"No" - WWE icon says John Cena is not needed at WrestleMania 38
Ric Flair does not believe WWE needs to rely on John Cena to bring in extra viewers and ticket sales for WrestleMania 38.
Cena has not appeared on WWE television in the build-up to the two-night event in Dallas, Texas, on April 2-3. The WWE Superstar-turned-Hollywood movie star’s last televised match came at SummerSlam 2021 in the main event against Roman Reigns.
Flair and Cena hold the joint record for the highest number (16) of wrestling world championships. Speaking on his Wooooo Nation Uncensored podcast, The Nature Boy claimed WWE will cope without the 44-year-old:
“No [WWE does not need Cena]... I mean, I’d love to see John but I don’t think they need him, no. John is so wrapped up in Hollywood now and doing so well. He’s in South America right now for a couple of months. That’s a big sacrifice and a big commitment when you start doing acting full-time,” said Flair. [46:04-46:38]
Cena’s last WrestleMania appearance came in 2020 when he lost a cinematic Firefly Fun House match against The Fiend Bray Wyatt. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the match was filmed without any fans in attendance at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
Ric Flair compares John Cena’s WWE position to his own in-ring career
.@JohnCena shouts out the WWE Universe for an unforgettable #SummerOfCena. https://t.co/AOMBeNapOK
Ric Flair famously lacked belief in himself as an in-ring competitor when he returned to WWE in 2001. The wrestling icon gradually regained faith in his abilities after receiving confidence boosts from the likes of Triple H and The Undertaker.
Regarding John Cena’s wrestling skills, Flair thinks his fellow 16-time world champion will likely question himself due to his lack of time in the ring:
“When you take all that time off it’s hard to get yourself back in the kind of shape that you wanna be in to be who you’ve been. That’s my problem. I could never get myself back to where I was.” [46:43-46:56]
Cena said earlier this year that the storytelling aspect of WWE is what motivates him to return. The five-time WrestleMania main-eventer’s most recent storyline with Roman Reigns revolved around their statuses as the greatest superstars of their generations.
Please credit Wooooo Nation Uncensored and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.