December 13 marks the end of the in-ring career for John Cena. Whether he wins or loses against GUNTHER at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, this will be the last time fans get to see the colorful shirts and jorts taking part in a match. It will be an iconic moment for all the reasons. John Cena is perhaps the most important superstar to come out of his generation of wrestlers, regardless of promotion. Cena has long crossed over into the mainstream. In fact, he may be the last crossover superstar to ever come from professional wrestling.
Twenty-six years. The “Never-Seen 17” world championships. Immediate Hall-of-Fame inductee. Record-breaking Make-A-Wish appearances. John Cena is a foundational piece of professional wrestling history. When historians of the future are talking about sports entertainment and professional wrestling, Cena is a name they’ll have to mention, just like they will the likes of Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon and Andre the Giant.
Cena will easily be mentioned among the most important names in the business, but he’ll have an interesting distinction when fans and experts alike look back at his career. John Cena will also be known as the last true superstar to come from the world of professional wrestling and sports entertainment as we know it today.
WWE isn't interested in building superstars bigger than the brand
While WWE throws around the word “superstar” to describe the performers on its roster, it’s a word that means so much more. There are few performers who’ve stepped out of wrestling and truly crossed over into the mainstream. Hulk Hogan, for better or worse, is the first name that comes to mind when thinking of this list. Then there’s Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In recent years, Dave Bautista has emerged and is considered the best actor out of the whole group. Some may even think of Nikki and Brie Bella as crossover stars for what they were able to do with their reality show, “The Bellas.” The list of performers who are actual superstars is quite short, and John Cena stands to be the last to add his name to the list.
Now, this isn’t to say there aren’t talented performers around today. Individuals like Bianca Belair and MJF jump off the page and have already had some crossover opportunities. But not only is the business of wrestling much different than it was even a generation ago, celebrity within our society has changed in so many different ways.
The first part of this conversation actually swings in the direction of WWE's parent company, TKO Group Holdings. Under Endeavor, TKO is taking steps to reshape WWE the same way it did to reshape the UFC after its purchase of the largest MMA promotion back in 2016. One thing the company was successful in doing was making sure the brand was bigger than any of the individual fighters. Gone are the days of performers like Conor McGregor or Ronda Rousey growing into becoming household names. Instead, Dana White is and has long been the most popular name within UFC. No one should be shocked to see Triple H being positioned in the same way, as his face and voice continue to show up at the forefront of all things in the company.
What this does is it limits the ability of performers growing “too big for the brand.” McGregor and Rousey were able to do that, which led to opportunities outside the UFC in more arenas than one. Did they use the UFC to get to those positions? Yes, and afterwards it became harder and more expensive for the UFC to be able to convince them to come back. Mercedes Mone was able to do the same thing with the WWE. Now, she’s become one of the biggest stars in the business. Roman Reigns may be the last name on the WWE roster who has the opportunity to step out of the ring and into the limelight coming from the big screen. Part of that is due to his familial connection to The Rock however. Did anyone notice how he came out as Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i at The Game Awards? Already taking steps to separate himself from the name that made him famous.
Celebrity means something different today
The second piece of the equation is that celebrity has completely changed in society today. Gone are the days where musicians and actors were immediately seen as the biggest celebrities. Now, individuals like IShowSpeed or Mr. Beast are massive stars, all due to the following they’ve amassed via streaming and their online channels. Logan Paul, and his brother Jake, have been able to leverage their online fandoms into massive opportunities within sports. Andrew Schulz, who is also in Street Fighter with Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, leveraged his online following in a similar way. Just being on television week after week doesn’t translate into stardom like it once did.
John Cena is a superstar. He’s going to go on to bigger and better opportunities. As his acting abilities continue to improve, fewer will think of him as a professional wrestler. He’ll be the last individual who makes the move from the ring and transitions into a mainstream star. The business is different and John Cena is one of one.