WWE Rumors: John Cena Preparing For Life Outside Of Professional Wrestling

John Cena is set to make his much-anticipated return from injury to the WWE on Memorial Day. He needed surgery to correct a torn rotator cuff injury suffered in January, 2016. The face of the world’s biggest and most successful pro wrestling promotion missed the biggest show of the year. Cena was not available for WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, Texas, in April, though he did make a token appearance. The event still managed to draw in more than 104,000 fans. With repeated injuries and age catching up with him, John Cena could be winding down his long and illustrious career in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Cena is no stranger to injuries. He has suffered a litany of injuries requiring surgery during his WWE tenure. That includes his pectoral (October, 2007), neck (herniated disc, May, 2008), achilles tendon (April, 2013), elbow (June, 2014), and shoulder (January, 2016). Cena has repeatedly defied doctor’s orders and father time it seems as he has successfully rehabilitated and returned from injury months in advance. Cena’s secret to his success? He is a proponent of corrective surgery, advanced rehabilitation procedures, and exercise. The fact that Cena is a lifelong athlete and gym fanatic likely allows his muscle memory to kick in promoting faster healing. But, the fact is, life catches up to us all. The day will come when John Cena’s injuries take their toll. So, what will life outside a WWE ring look like?

Cena is beyond devoted to WWE. He has not hinted at any desire to go behind the scenes as a producer or corporate executive once his in-ring career is over. That was the route taken by Triple H, real name Paul Levesque, performer-turned COO. The backstage area is filled with several former wrestlers that want to still be involved in the industry.

Cena, in the past, has repeatedly taken shots at Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for abandoning WWE and its fan base in lieu of a lucrative career in Hollywood. Cena’s comments sparked a rivalry that began in 2011. It resulted in two matches at WrestleMania XXVIIIand XXIXin 2012 and 2013. Now, it seems Cena could be talking the route paved by Johnson, not to Hollywood necessarily, but to mainstream media. The career change should be far kinder to Cena’s body than hitting the wrestling mat.

Cena has sought recognition and exposure outside of WWE. Aside from his WWE Films projects, such as The Marine and 12 Rounds, Cena has made appearances in movies such as 2015’s Trainwreck starring Amy Schumer and Daddy’s Home with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Additionally, he has been a regular visitor and co-host of NBC’s morning flagship The Today Show and host of the reality show American Grit on Fox. According to Yahoo! Sports, Cena was recently announced as the host of this year’s ESPY Awards on ESPN airing live on July 13.

NBC Universal is the parent company of NBC and the USA Network. The latter airs Monday Night Rawand Smackdown. There is speculation that the network is looking to make WWE more mainstream friendly. They’re going to help John Cena prepare for life outside of a WWE ring. One of the ways that they plan on doing this is to introduce Cena to a demographic that is not familiar with WWE. Pro wrestling fans want to watch their favorite heroes and villians in the ring and not on the big screen

John Cena has all the attributes to succeed outside the ring and in front of the camera. He has good looks, a superhero physique, is well spoken, can captivate audiences, and has the support of children and the female audience. It may be time that we admit it. John Cena is preparing for life outside WWE.