John Cena Gives on Update on His WWE Future While on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon

John Cena appeared on Monday night's edition of The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, wearing his costume from the upcoming Peacemaker series while discussing the various projects he's currently working on. Fallon asked Cena at one point if he could give an update on his WWE status, and the 16-time champ explained that between the COVID-19 pandemic, the restrictions on international travel (the television series is being filmed in Canada) and his busy schedule, Cena won't be back for a while.

"So at least for the time being I'm here and I'm still away from WWE," Cena said. "But I very much look forward to returning as soon as I possibly can."

In a separate interview with Sports Illustrated earlier in the day, Cena explained why there's no way he'll be able to physically appear at this year's 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.

The 16-time world champion hasn't wrestled a standard match since January 2019, though he did appear at WrestleMania 36 last year for the cinematic Firefly Fun House Match with The Fiend. The bout ended with The Fiend winning, causing Cena to disappear.

"I've had many experiences and many stories in WWE over my tenure there, and a lot of it has been embracing conflict and embracing the tale of good versus evil," Cena said in a separate interview with SI back in August. "This isn't the first time I've done something like this. For the viewing audience, it was the first time they'd seen a cinematic depiction of this, but this isn't the first time that we've seen a conflicted John Cena character. As with all the opportunities I get in WWE, I never try to be complacent and I always like to push the envelope. This was an instance where we could do just that, and I think we put forth a product that certainly got people's attention and got people talking."