Many WWE superstars take to acting after their time in the ring comes to a close, but not all of them have been very successful at it. To moviegoers, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the most successful wrestler-turned actor and one of Hollywood's leading men, but another WWE name could soon join him in that position: John Cena.
In just a few short years, the WWE Champion went from direct-to-video to starring in the next Fast & Furious film. It is clear that Cena's career as an actor is just getting started, but how likely is it that he will reach similar levels of stardom as Dwayne Johnson and emerge as one of Hollywood's next top actors?
Box Office Success
One way to analyze Cena's superstar potential is to take a look at how successful his movies have been to date. Box office success is, of course, not the only, or even the best metric to estimate Cena's potential. Even Dwayne Johnson has starred in a couple of flops while at the height of his career.
Early in his acting career, Cena starred in low budget B-movies and had one major flop with the sports film Legendary, which made only $200,000 of its $5 million budget. However, in the past 5 years, his films have grown increasingly successful, with Daddy's Home 2 making $242 million on a $69 million budget and Bumblebee raking in almost half a billion at the box office. While he had some flops early on, his more recent films did very well, and his upcoming films F9 and The Suicide Squad are expected to bring in a major box office take.
He Became a Meme
Much like Dwayne Johnson, John Cena can play a variety of roles, although unlike Johnson, Cena has often wound up playing semi-antagonistic roles in his bigger projects, such as Daddy's Home 2 and Bumblebee. Despite this, both Cena and Johnson are seen as family-friendly figures in the media. Another thing about Cena that makes him stand out came in the most unexpected form though -- becoming an internet meme.
The Unexpected John Cena meme came about in 2014 after a local radio station's prank call went viral on Vine and Youtube. While Cena was already very popular as a wrestler, the memes helped to push his popularity into new heights, instantly making him a global sensation. This stood in contrast with Dwayne Johnson, who had to slowly build his way to global superstardom over a long period of time.
Being the subject of multiple memes certainly gave Cena's career a boost, as he went from starring in B-movies and direct-to-video films to major Hollywood comedies the year after, and eventually into more serious action-oriented roles. Most memes die down after a while, but John Cena memes seem to be getting bigger year after year.
Compared To Other WWE Stars
Of course, John Cena's acting career is much smaller when compared to Dwayne Johnson's, but how does he stack up against other WWE champions-turned-actors? Dave Bautista is another example of a former wrestler who has since became a household name thanks to snagging roles in the 007 franchise, as well as starring as Guardian Of The Galaxy's Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He even expanded beyond Hollywood a few years ago when he played the antagonist in the Chinese film Master Z in 2018. Like Johnson and Cena before him, Bautista has also starred in medium budget comedies and has multiple major projects lined up for the next two years.
Another big WWE name that had seen some success in acting is Ronda Rousey, who has starred in some major Hollywood blockbusters in recent years such as The Expendables 3 and Furious 7. The famed fighter also broke into the world of television, making appearances in shows such as 9-1-1 and the reality show Total Divas. She is expected to star in the upcoming TV series Strong Girl, which is a remake of a popular Korean drama series of the same name.
From the looks of things, John Cena seems to have a more consistent acting career than Rousey and is tackling similar projects as Bautista, in a mix of Hollywood blockbusters, smaller films, and television shows. However, Cena has been getting increasingly high-profile projects over the years, which at this point is on par with, or even surpasses Bautista's blockbuster appearances, and is taking on the role of a television host more often than any other WWE star.
As of today, it is safe to say that John Cena is perhaps the most successful actor from the WWE outside of The Rock, largely due to his family-friendly image, constant television hosting appearances, and popularity as a meme. As far as becoming the next WWE-turned Hollywood leading man, John Cena is certainly on the right path, although he does need to continue to land increasingly bigger projects to get there. With him joining both the Suicide Squad and Fast & Furious franchises however, it seems more likely now than ever before that John Cena will be Hollywood's next big thing.