Despite a 23-year career in professional wrestling involving neck fusions, detached muscles, and reconstructive surgeries, John Cena claims he has never taken a single pain pill.
Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, Cena listed his extensive medical history for host Joe Rogan.
“I’ve had fusion in my neck, right pec completely detached, reattached both triceps, scoped nose… I’ve had probably 10 physical surgeries where they got to go and correct something. Never taken one pain pill,” Cena said. “I have all the prescriptions in the bottom drawer of my house filled. Some are labeled 2008.”
Cena recalled a specific instance after his pectoral surgery where medical staff were baffled by his refusal of medication.
“The worst one was probably putting the whole pec back on and then attaching it. When I woke up, I was able to mess around with a stress ball, and I never took one pill,” Cena said. “The medical staff couldn’t believe it.”
Cena explained that while he understands why people need them immediately post-surgery—noting that when the anesthesia wears off, the pain can be a “10 out of 10″—he views pain as a communication signal from the body that shouldn’t be silenced during recovery.
“It’s a fucking slippery slope. I would just be high on opioids all the time,” Cena admitted. “It’s kind of your body’s natural way of saying, ‘Okay, maybe push a little bit more, try to get a few more degrees of range of motion.’ If those senses are numbed and shut off… you won’t work to do the work to get better… You can’t listen to your body.”
When discussing where his pain tolerance comes from, Cena credited his upbringing with four brothers.
“I grew up with four brothers, and we kicked the shit out of each other… I was not always on the winning side,” Cena said. “There’s some value into losing a fight… Just flat out getting your ass kicked and then being able to dust yourself off and be like, ‘I’ll get you next time.'”
However, Cena admitted to Rogan that his tolerance isn’t universal. When Rogan described a specific stem cell procedure involving a large needle, Cena conceded he has limits.
“I would be shitting cufflinks if you get that stem cell needle out. I would be sweating right until the fucking final moment,” Cena joked. “Some stuff I can’t take.”
Cena also expanded on the physical toll of the industry, explaining to Rogan the misconception that wrestling rings are soft.
“I get such a feeling when first-timers go into the ring for the first time… they fall down once and like the wind’s knocked out of them, like, ‘My brain moved,'” Cena said. “Now, you gotta do that again and again.”
He contrasted the physical attrition of WWE against the UFC. While UFC fighting is about survival, Cena described WWE as “choreographed risk,” which allows for longer careers but results in significantly more cumulative trauma.
“When we’re in WWE… we’re working together to put on the best show… In that process, you can calculate the risks,” Cena said. “The math is way higher for you to have a 10, 15, 20-year career [in] WWE, but that also is 10 more years of falling down, 15 more years of falling down.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Joe Rogan Experience with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
