John Cena On Stepping Back From His WWE Appearances, Possibly Doing Some Coaching Work

– John Cena spoke with Collider for a new interview and discussed where he’s at in his career, pulling back from his WWE work and focusing on acting. You can check out some highlights below:

On his success in Hollywood and wrestling: ‘Dude, all this stuff is great, but if it all stops tomorrow, I’m still okay with me. I know the good things that define me and I know the qualities I have as a human being. I’m going to move on and go forward. I know that all this is borrowed. I’m just grateful to have it and grateful to be able to contribute. I don’t want to be greedy as a performer and I see that a lot in sports entertainment. The movie The Wrestler was centered around a guy who can’t let go. I’m being a s**ty human being because I can’t let go of this thing. I invested my life in that company and then there’s no one, whether they like my performance or not, that will argue that. I think after the extended period of time that I put in, it’s okay for me to take a step back and reflect and be like, ‘Okay, I need to have more than that in my life because if that’s all that defines me, that’s a depreciating asset.’ Every sunset that happens, I get a little slower and a little older and a little slower and a little older and it’s eventually going to end.’

On the possibility of him serving as a coach for younger talent: ‘That’s been three years of hard conversations with that dude looking back in the mirror and I’m at peace with where it’s at. I want to contribute where I can. I’ve even talked about coaching or mentoring. Like I said, it’s the environment I feel the most fluid, so I can sit down and talk to you about WWE as long as you want to talk, but what I don’t want to do is take somebody who has spent 50 bucks on a ticket for themselves, their partner, their families, they bought souvenirs, they bought popcorn and paid for parking and have look at me like, ‘He used to be something.’ You know?’

On pulling back from his wrestling appearance the last coupole of years: ‘[T]he pay-per-views are so often and the engine never stops. It’s a demanding profession. It really is a demanding profession. I think once you’re there, you know the investment it takes to be there. Plus, I’m also really super passionate about this and it takes all of your heart and soul to be successful in that arena. It takes all of your heart and soul to be successful in this room. I tried to split them before in 2004, ‘05, ‘06 when I did all those movies for WWE. The movie thing failed because my heart wasn’t in that. Now my heart is in this. I have to enjoy this and not long to be someplace else, not have that fear of missing out. As much as most of the people who tell me that I suck at the top of their lungs are like, ‘Man, you got to come back.’ I’m invested in this and I really am enjoying the ride.’