John Cena Addresses Life After WWE Retirement: ‘I Had To Walk Away Because I Can’t Get Bodyslammed Anymore’

WWE

With his WWE retirement match in the history books, John Cena has revealed a factor behind his decision to end his in-ring career.

John Cena competed for the final time at last December’s WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, with his in-ring career ending at the hands of GUNTHER.

The star continues to maintain a presence in the WWE, with The John Cena Classic continuing his legacy, but the star has now revealed why he chose to walk away from the ring.

Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Cena revealed that the impact on his body was a contributing factor, saying:

“What I miss is the audience, the energy.

“I had to walk away because I can’t get bodyslammed anymore. It was time.”

Speaking about how it feels to wake up now that he’s no longer competing on WWE Raw, Cena went on to say:

“Tuesdays are great. Tuesdays used to be a little jagged. Little tough.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Cena would then compare the way he used to wake, struggling to get up and then move, compared to the much more fluid motion with which he can now leave the bed, finishing with a little dance.

The Physical Impact Of A Wrestling Match

Speak to any wrestler, whether they’re signed or independent, and they’ll have plenty of stories about how they feel the morning after a professional wrestling match.

The vast majority of stories are hopefully unlikely to be about injuries, black eyes and cuts aside, but more on how their body feels due to the physicality of a wrestling match. That’s not to say that more serious injuries don’t happen, as has been proven many times over the years, sidelining stars aplenty.

Regardless of the physical condition of any particular wrestling talent, it’s not a question of cardio or strength, but of the impact damage that a match entails. From hitting the ropes, which certainly don’t behave like rubber bands, to taking bodyslams on the mat, each impact leaves its mark, even if there’s no external evidence to support that. Then there’s the strikes and blows, the dives, catches and kicks, all of which, because they typically involve a degree of contact, even though steps are taken to minimize the impact.

For anyone who has taken part in physical activity, they’ll no doubt remember waking up with aching limbs or a sore back, yet that doesn’t put them off getting back into whatever exercise or sport left them feeling that way. For many, it’s the cost of exertion and a price worth playing to maintain fitness. There is, after all, a difference between being hurt and being injured.

For professional wrestlers, it could be argued that the line between working hurt and injured is a narrow one, with many pushing their bodies despite all the signs that they should, perhaps, take time off to recover, particularly as the years pile on.

In an ideal world, every wrestler would walk away from the ring not feeling the effects of what they’ve just been through, but it’s a physical form of entertainment where that physicality matters.

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• wwe
• John Cena
• retirement

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