Many WWE Superstars are linked to the military, some being Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Randy Orton, and even John Cena. However, the latter’s inclusion is somewhat the most surprising out of all of them.
The 16-time world champion is one of the most recognized figures in the sport, and he had a long journey to the top. He began wrestling for WWE in 2000, eventually debuting on the main roster in 2002 against Kurt Angle on an episode of SmackDown. He then quickly became a fan-favorite among fans, but it took quite a few years before his first big screen role.
In 2006, Cena starred in his first movie, The Marine, an action film produced by WWE Studios. The Hollywood actor portrayed the role of John Triton, a Marine who had been discharged to protect his family from outside invasion.
After the movie, he noticeably returned to the promotion in a style that is similar to a soldier, from dog tags, camouflage, and a salute. However, this is where all the ties the WWE star has to the troops ends, since Cena was never part of the military. Despite this, he has always been supportive of those who served.
Interestingly, Cena was not the first choice to play Triton. Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin was the first pick, but he backed out. The Viper, who had an actual military background, was picked next, but this didn’t continue due to his honorable discharge from the Marines before his wrestling career.
30-year-old wrestler cites John Cena as inspiration for joining the army
The former WWE Champion’s support for the military is one that has been highly advertised by the Stamford-based promotion, especially during their Tribute to the Troops events. As it turns out, Flip Gordon took notice of this.
Gorden revealed in an interview that John Cena was the biggest promoter of the armed forces and thought it would be a nice experience, but his mother thought otherwise.
“So, funny thing, back to John Cena. Watching WWE, they always did Tribute to the Troops and they would always promote the National Guard, and John Cena, when he went and did The Marine, he was like the biggest promoter of the armed forces. So I used to always see the commercials of the National Guard and I always used to think, ‘Man, that’d be cool.”
Gordon continued:
“But my mom was always like, ‘Oh you could never be in the Army, you have ADHD, you have bipolar, they’d never take you.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, that stinks, okay.'”
Although Cena has never served in the military, it looks like his admiration and support are enough to win over the armed forces.
