, 2024
Cena was the face of the company for over a decade but yeah this was a bad era for him.
— Vince Ruthless Aggressive (@TheCenaxDivas) June 22, 2024
Based on this video, many fans could have feared that Cena’s acting career may not take off. But the champion proved everyone wrong by the manner in which he seamlessly entered Hollywood and carved a niche for himself as a bonafide action star.
John Cena Had To Unlearn His WWE Training For This Film
John Cena and Jackie Chan starred together in Hidden Strike, a story about two elite soldiers who must escort a group of civilians to safety through one of the world’s most dangerous roads amid explosions and fire. While the filming happened before the pandemic, it was released straight to streaming on Netflix only in July 2023.
While Hidden Strike presented an opportunity for Cena to try his skills at a different form of combat like the martial arts, the actor was not physically or emotionally prepared for how tough his training was going to be. In an interview with GQ, the Peacemaker actor revealed that the shock of the strenuous physical routine not only took a toll on his body, but also on his mental state.
Cena also realized that his training for a particular kind of physique in the wrestling ring, was now being completely invalid, as he had to modify his body to bring in the flexibility that defined the essence of martial arts. This drastic change also affected him significantly.
“They just wanted me to kick over my head, which was impossible. I went over there to train with him for about three months and they stretched me like taffy. I immediately lost 20 pounds, which was very difficult for me. I even fell into a weird depression because it was like ‘I’m losing everything that I worked on for 30 years’.
Cena’s determination to give it his all, ultimately paid rich dividends. The actor realized the benefits of this training and confessed that putting his body through this type of rigor allowed him to walk taller, be more flexible, and taught him that movement can work in different ways.
