John Cena spoke with Metro promoting his new film The Wall. Some highlights are below:
On balancing his acting and wrestling careers: “I would do both at the same time, but the movie guys are a little weird with their insurance. They don’t want me to go smashing my face up. [Laughs] I’m excited for all the opportunities outside the WWE ring, only because it raises awareness of the WWE. I take great pride in my profession, but I’m very aware of the perception of it. I think a lot of people think we are just what we are, and that’s it. There’s nothing wrong with that. But there are plenty of talented people who travel with the WWE and produce wonderful entertainment every week. We do live sports entertainment, and it’s like no other. To be able to do stuff like this outside of the norm and for people to say, ‘Wow, that’s pretty good,’ that bodes well for getting more eyes on the ring.”
On wrestling getting more respect lately: “More and more. And a lot of our methods of entertainment are being adopted by both mainstream sports and mainstream entertainment. If you look at how ESPN has shifted its content, the way shows feature a lot of argumentative debate rather than informative sports reporting, then sports borrows a lot from the WWE. I’m very happy to see it, and I think that’s what leading to more understanding of what we do and respecting it.”
