John Cena Explains Why He'll Miss WWE WrestleMania 37

With the exception of WWE's recent WrestleMania announcement, John Cena has not appeared on WWE programming since WrestleMania 36. And based on his latest comments in Sports Illustrated, fans should not expect him to make any sort of return at WrestleMania 37 this coming April. Cena conducted the interview to help promote his appearance in an upcoming Super Bowl commercial for Mountain Dew and said that the ongoing filming of the HBO Max series Peacemaker (a tie-in to the upcoming DC film The Suicide Squad, both of which are directed by James Gunn) will prevent him from appearing at either night of WrestleMania.

"Currently, I'm in Vancouver shooting Peacemaker, the series for HBO Max," Cena said. "Given the quarantine regulations, if I were to leave Canada, upon return I would have to quarantine for another two weeks. Essentially, that would shut production down. Strictly based on the letter of the law right now, there is no logistical way I can be there. We film now until July."

"It's very difficult to say because I know it's going to be disappointing for a lot of people, but according to the letter of regulation right now, there is no mathematical way I can be at WrestleMania this year," he later added.

Cena pointed out the irony in the fact that he'll miss WrestleMania due to his acting career obligations, given how openly critical he was of part-time wrestlers (namely Dwayne Johnson) during the prime of his career.

"What a hypocritical situation," Cena says with a laugh. "I used to be very open about the fact that part-timers were just that, and here I am at 44 years old and I've become what I despise, as they say. That is kind of what it is."

Cena has appeared at WrestleMania in some capacity every year since 2003. Even when he was injured (WrestleMania 32) or not booked to compete (WrestleMania 35), he would still make some sort of appearance and likely hit somebody with an Attitude Adjustment. Last year's Mania saw him compete in the cinematic Firefly Fun House match, in which he was forced to relive his greatest career failures by Bray Wyatt. The match ended with Wyatt pinning Cena, causing the 16-time world champion to disappear.

Do you think Cena will actually miss WrestleMania 37? Or will he still find a way to appear on the show in some form or fashion? Let's hear your prediction in the comments below!