With a wave of his hand in front of his face, John Cena built a WWE career trash talking his opponents by telling each one, 鈥� .鈥�
Can鈥檛 see Cena?
The 45-year-old ubiquitous Hollywood heavyweight can be spotted pretty much everywhere these days, from studio lots to the squared circle. Cena just wrapped a role in Peter Farrelly鈥檚 new comedy 鈥� ,鈥� played the flawed DC Comics superhero in the 鈥� 鈥� series and will voice the in the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film.
Wearing his trademark jorts, Cena hasn鈥檛 forgotten his wrestling roots. He returns to fight WWE United States champion Austin Theory next month at WrestleMania at SoFi Stadium and can be seen 鈥� 鈥� as the for of the WWE 2K23 game, with the WWE 2K23 Deluxe Edition and Icon Edition out Tuesday and the standard edition and Cross-Gen on Friday.
What鈥檚 a wrestling game without a shocking twist? Cena guides gamers in the 鈥淵ou Can鈥檛 Beat Me鈥� 2K Showcase mode through some of the biggest losses of his career to wrestlers such as Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle, rather than highlighting all his championship wins.
鈥淧erseverance is a core value of mine,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ever give up is written on all my stuff. I like the fact that it walks you through my toughest opponents, my toughest losses. That鈥檚 very much a personal touch of mine and I鈥檓 glad 2K was very receptive to that."
Cena, not much of a gamer, calls the cover 鈥渁 tip of the cap鈥� from 2K for building a game around his 20-year body of work.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been some very important moments where I didn鈥檛 live up to the hype,鈥� Cena said.
In a recent phone interview with The Associated Press from Georgia, where he was filming 鈥� ,鈥� the Hollywood heavyweight discusses wrestling retirement, his starring role in the 鈥淲WE 2K23鈥� video game and his relationship with embattled WWE boss Vince McMahon. Answers have been shortened for clarity and brevity.
AP: What did you mean in your tweet after your return to WWE last week when you wrote, 鈥� .鈥� Are you nearing the end of your WWE career?
CENA: I tried to put it in words in Twitter. I guess I didn鈥檛 explain myself correctly. It was the first time I came out into the arena knowing that this has a definitive end. Normally, you come out, you get all excited, OK, this is the next one and I鈥檓 waiting for the next one. I鈥檓 not done, of course. I made that statement accepting a match at WrestleMania so I know I have at least one more in front of me. But what I was trying to convey was, that was the first time I looked at all that excitement and energy and realized this is the twilight of that journey.
AP: Why come back to ?
CENA: You would be surprised at my answer. Because that鈥檚 what I was told would happen. I don鈥檛 do that. I don鈥檛 say, I want to do this. I want to work with that person. I don鈥檛 ever do that. I鈥檝e never done that. I just try and do what I鈥檓 told to do and do it to the best of my abilities. Instead of dictating my terms, I often just try to make the performance the best it can be. What I don鈥檛 do and what I鈥檝e never done is curate the direction of the narrative. I don鈥檛 pick opponents, but I love to tell stories. I didn鈥檛 pick Austin Theory but I certainly spoke from the heart (on RAW).
AP: How do you feel about the fact ?
CENA: That鈥檚 way above my paygrade. I just don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going on with that. I love Vince McMahon. He鈥檚 everything you could want in a great friend, business partner, father, mentor. I love the man. But his business dealings are his business and what he shares with me, that鈥檚 between us. But I don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going on with the corporate structure in the WWE or the creative direction of the WWE. But when I鈥檓 there as a performer, it鈥檚 (WWE champion) Roman Reigns鈥� show. In my mind, he needs to be in the conversation, and in my mind, he鈥檚 the greatest of all time.
AP: Is it tough to reconcile the feelings you have toward Vince McMahon with the made against him?
CENA: No. I mean, everyone has the right to have their perspective. I have the right to have mine. When you love somebody, you take them as imperfectly perfect as they are. . Lord knows I鈥檝e made my collection of poor choices. That doesn鈥檛 mean I鈥檓 not going to love somebody. There鈥檚 no way I can go on record and say I don鈥檛 love Vince McMahon.
AP: You have WrestleMania coming up and a slew of acting projects including 鈥淕rand Death Lotto.鈥� Has the ever become too much?
CENA: I鈥檓 feeling my age, so to speak. I could use a little bit of rest, but all my choice. These are wonderful things to be a part of. This one I鈥檓 really excited for because this movie does not stop. It is going to be action from the opening credits. We have a great team that mixes action and comedy. I鈥檓 also trying to do my best to, I hate the term work-life balance, but I鈥檓 trying to do my best to not fall into the trap of workaholism where I just hide in my work and I鈥檓 not a fully open, vulnerable human being to the people around me, the people that I love. I haven鈥檛 yet sacrificed my relationships for my work. I鈥檓 at a pretty good pace right now where I can hit on all cylinders.
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and
Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
