John Cena may not be a full-time pro wrestler anymore but WWE certainly makes money from him to this day. Let’s face it, without WWE, there would be no John Cena, the wrestler who inspired millions across the world. Make no mistake, John Cena’s success in wrestling wasn’t low-hanging fruit. But, WWE takes credit for his success, and rightly so. 

John Cena is on his way to reaching new heights in Hollywood. Having acted in blockbuster films already, the former WWE Champion has a promising future in Hollywood. And a certain percentage of his profits from his movie projects go to the company that helped build his iconic wrestling persona. 

Why does John Cena owe a portion of his profits from his movies to WWE?

It’s simple! WWE owns John Cena’s government name. As strange as it sounds, WWE is entitled to get a cut from John Cena’s earnings from his movies because they own the John Cena trademark. In fact, the company has been making money off ‘The Champ’ all this while. Cena has been cast in several movies since he started acting full-tilt. A portion of the profit from those movies like Suicide Squad 2, Peacemaker TV Series, Fast & Furious, and many others go to WWE. 

John Cena relayed this information to his fans during an interview on the Howard Stern Show in the mid-2000s. At the time, Cena was on the show to promote his then-soon-to-be-released film, The Marine. John Cena then revealed that his name is the “intellectual property” of the WWE. Furthermore, the Bumblebee actor is not bothered by it. 

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He stated, “Howard, before this, I was a kid in a small Massachusetts town mowing lawns for a golf course. I don’t mind kicking a percentage of my earnings to the person who gave me a chance and an opportunity.”

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As generous as John Cena is, he is liable to pay WWE a chunk of his profit. WWE owns everything from his name to his gimmick. Moreover, John Cena is grateful to WWE and Vince McMahon for his success in life. However, unlike John Cena, WWE does not own the rights to the name of another major WWE icon and Hollywood mogul. 

Dwayne Johnson once claimed that WWE does not own the rights to his name

Ahead of John Cena’s appearance on the Howard Stern Show, Dwayne Johnson made a shocking revelation. Everybody knows how big The Rock is in WWE. Much of his success is attributed to Vince McMahon. But The Rock claimed that he solely owns all rights to his name. 

Despite being a megastar and a household name in wrestling, The Great One did not have to pay anything to WWE for using his name in Hollywood. It’s worth noting that the name that is being referred to in DJ’s case is “The Rock”. On being asked if he had to “fight” Vince McMahon to keep his name, The Rock said that it was an “easy conversation”. The Rock said, “I have my name, I own my own name. And all rights to it… I did not have to pay for it.”

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Like Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista also owns all rights to this name. Bautista was signed to WWE under the ring name, “Batista”. The fact that his real name is spelled distinctly exempts ‘The Animal’ from paying WWE any cut of his profits from his movies.

What do you think of WWE owning John Cena’s actual name? Let us know in the comment box!