While John Cena’s full-time professional wrestling days are in the rear view, the 16-time world champion is still engaged in high-octane action within his Hollywood career. Cena has applied his talents to superhero roles in The Suicide Squad and starred in franchise spin-offs like Bumblebee, but his biggest blockbuster to date remains F9. Big Match John found himself in the ninth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise in 2021, starring opposite Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto as Jakob Toretto, the leading protagonist’s brother. While the two were on opposite ends in F9, Dom and Jakob are set to team up in the upcoming Fast X.
Considering the Fast Saga is now in double digits, many have questioned whether the car-based franchise needs more movies. For Cena, he likens the continuation of the IP to professional wrestling.
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“Having just performed at the 39th installment of WrestleMania, my philosophy is, ‘As long as it’s good, that’s all that matters,’” Cena told Extra. “Fast, continuously, and box office backs data it up, continuously entertains the world installation after installation.”
Cena drew another comparison between the Fast movies and his scripted sport, noting that the critics of both ask questions that they will never understand the answer to.
“Anyone who says, ‘Do we really need another one?’ I compare it to a fan who says, ‘Isn’t wrestling fake?’ They just don’t understand what we do and they just don’t understand what this is about,” Cena continued. “As long as the movies are exceptional, which this one might be my favorite of all-time, and I go deep into the Fast library. This is a great ride and I think people are going to get out of the theater and want to see another one. If someone makes that comment, which they’re entitled to, I just don’t think they understand what we do.”
Fast X represents the first film within a packed 2023 for Cena. He is set to star in July’s Barbie as well as August’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. There is no word on whether Cena plans on lacing up his sneakers for another WWE match this year, as he has lately only come around for WWE WrestleMania season, which just wrapped up this past April. At that event, he was defeated by Austin Theory.
Fast X hits theaters this Friday, May 19th.
