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John Cena Looking Forward to Returning to WWE 'As Soon as I Possibly Can'
February 2, 2021
John Cena discussed his WWE status Monday during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Fallon asked Cena if he would be back in WWE at some point, and while Cena responded affirmatively, he gave no solid timetable for when that might happen (starting at the three-minute mark):
"Right now I'm doing this, I'm filming Peacemaker, and that's gonna take a lot of my time," Cena said. "I can't bounce back and forth due to international restrictions, so at least for the time being, I'm and here and I'm still away from WWE. But I very much look forward to returning as soon as I possibly can."
Cena's Tonight Show appearance came on the heels of an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated in which he discussed not being available for WrestleMania 37 in April because of his acting commitments:
"Currently, I'm in Vancouver shooting Peacemaker, the series for HBO Max. Given the quarantine regulations, if I were to leave Canada, upon return I would have to quarantine for another two weeks. Essentially, that would shut production down. Strictly based on the letter of the law right now, there is no logistical way I can be there. We film now until July."
Cena did take part in WrestleMania last year, as he faced Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Funhouse match. The circumstances were unique, as WrestleMania 36 was held in the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with no fans in attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That allowed WWE to get creative, as the Firefly Funhouse match was more of a segment and a story than an actual match.
Before that, Cena's last legitimate match was a Fatal 4-Way against Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre and King Corbin on the Jan. 14, 2019, edition of Raw.
Acting has made Cena the very definition of a part-time Superstar in WWE, but fans still expect to see him on the biggest show of the year given his status as a 16-time world champion and the cornerstone of the company for so long.
It is possible Cena is being completely honest about his status for WrestleMania 37, but he could also be throwing a smokescreen out there so fans don't expect him to show up.
That was the case two years ago at WrestleMania 35, as he appeared using his Dr. of Thuganomics persona despite not being announced for the show ahead of time.
WWE would undoubtedly love to have Cena in Tampa, Florida, for WrestleMania 37 in front of a limited number of fans, but his availability hinges on whether breaking away from filming is possible.
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