John Cena put his tough-guy wrestling persona to the side for a new interview in which he got vulnerable about his insecurities and explains how one decision helped him 'change the course of his life'.
As the most decorated professional wrestler of all time, it's safe to say Cena has spent his fair share of time fighting off attacks, both in the ring and from fans.
He made his WWE debut in 2002, when he was just 25 years old, but he's now set to retire from the sport this year.
In a new interview with People, the 48-year-old spoke about the direction his life is taking and explained: “Age plays a factor. I’m not as strong or as fast as I used to be.
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"I made a promise when I started gaining some notoriety that when I’m a step slower, I will go, because there will be kids just as hungry as I was who have earned a shot to see if they can make it.”
Cena is rounding off his wrestling career with a year-long tour to give fans 'closure', saying: “They’re the reason for my optimism, my perseverance, my passion. They don’t let you get away with phoning it in, because they’ll eat you alive.”
Apparently it's not just wrestling that fans will comment on, either, as Cena recalled seeing signs in the crowd that said: "The bald John Cena."
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“As I was trying to hide my hair loss, the audience was bringing it to light," he explained.
Feeling conscious of his thinning hair, Cena said the fans 'pushed' him into seeing what his options were, resulting in him having a life-changing hair transplant in November 2024.
"I now have a routine: red-light therapy, minoxidil, vitamins, shampoo, conditioner — and I also got a hair transplant last November," he said. "I hate the fact that if there wasn’t so much shame around it, I’d have gotten it done 10 years ago. I thought I was alone, but seven or eight out of 10 [men] suffer from thinning or baldness."
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Cena said procedure involves moving your hair 'one by one, from one area to another', and made clear he doesn't take the topic lightly.
“If somebody’s going to sweat me for that, I don’t think there’s any shame in that,” he said. “It completely changed the course of my life.”
As well as giving him more confidence, the procedure gave Cena more range as an actor by allowing him to change his hairstyle.
Looking ahead to a life without WWE, Cena added: “I hope to remain curious and healthy — and that’s physically, spiritually, mentally. As long as I have love, health and curiosity for what life has to offer, I think it’ll work out."
Emily Brown