John Cena salutes the crowd at WWE SummerSlam 2015. (Photo : Getty Images/JP Yim)
John Cena has been the face of the WWE for over a decade. He has wrestled on a full-time schedule when he is not injured or filming an outside project. However, the latest rumors suggest that Cena is no longer a full-time performer.
According to Cageside Seats, the 15-time WWE world champion will not be appearing on many house shows and live events. His touring has been reduced unlike in previous years wherein he has a full schedule.
There could be a lot of factors why Cena will not be going to live events on a full-time basis. First, he is just coming off shoulder surgery that required only five months of recovery. He is only 39 years old but the wear and tear of wrestling would be too much even for him.
Cena has been wrestling since 1999, starting at Ultimate Pro Wrestling in California before getting signed by the WWE in 2000. He made his main roster debut in 2002 and he has been at the top of the company since winning his first WWE championship in 2005.
Some of the injuries Cena has suffered in his career include a torn pectoral muscle, a herniated disc in his neck, a hip flexor strain and an elbow injury that needed arthroscopic surgery. Another possible reason for his reduced schedule is outside projects.
The 39-year-old has been appearing on several movies recently such as "Trainwreck,"Sisters" and "Daddy's Home." He also missed a couple of months late last year to film his reality television series titled "American Grit" and he will be hosting the upcoming ESPY Awards.
This has led many to believe that Cena's time with the WWE is coming to a close and join former wrestlers such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Dave "Batista" Bautista in Hollywood. However, he told The New York Times in an interview that he does not want to be a full-time actor.
"I don't ever want to leave. I really like it in the ring. I try to pick opportunities that don't take me away from WWE for too long. I try to do opportunities that can really help expand our audience and bring new eyes to our product," Cena said.
Even though Cena has a reduced schedule, he will still regularly appear on television. He will not be on house shows regularly, but he is going to be promoting the WWE brand in many platforms. Check out the video below for Cena's TV ad about patriotism that was shown on the fourth of July.
