“There Was a Watershed Moment for Me in WWE Too and They Almost Fired Me”: John Cena Opens Up on Facing Rejection Before Making His Mark in Hollywood

John Cena, as we all know, was the golden goose for WWE during his prime. But many fans would also remember the fact that he almost lost his WWE opportunity at the time of his start. In his own words, the fans “weren’t buying what he was selling.” However, that led him to be more persistent and rise above all as the Franchise Player of the global juggernaut.

But, would it come as a shocker to learn that 2009 was another low point in his career? After all, it was the same year Cena was at the top of his game, pursuing off-court ventures and wrestling top stars. So what went wrong for the 16-time World Champion?

John Cena was about to lose everything in 2009

Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect gained incredible recognition as a top superstar of Vince McMahon‘s company between 2005-2008. He had won several championships, and accolades and wrestled on every top and marquee stage. Moreover, John Cena had also begun to involve himself in other media such as doing movies and sporadic television appearances.

However, The Franchise Player did movies produced by WWE studios that were not well received by the audience. Furthermore, he was written off his opportunities to work in movies. But things worsened for The Champ even more during that same time.

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Those early films led to a point where Cena was told that he would never work in the movie industry again. Moreover, he himself admitted that he was not passionate about filmmaking at the time and found working in WWE better.

He spoke about this during his recent interview with MTV News Josh Horowitz. Cena said, “I was told I wasted my opportunity …I did. I wasted it … and there was a watershed moment for me in WWE too and they almost fired me.”

Despite the setback, Cena showed persistence and made it in Hollywood years later, pretty much how he saved his WWE career once when he was close to being let go by the company.

What did John Cena have to say about his first tenure in films?

As mentioned, John Cena did not have a successful start to his acting career. The Champ stated, “In 2009 I was told that I was never going to work in movies again … no … and by the way I earned that … have seen that some of that stuff?

He further said he preferred WWE over making movies at that time, “No I didn’t like making movies, because I was a young man going from town to town and audiences were berserk … and I could go around the world.”

The former WWE champion further stated that his first stint in movies happened to him at the wrong time, “It found me at the wrong time in my life.”

Thankfully, John Cena worked his way back and made his successful transition to Hollywood, becoming a part of successful films like Fast and Furious, Bumblebee, and Suicide Squad, which led to him starring in the spin-off Peacemaker series.

So does that story prove that John Cena is the biggest epitome of “never giving up?” Let us know in your comments.

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