– John Cena returned to “Today” for a co-hosting gig this morning and helped pull a plane for charity.
.@JohnCena helps pull a plane to raise money for @AmericanCancer Society: https://t.co/pkjo3YrSND pic.twitter.com/3A035HthRe
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 9, 2016
– Here is full video of EC3 shooting on WWE and Triple H at EVOLVE 61 on Saturday night:
– John Cena posted this video from the gym today as he prepares to return to RAW on May 30th:
1/16 = surgery. Bench max = 0.00lbs. 5/16 Bench max = 375lbs. @TapouT @WWE #ShowYourGrit #NeverGiveUp #ReturnToRaw pic.twitter.com/tE6zfDHJhC
— John Cena (@JohnCena) May 7, 2016
– Kalisto and Sasha Banks, who is known to be a big Eddie Guerrero fan, visited the Eddie mural in his hometown Las Cruces, NM earlier today before the WWE live event there. Sasha posted this image:
Can't be in #WWELasCruces without seeing Eddie Guerrero's mural with @KalistoWWE ? #LegitJefa #Latinaheat #Luchaboss pic.twitter.com/0UkTP7kkFR
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) May 7, 2016
– Giant Bomb’s Ryckert and Kotaku’s Klepek are featured in the latest videos from Xavier Woods’ UpUpDownDown channel:
Prior to Saturday’s NXT live event from Tulsa, OK, Finn Balor took part in a live Facebook Q&A session hosted by Tom Phillips. Here are some highlights:
– Balor be interested in wrestling Brock Lesnar. They met in NJPW over 10 years ago but never wrestled each other. He feels much more confident in his abilities now and thinks he can take down the beast.
– Balor named John Cena as his dream opponent. His favorite NXT female star is Eva Marie, and favorite main roster stars are Karl Anderson and Becky Lynch.
– He praises Zack Sabre Jr. and picks him to win the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, saying he should be signed for NXT.
– He said he would already be on the main roster if the decision was his but he’s happy to be in NXT as they are having fun and building one of the best brands in wrestling
John Cena and Nikki Bella attended Saturday night’s White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday night. The annual dinner is hosted by the President and is attended by the national media that covers Washington, celebrities and more.
Here are some photos of Cena and Nikki from the event:
What a wonderful event with such a beautiful woman https://t.co/OaWPvBEzcC
— John Cena (@JohnCena) May 1, 2016
?? @JohnCena #WHCD pic.twitter.com/okfGcrXcGA
— Nikki & Brie (@NikkiAndBrie) May 1, 2016
.@JohnCena and Nikki Bella (@BellaTwins) hit the red carpet! https://t.co/v8gZRennkL #WHCD pic.twitter.com/k5fzEfuSm6
— ExtraTV (@extratv) May 1, 2016
.@JohnCena and Nikki @BellaTwins have arrived on the red carpet at the #WHCD! pic.twitter.com/bOmd8JrPxT
— WWE (@WWE) May 1, 2016
– John Cena and Nikki Bella have been invited to President Obama’s final White House Correspondents Dinner this Saturday, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
– WWE won 3 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards this past week, including best streaming content service, best mobile app and best social media campaign for Conor’s Cure. It was also announced this week that the WWE Network won a Webby Award for the best online sports channel/network.
– Rusev confirms that he’s done with the dissolving League of Nations stable:
I'm done with LON I'm gonna go so hard motherbrother wanna fine me….. What's another title for a BRUTE like me can you please remind me
— Miro (@ToBeMiro) April 29, 2016
– Cody Rhodes revealed that he’s writing a book about his father, the late “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes:
https://twitter.com/PrinceCGR/status/726074469299544068
15-time WWE World ChampionJohn Cena recently spoke with Donald Wood of Ring Rust Radio to promote American Grit, his new military-themed reality competition show on FOX. Here are some highlights they sent in:
Is American Grit Just A Passion Project, Or Is He Interested In More Leading Roles In TV/Movies?
Cena: “Anything you do in entertainment, you don’t just want to just do it and leave it out there with no rhyme or reason behind it. That’s just not a smart business move. The great thing aboutAmerican Grit is that it runs parallel with the WWE. You want to talk about passion projects, WWE is my life and it is my passion. When something like American Grit comes along that I helped create from the very first conversation into fruition of airing the first episode, it becomes a passion project. If you look at what I do on WWE television, essentially what I’m doing on American Grit is very close and runs a fine line between the two shows. So essentially, I get to do what I love in WWE and in American Grit. I don’t just see it as something like I’ll just put this out there and hope for the best. I hope it brings more and better business opportunities, I hope it brings more brand awareness, I hope we can do more and I hope it establishes a better relationship with Fox. There are just so many things I can talk about with this show and I can see how it could be used as a vehicle, but right now I just want a bunch of folks to watch episode two and we’ll see where it goes.”
The Most Rewarding Aspect Of Filming American Grit & A Potential WWE-Themed Episode:
Cena: “I think the possibilities of the show are limitless, I really do because of what it is based on. You will be put in a certain area of the earth, you will work with the team as best you can, and at one point or another your resolve will be tested. Any single human being can fit in that category. I really think the possibilities of this are endless. I think it would be unbelievable television if they did a WWE version of American Grit. The thing that I’ve learned the most and that I’m most proud of with the show is all the good that happens within it honestly. I remember when we filmed the final, and I’m walking away saying to myself either America is going to be ready for this or they’re not because it is just unlike anything you see on television. There is no voting, the backstabbing manipulation is a waste of breath because it is not necessarily about the biggest or strongest. Competitors are immediately downsized and they will just have to ante up and do their best. There are no unholy alliances because it doesn’t move you forward at all. It is on your team and how well you function as a team and you as an individual when you are called to face the circus as we call it onAmerican Grit. You just know you will have to get to a point where you extend beyond yourself. For people that have to bow out, it’s disappointing. For people that can survive the circus, the bond made between teammates, the bond between cadres, and looking inside themselves is worth it. Goldie for example, she said and I quote, “Thank you for believing in me.” It was so great and moments like that make me happy. That’s what I really love most about the show. I don’t know, there’s so much dark stuff on television right now, and like I said I don’t know how America Grit will take but I watch it and I love it. I just hope everybody at home feels as good about American Grit as they watch it as well.”
Did He Feel Any Pressure Or Nervousness Hosting American Grit?
Cena: “Absolutely. You put your heart and soul into something that you want it to be so good and you know you have something more than just a television show. Like I said, it speaks volumes about how the military can function in regular society and it has good moral fiber. When something can hit this well on multiple platforms you want it to do so well. You do everything you can and that’s what I’m talking to you guys right now because I believe in the show. Of course you get nervous when it airs. You get nervous of public opinion, but I’ve learned a lot in my long and strenuous career in WWE. I certainly had my shares of hits, but I’ve had my share of misses to go with them. You do the best that you can, you promote your product the best you can and then there’s a point where it’s just out of your hands.”
– Tonight’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network will feature fallout from Samoa Joe’s NXT Championship win over Finn Balor at last week’s live event from Lowell, MA.
– Jim Ross has updated the Q&A section of his JR’s BBQ website and commented on the possibility of WWE reviving the Cruiserweight Championship at this summer’s Global Cruiserweight Series tournament. Ross said, “I like the concept. It would be a way to restart a smaller weight division but only if it would mean more than existing IC & US Titles do at this time.”
– John Cena announced earlier this week that he will return to Monday Night RAW on Memorial Day, May 30th. Cena checked in with this tweet on Tuesday night, joking about a “heal” turn:
Ok interweb, ponder this, I was hurt. Upon return to @WWE I'll be healthy. So @WWEUniverse does that mean I've finally turned #heal ?
— John Cena (@JohnCena) April 26, 2016
– Becky Lynch tweeted the following on Tuesday night, a reference to Beyonce’s new song “Sorry.” The speculation is that ‘Becky with the good hair’ is about a woman Beyonce’s husband Jay-Z cheated on her with.
Better call Becky with the good hair #straightfire #wwemanchester pic.twitter.com/bQWITV1ua9
— Rebecca Quin (@BeckyLynchWWE) April 26, 2016
FOX’s new reality series hosted by John Cena, American Grit, failed to make the big splash they expected in it’s debut.
Despite a big marketing campaign and media tour by the 15-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, the debut episode only garnered 2,433,000 viewers. PWInsider.com reports that the show was the least-viewed network show in the 9 PM timeslot out of all the major networks.
Bones was the lead-in show and it averaged 4,357,000 viewers, meaning American Grit failed to retain almost half the audience from the show before.
John Cena spoke with Zap2It.com this week to promote Thursday night’s premiere of American Grit on FOX.
As WWE’s showcase talent for the the past decade, Cena has reached a massive global audience. As he ventures into different branches of the entertainment industry (movies, television), the 15-time World Champion acknowledges that “American Grit” is a chance for new and existing fans to see him in a new light.
“Yeah. You’re always trying to reach as many eyes as you can, especially when you have a product that you feel is entertaining. When folks see this, though, they will focus on the “cadre” [the military-veteran mentors] and the competitors.”
Cena also spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the challenge for him to go outside his comfort zone for these non-wrestling projects.
“It’s just being able to take that leap of faith into doing interesting things and new projects that normally wouldn’t be on the menu for someone like me. Being able to swing in and host the Today show when they call me, it certainly is a new experience that I have a lot of fun with, and it’s different than being in the middle of the ring in Monday Night Raw. I’m becoming less reserved about going for it if the opportunity presents itself.”
Catch American Grit Thursday nights on FOX. For more information, visit FOX.com.
John Cena is promoting his new reality show American Grit on twitter. He is encouraging his followers to tweet photographs of how they stay motivated while using the hashtag “#ShowYourGrit”. In the midst of all the posts sent in by fans all around the world, Kevin Owens contributed with a vicious jab at Cena.
https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/720002948105768960
Last night, Kevin Owens put on JBL’s hat and hit Cesaro with his own version of the clothesline from hell. The crowd erupted in Los Angeles erupted as soon as Owens grabbed the hat. After he dropped Cesaro, Kevin Owens returned JBL’s hat and apologized for getting carried away.
https://twitter.com/FightOwensFight/status/719768573162479617
– Roman Reigns was recently interviewed by CSNChicago.com, where he talked about “immediately” wanting to be on the Chicago Bears after a trip there. He had signed with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars in the off-season.
“I actually came up to Chicago and took a trip,” Reigns said. “I got to meet the head coach Lovie [Smith] at the time and I was sold. I wanted to be a Chicago Bear immediately. But unfortunately it didn’t work out, but we found the right team.”
– Speaking of the NFL, The New York Times has an article about the league looking at the WWE Network for inspiration for their own online streaming. The article also talks about the possibility of the NFL making a subscription-only app for streaming games.
– WWE stock was down 3.39% today, closing at $15.66 per share. Today had a high of $16.36 and a low of $15.58.
– John Cena posted a video on his official Twitter account on Monday afternoon talking about his upcoming FOX show American Grit. The show premiers on Thursday night.
It’s #AmericanGrit premiere week! Watch @AmericanGritFOX this Thursday. #ShowYourGrithttps://t.co/LxwtwWbbFI
— John Cena (@JohnCena) April 11, 2016
Prior to WrestleMania 32, John Cena was interviewed for Centerstage on the YES Network in New York City. The interview will finally air on April 12th at 11 PM, with several replays afterwards, and the YES Network sent along some highlights from the transcript. Cena spoke with them about how big WrestleMania has become, and went all the way back to his humble beginnings in the wrestling business. Cena recalled the first time he met Vince McMahon, saying it didn’t happen until the very night of his WWE debut.
“I got to meet Vince McMahon in Chicago in 2002, which is where I made my (mainstage, WWE television) debut, and it was the night of my debut, and my debut shouldn’t have even happened,” Cena revealed. “Kurt Angle was supposed to wrestle a fellow named The Undertaker that night, and The Undertaker actually could not make the show. He was extremely ill and didn’t show up, and they needed a replacement, and somebody threw my name out there because it would just be like a single match and it would do more for Kurt Angle than anybody else and Vince said “Okay,” so they brought me in to see Vince, and I had a long, horrible, badly-dyed mop haircut at the time. And my first meeting with Vince McMahon went something like this: I was shoved into a room and someone over my shoulder said, “What do you think?” And he (McMahon) turns around and goes, “Cut his hair.” That was my first meeting with my boss. I love him. I admire him as a human being. I think he’s … just a wonderful example of hard work paying off. To this day he does not need to show up. He is always hands on. He always shows up. His drive is incomparable.”
Cena was asked about his signature maneuver the “Attitude Adjustment.” Cena talks about getting the move from Tommy Dreamer and just changing the name.
“I actually got a signature move from a guy named Tommy Dreamer. A local guy. A New York guy. And he was using a move, that is a fireman’s carry, and you basically pick somebody on your shoulders and drop them down to the mat, and he gave it to me and I gave it a name and then changed the name and now it’s the Attitude Adjustment.”
Not being able to compete tonight at #WrestleMania, John Cena feels like that ace pitcher stuck in the bullpen.https://t.co/qqHcYyMb8Y
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 3, 2016
John Cena appeared on Wednesday night’s episode of Conan O’Brien to promote his new show American Grit on FOX.
On the show, Cena is asked about WrestleMania 32 and helping The Rock against The Wyatt Family. The 15 time World Heavyweight Champion said that while some fans were excited for his return, he still gets booed. He taught Conan and his audience how to sing “John Cena sucks” to the tune of his entrance music. Check it out in the clip above courtesy of Team Coco.
Cena is expected to return to the ring full-time in either May or June, after being out of action due to a shoulder injury. American Grit premieres on Thursday, April 14th at 9 PM ET.
A big name just joined the list of wrestlers pledging to donate their brains to concussion research after their eventual deaths. TMZ recently posted a video with John Cena where he says he would be willing to donate his brain to concussion research.
Fellow former WWE champions Mick Foley, Jeff Hardy, RVD and Kevin Nash have made the same pledge to the CTE Center at Boston University and the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
John Cena vowed to defy science with his recovery from shoulder surgery just 3 months ago.
After making a surprise return at WrestleMania, Cena is already bench pressing 3 months ahead of when doctors told him he’d be able to do so.
Was told bench press before 6 months was impossible. 3 months post surgery @TapouT @WWE #NeverGiveUp #ShowYourGrit pic.twitter.com/tAjI2afsjJ
— John Cena (@JohnCena) April 5, 2016
We noted over WrestleMania 32 weekend that John Cena is reportedly cleared to return to the WWE active roster. Cena made his return to WWE TV at WrestleMania on Sunday, helping The Rock fight off The Wyatt Family.
To update on his status, Wrestling Observer Radio reports that Cena may not actually be cleared to wrestle an actual match. The 15x World Heavyweight Champion may not be cleared to wrestle a match until mid-May or June, which is closer to his original expected return in July.
Cena didn’t appear on Monday’s RAW in Dallas.
– Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dave Bautista revealed that he has joined the cast for the long-awaited sequel to Blade Runner. Blade Runner 2 is currently in development and doesn’t have a release date yet.
https://twitter.com/DaveBautista/status/717029500169498624
– John Cena is scheduled to be a guest on Wednesday night’s Conan O’Brien Show on TBS.
– WWE Network’s new animated series Camp WWE will premier on May 1st right after their Payback event.
John Cena made his return at WrestleMania 32 on Sunday after being out of action for several months with a shoulder injury. WWE.com is now teasing that Cena could be appearing at tonight’s RAW. RAW takes place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX tonight and airs live on the USA Network.
Here’s what WWE.com had to say:
If the emergence of The Rock on The Showcase of The Immortals wasn’t enough, the surprise return of John Cena to help The People’s Champion obliterate The Wyatt Family was simply amazing.
Does his reemergence mean, however, that the 15-time World Champion will actually return to Raw tonight? There’s no denying that the absence of the Cenation leader has been felt and speculation is already running wild. If he is back, he will no doubt look to make up for lost time. But, where will he choose to focus his pent-up aggression?
We’ll have live play-by-play coverage of RAW & discussion tonight starting at 7:30 PM ET!
John Cena continues to post WrestleMania 32 teasers on his official Twitter page. Here’s the latest from the frmer WWE World Heavyweight Champion:
Very excited about @WWE #HallOfFame tonight. And a HUGE day tomorrow for @WWEUniverse at #WrestleMania on @WWENetwork (never say never)
— John Cena (@JohnCena) April 2, 2016
As noted, Cena recently claimed in an interview with Complex that he’s ready to return to the ring. “If you ask me today, I should’ve been back two weeks ago,” Cena said. “I’ve logged almost 400 hours of physical therapy. […] I was given a nine-month quota to come back and after three months I can tell you that I am ready to do anything asked of me possible. It’s a matter of when they call me.”
It’s expected that Cena will appear at WrestleMania 32, but it’s unknown what his actual role will be on the show.
In an interview with Complex.com, John Cena confirmed recent speculation that he has already cleared to start wrestling again.
Another newsworthy topic discussed is why Roma Reigns isn’t connecting with fans the way WWE brass have been hoping for. Cena says he studies the landscape differently then a lot of his competitors. “To say Roman Reigns isn’t connecting with an audience means you’re not listening,” Cena said. “I’ve watched a lot of Roman Reigns and every single time I see him, I hear noise. He connects very well with our audience.”
The interviewer asked Cena about adding new offensive moves to his arsenal in recent years, but Cena took the conversation back to Reigns – who he says, “is on the cusp of getting that heart truly beating.”
People know he is very gifted. His in-ring ability is not in question. I don’t care what any critic says. They are just being stupid. He can go. He is an athlete. I don’t really know who he is. Like I said, John Cena is easy: goody-two shoes Superman. Easy. A four-year old kid can tell you that. I don’t necessarily know the heartbeat of Roman Reigns. As soon as that first heartbeat happens, it’s going to challenge me. I’m looking forward to it.”
It has been speculated that Cena will have some sort of involvement at mania, even Cena himself has twitted cryptic tweets about WWE’s biggest event of the year. While its unknown what Cena has in store for the Wrestlemania, Roman is set to square off against HHH this Sunday Live at Wrestlemania 32.
#KCCO hoping this plays sometime soon!! Maybe @WWE #WrestleMania ? #NeverGiveUp pic.twitter.com/G8hzf1lMtc
— John Cena (@JohnCena) March 26, 2016
As part of his WrestleMania media tour, John Cena did an interview with Thomas Golianopolous for Complex that went up today, and it’s pretty newsworthy: He’s been medically cleared to return to in-ring wrestling. Here’s the relevant exchange from the interview:
How close are you to returning to the ring?
If you ask me today, I should’ve been back two weeks ago. I’ve logged almost 400 hours of physical therapy. I got 111 visits in 12 weeks time. I go every single second I can. People say I have a Wolverine-like style of recovery. I was given a nine month quota to come back and after three months I can tell you that I am ready to do anything asked of me possible. It’s a matter of when they call me.
Are you medically cleared?
Yes.
Cena has been out with a shoulder injury since the start of the year, It feels like longer because he had just returned that week from shooting “American Grit” for Fox. Obviously, he doesn’t have a match this Sunday at WrestleMania 32, but now we know that he could get involved in one of the top matches. Make sure to read the whole Complex interview with Cena, as it covers a number of topics in depth, including if he’s been a heel all along.
Yesterday, we reported on how Chris Smith at Forbes had put together a list of WWE’s highest paid wrestlers. While lists of this kind have gone around for years, they’re usually of some nebulous origin or an incredibly unreliable source like CelebrityNetWorth. This is different, however: Not only is it from Forbes, the magazine of record for finance, but it’s also an actual Forbes staff writer as opposed to their larger contributor network. Nothing against them, but they weren’t hired with the financial angle in mind. Since it’s a Forbes article from a Forbes staffer, the list is being taken a lot more seriously than these things usually are.
In his article, Smith claims that “Over the last year we’ve pored over court documents, SEC filings and WWE’s booking contracts and spent hours speaking with industry sources, allowing us to construct the first ever FORBES list of WWE’s Highest-Paid Wrestlers.” Let’s take a look at the list again:
So, what do we know about the numbers on Smith’s list for Forbes?
The only one whose pay would come up in SEC filing is Triple H, since he’s an executive officer of WWE under his real name of Paul Levesque. This does appear to be correct: If you don’t include stock awards, and Smith didn’t, he made $2,812,629 in 2015. That’s broken down as $573,269 in salary for his executive role, $526,000 in incentive plan compensation, and $1,713,360 for his pay as talent, $1 million of which is his contracted downside guarantee. There’s a note that “Mr. Levesque has out-earned this minimum guarantee in each of the past several years.”
Randy Orton and John Cena both had divorces, though only Orton’s finances went public as a result. TMZ reported that at the time of the July 2013 divorce, Orton was making $291,666 a month, or just $8 short of $3.5 million in a year. It’s not clear if that was his total 2012 pay or what, as the belief is that WWE’s downside guarantees never top $1 million. Cena did have his annual earnings pegged as about $10 million by Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer in January, while Meltzer has also reported Brock Lesnar’s pay in the past because he gets a flat fee per appearance. In the past, Meltzer has said something to the effect of how these days, it’s understood that The Undertaker’s $1 million guarantee is considered his WrestleMania payoff. With additional appearances headlining SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell last year, $2 million sounds reasonable.
It gets hazier after that as you move further down the line.
In a deposition that I cited in my January article for SBNation about Big Show’s flirtation with boxing, Big Show said that when he returned to WWE in 2008, he asked for $1.25 million and a $250,000 signing bonus…but that was eight years ago and it’s not clear in the public filings if he even got what he wanted. A deposition with his wife, who apparently handles their finances, had her testifying that she didn’t think he made any bonuses on top of his base salary. That would be unusual for a full time WWE performer, but it could also have to do with confusion over the nature of WWE contracts. WWE pay works two ways: You can just take your per-event pay and royalties as they come, or you can take your downside guarantee as a salary and get a balloon payment at the end of the year for what goes over the guarantee. Since he has little merchandise, $1.5 million doesn’t sound outrageously low, though.
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kane, and Dean Ambrose all have little to no information out there about their pay. Kane recently put his home up on the market and it was huge, sprawling property with a house customized to his specific needs as a very tall man, but because he’s based in Knoxville, Tennessee, the price was dramatically less than you’d think, coming in under $1 million. The rest seem realistic enough.
What do you think of the list? Let us know in the comments.
WWE issued the following:
NEW YORK AND STAMFORD, CONN. – (April 1, 2016) – Tapout®, a global hard-body fitness and training brand recently re-launched by WWE® and Authentic Brands Group, today announced that its performance apparel line for men is now available in nearly 300 JCPenney stores and at jcp.com, with plans to launch a women’s collection this summer.
The Tapout performance apparel collection for men includes a range of training and compression tees, tank tops, pants and shorts featuring Tapout’s new, contemporary branding. At JCPenney, sale prices range from $12.99 for graphic tees to $32.99 for compression shorts. The line ensures comfort and performance with the use of stretch and moisture-managing fabrics that allow optimal function. The Tapout women’s line will boast similar performance features, offering sports bras, tank tops, tees, shorts and capris.
A fully integrated marketing program will support the launch of Tapout. As the official fitness and training partner of WWE, Tapout is promoted across WWE’s global platforms including TV programming, WWE Network, pay-per-view broadcasts, live events, digital and social media. WWE Superstars and Divas wear Tapout apparel during their fitness and training activities and WWE Superstar John Cena® serves as a Tapout brand ambassador.
“Fitness is my life, and it is important for me to use the high quality and comfortable performance apparel that Tapout offers,” said John Cena. “The Tapout brand stands for motivation, discipline and determination, three core values that are key to my active lifestyle.”
“From working out to hanging out, Tapout offers a stylish collection of performance sportswear that’s versatile enough to wear in and out of the gym,” said James Starke, senior vice president of men’s apparel at JCPenney. “Tapout has a strong fan base and JCPenney is excited to add this brand to our great assortment of high quality activewear for young men.”
“We are thrilled to reintroduce Tapout performance apparel into the retail space with JCPenney,” said Jamie Salter, Chairman and CEO, ABG. “The next generation of Tapout preserves elements of the original brand essence while tapping into current consumer needs for apparel that suits their active lifestyle.”
John Cena is a lot closer to being medically cleared than previously expected. Cena, who has been intensely rehabbing his shoulder following rotator cuff surgery back in January, is expected to be cleared very soon. PWInsider reports:
“John Cena is just about ready to return to the ring and is expected to be cleared anytime, if he hasn’t been cleared already.”
Cena was very public about his efforts to return in time for WrestleMania, but it wasn’t meant to be. He’s been doing plenty of media appearances on WWE’s behalf to promote WrestleMania and was backstage at Monday’s RAW from Brooklyn.
During an interview with FOX News conducted earlier this week, Cena explained the procedure that was performed, his grueling rehabilitation schedule and “sweet talking” doctors so they’ll give him the green light to return.
“I had a rotator cuff reattachment. I had an AC joint reconstruction and I had a giant arterial defect on the bone that goes into the ball in the socket in the shoulder. Basically, the round space was not round, it was cut in half. So all that had to regenerate and grow, but after over 400 hours of physical therapy, I feel pretty darn good.”
“The people who said conservatively nine months have now said well maybe I’ll reevaluate myself,” Cena said. “So I’m looking okay. I just got a little bit more sweet talking to do to the doctors so they can give me the green light.”
Surprisingly, WWE isn’t even advertising that he’ll be at WrestleMania, but he certainly will be backstage. Join us here all weekend for our non-stop coverage of everything Wrestlemania live from Dallas, Texas.
TMZ caught up with John Cena this week while he was in town doing the media rounds to promote WrestleMania. Cena commented on Shane McMahon’s match against The Undertaker, claiming that Shane is “energy personified.” It’s good to have Shane back in the folds and he knows Shane is amped for Hell in a Cell.
Cena said he’s been in the ring with Shane and he’s earned the right to be there, despite the fact that she’s not a full-time Superstar. When asked if he thinks Shane could handle the life of a WWE Superstar week in and week out, Cena said Shane’s heart and passion are in the right place.
Other topics discussed include Donald Trump, the Presidential race’s similarities to WWE and “shaving for his lady.”