John Cena recently did an interview with CinemaBlend where he spoke about the transition from WWE to Hollywood.
Cena gave credit to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for clearing the path for other wrestlers looking to follow his lead into an acting career. The Rock is the biggest movie star thus far to make it first in the WWE.
“It definitely has changed, and I think that rests on the already broad shoulders of Dwayne Johnson,” Cena said. “He just made it acceptable to be something other than your wrestling persona. If you look at the correlation of wrestlers or WWE personalities in movies, they essentially played extensions of their WWE personality. I think Dwayne was one of the first ones to break that mold, and do it on such a grand scale that he couldn’t be ignored.”
There is some history between the two. The former WWE Champion beat Cena at WrestleMania 28 in Miami, Florida then the next year at WrestleMania 29, Cena beat The Rock to win the WWE Title in New Jersey.
Cena added that because of The Rock, he’s been able to find different roles in various movies rather than playing the same role over again.
“As you know, typecasting takes a lot of attempts to unwire, and Dwayne has—through the legacy that he’s built—he’s made it easier for all of us,” Cena stated.
Cena will have roles in the likes of Project X-Traction, Fast & Furious 9, and The Suicide Squad.
