John Cena Details Real Reason Behind His Role in WWE Studios' The Marine

John Cena is in his final WWE run, and The Leader of The Cenation has thus far shared the ring with almost every notable name from his past. Speaking about his past, the 17-time World Champion recently revealed the real reason behind his role in The Marine.

The Marine, which was released in October 2006, was the launching pad for John Cena as an actor under the WWE banner. The Leader of The Cenation gained overnight popularity for portraying Sergeant John Triton, and the movie was produced by the Stamford-based promotion's studio, which later released several sequels to the original film with different in-house names.

In an interview with People, the 17-time World Champion revealed the real reason behind performing the role in the film in his prime. The 48-year-old WWE legend explained the company was trying to create in-house movie stars to boost its business, and he did it to make sure more people attended the weekly shows.

"The reason I did this is WWE was opening a movie studio, and the thought process was if we could make our in-ring talent movie stars, more people would come to the shows. As an in-ring talent, the one thing I want is more people at the shows. So, I would go do this," Cena said. [From 02:19 to 02:39]

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John Cena provides an update following WWE SummerSlam 2025

John Cena's heel run clearly didn't go the way fans had expected, but The Leader of The Cenation did his best with the gimmick. On last week's episode of SmackDown, the 48-year-old veteran turned babyface, even drinking beer with Cody Rhodes ahead of their Street Fight at the first-ever two-night SummerSlam.

The two embraced each other after a grueling match that Cena lost. His night took a turn for the worst, as Brock Lesnar returned to the Stamford-based promotion following a two-year hiatus and laid out John with an F5. Speaking on Adam's Apple, Cena provided a health update coming out of the first-ever two-night SummerSlam in New Jersey.

He said:

"I feel my age, but it's nothing, no hill you haven't climbed before."

John Cena has only a few months left before he competes in his final match in December 2025.

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