John Cena’s wearing of dog tags in WWE stemmed from him trying to be connected to his family, even if he wasn’t being a great relative. In an appearance alongside Awkwafina for WIRED, the two celebrities were asked some of the internet’s most searched questions. When John was asked for the story behind his dog tags, the WWE icon admitted that they came from a difficult relationship with his family.
“My dog tags used to say the names of my parents, and my brothers. And it was my cop-out way of saying like ‘Hey, you guys are with me.’ But I wasn’t really, this is gonna get deep, I wasn’t really good at being a son and being a brother. So, rather than wear this thing that they could see on TV, what I began to do for them was show up. So I’m trying to be better at showing up and not using a talisman to be like ‘See, I’m there.’ So I ditched the dog tags for more one-on-one time.”
Cena is one of five brothers and is the second oldest in his family. His father John Cena Sr. has made a handful of appearances for WWE over the years and has worked outside of the promotion as a reverse-second-generation star (entering the business after his son.)
John During his relationship with Nikki Garcia, the two were at odds when it came to wanting children, as Cena didn’t want to be an absentee father due to his busy schedule. The couple, who got engaged at WrestleMania 33, split in April 2020. Cena has since married Shay Shariatzadeh while Nikki has married Dancing with the Stars‘ Artem Chigvinstev. Nikki became a mother in July 2020 when she and Artem welcomed their son Matteo into the world.
For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.
