John Cena reveals why movie debut was ‘disappointing’

John Cena has since learned from his mistakes, but it didn’t make his movie debut any less “disappointing.”

The WWE superstar opened up about stepping outside of the wrestling ring for the first time and onto the film set. He shared with People that it was “overwhelming and then immediately disappointing” as his first time experience on screen.

“Which is so sad to say, but I have to lead with honesty,” he told the outlet.

In 2006, Cena starred in The Marine, which was hit with mixed reviews. He did admit with having the huge success in the WWE, he didn’t take acting too seriously, which led to some consequences for his budding acting career.

“That really led me to pretty much lose those [acting] opportunities. I pretty much was run out of town for the movie business in 2009, 2010,” he says. “It was my own fault.”

One of the disparities between the WWE ring and the film world is that he shared how you don’t get “immediate gratification,” whereas in wrestling, crowds are always shouting, whether they love or hate you. Despite not at first feeling fully satisfied with the film, he decided to try again, and he was given another chance in Hollywood.

“They’re very long days, they’re very patient days, and I think you just have to be in the mindset for it,” he explains. “Thank goodness that some people along the way, in 2012, in 2015, saw some potential in me and took another gamble.”

He was able to work on not just one but two comedies in 2015, such as Trainwreck, Sisters and Daddy’s Home starring alongside comedic legends Amy Schumer, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrel, and more.

Trying again taught him to continue to keep going even if you fail at first.

“I’ve learned through my failures that most of them have been my unawareness to realize that something good is afoot and I should take advantage of it,” he continued. “Most of my successes have been, ‘Hey, you should, you should jump at this thing and you should go for it.’ ”

“I guess I have a better average of realizing when opportunity is opening my door than I have a failure rate,” he adds. “As long as you can learn from both the wins and the losses, as long as you can take away something and learn a little bit, I think it’s not a bad deal.”

Since his 2006 debut he has been seen in several blockbusters such as Barbie, he Fast & Furious franchise, The Suicide Squad, and more.

This summer, Cena, who retired from professional wrestling in December 2025, is not stepping off the gas and has several other projects coming out such as Little Brother and Coyote vs. Acme. In the fall, Cena stars in the action film Matchbox: The Movie which will be released on Apple TV in October.

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