Soon-to-be retired WWE wrestler and current Hollywood actor John Cena has no plans to return to the ring after his final smackdown in December.
The star — who will next play a fictional United States president opposite Idris Elba and Priyanka Chopra in Amazon’s new movie Heads of State — stopped by Good Morning America on Wendesday, where he told host Michael Strahan that he’s done with professional wrestling for good following his retirement tour.
After Strahan, himself a former NFL player, inquired about the potential of Cena returning to wrestling after the tour, which caps his 25-year career, he adamantly denied he’d come back.
“Speaking to a retired athlete, I think you intrinsically know when your instinct says, ‘I’m a step slower.’ It’s then just a battle of, ‘How long do I fight those red flags before it could be counterproductive?'” Cena said. “I still look good, I still feel good, I still feel like I can perform at a WWE level, but I also think it’s time for me to step aside and let the young talent step forward.”
He added that, with the tour, he “wanted to do something that’s never been done,” so he announced his retirement six months ahead of setting out on the road.
“I said for the year I’d perform in 36 states,” he said. “We’re halfway through, and I think nobody thought I was serious. And now that we’re halfway through and people really understand that my last match is in December and it’s time for me to move on, the audiences have been electric.”
He then emphasized that a possible future in the WWE is not in the cards. “There is no way,” Cena said. “There is absolutely… I don’t want to speak in absolutes, because I don’t want to close any opportunity, but I made a promise to the fans who’ve allowed me to be here for a quarter of a century. They allowed me to sit with you today. I wouldn’t want to disrespect them like that. This is an event — when people attend, it’s very exclusive.”
He finished by saying that he “wouldn’t want to ruin” the goodwill he’s built with fans leading up to the December final event for “selfish gain.”
Outside of wrestling, Cena has built a successful career as an actor. To date, he’s appeared in major movies like Trainwreck, Bumblebee, F9, and Fast X as well as the 2021 DC Comics flick The Suicide Squad and its spinoff TV series, Peacemaker, centered on his character.
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In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cena spoke about his physical abilities while making Heads of State. “Every director is like, ‘Do some of that fighting stuff you do,'” he said. “I’m like, ‘I get really beat up and I’m good at picking people up and heavy things, but I don’t know any martial arts.’ I am proudly ‘gym strong.'”
Heads of State is out July 2.