John Cena Discusses Character Shift With WWE’s Move To PG

WWE

Former 16-time WWE World Champion John Cena has discussed his character shift when the company moved to PG.

At WWE Money In The Bank, John Cena made a surprise appearance to announce that he plans to retire in 2025. With his retirement looming, it has given himself and many fans the chance to reflect on Cena’s 20-year career.

Appearing on the Armchair Expert podcast, John Cena was asked if changing his breakout “Doctor of Thuganomics” character was difficult when WWE moved to being PG. He answered:

“WWE moved towards PG, they weren’t quite PG yet but they wanted to move in that direction … you see little kids wearing your stuff and your stuff is pushing the boundaries and then I was like, you know what? I want to stop doing this … It was my choice.”

On changing his character in 2006 allowed him to align his persona with his own personal values, Cena said:

“I had built a relationship with the audience enough where they kind of knew my value system too … so my thing became like, take a bunch of punishment, never give up.”

“I wanted to put hustle, loyalty and respect, which really, hustle, loyalty and respect are right in my value lane. So as a young man I got to take my background, and it was a slow change.”

Transcription via Wrestling Inc.

To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, join our exclusive WhatsApp channel by clicking this link!

• John Cena
• wwe

Share this article with friends