WWE News: WWE Superstar John Cena Will Be Very Limited In 2017, Only Wrestling For Half The Year
WWE Superstar John Cena is clearly the top guy in WWE, regardless of a title not being held, so it will be interesting to see how WWE reacts if they cannot have their 15-time World Champion much in 2017. That seems to be the case for WWE, as they have now lost Cena at least for the rest of this year and he may be back just in time for The Royal Rumble in January.
Despite this, according to various reports, Vince McMahon is already getting creative to come up with ideas for WrestleMania 33 not involving John Cena. This made many people wonder what was going on. Despite previous reports regarding a fight between Vince and Cena pushing John to take more time off, the plan was always to have Cena return at the start of the year.
These reports got mixed between another, which has to do with John Cena taking more time away in 2017. According to The Wrestling Observer, Cena will only be working six or seven months next year and still on a part-time basis. This means he won’t be working a lot of live events but would do the tours he is available for and all television in that time as well.
The reason for the extra time off is due to major opportunities he is getting in 2017 that include a lead in a new film. There is also a rumor that he is currently part of the new Thor: Ragnarok film, which he is set to make a simple cameo in. Now of course as Marvel tends to do, if Cena pops up as a major role in the universe then he would be part of other films which very well could start filming next year. This would be a massive opportunity for Cena and one he simply could not pass up, obviously.
It is uncertain who is playing, but there is knowledge that if he is in this Thor film, it would only be a cameo. The real problem for Cena is beginning next year when the filming for another film would take place. If he continues to get opportunities, WWE would need to work around his schedule so that they do not run into a similar problem they had with The Rock, who they pretty much pushed out when his deal ended years ago which left us without him for years.
The plan is for John Cena is to have him work the same schedule he did this year when it concerns him being around, but at times he cannot be he will also not work television either. Many assume this is good and bad for WWE. They can keep him around for a lot longer if they work with his schedule. On top of this, he won’t need to retire as quickly because he simply won’t be too beaten up.
It is unlikely John Cena will ever go on an Undertaker schedule where he performs once a year. However, it is likely that we may only see him half the year on WWE programming because of the fact that he’s busy with other things. This only helps WWE though, as the success of Cena means the success of any TV product he is part of. WWE SmackDown Live may increase in viewership simply because he is part of it, which is a very good thing for WWE.
While obviously John Cena will be a busy man in 2017, he is not going to leave WWE as long as they will still let him be around. The major offers he is getting simply cannot be passed over, and anyone who would do so would be moronic. WWE knows this. It is also smart of WWE to realize that Cena is nearing 40 years old and to be fair to him, his career has to slow down eventually. That makes projects like this even more crucial than before.
The Rock took a lot of his roles in his late 20’s into 30’s and so on, meanwhile John Cena is just now getting major chances. He has committed over fifteen years to the WWE, so it is not as if he is turning his back on the fans or that he is pushing them away. If he were to retire right now, fans might be sad, but no one could say he did not work hard while he was around. This is why the respect for John Cena is so high to begin with, as fans know what he has done in his time with WWE.
[Featured Image by WWE]
