WWE takes a percentage of John Cena's earnings on everything he does

John Cena is well known as a film star now as well as a former wrestler, but that hasn't stopped WWE from taking a percentage of his earnings for everything he does.

Cena, whose full name is John Felix Anthony Cena, kicked off his WWE career in the early 2000s and went on to become a 16-time World Champion, taking on the likes of The Rock and Dave Bautista during his rise to fame.

And like both of those former opponents, Cena transitioned into the world of acting when he made an appearance in the 2006 film The Marine.

He has since taken on roles in Ferdinand, the Fast & Furious franchise and Fighting With My Family among other titles, most of which had nothing at all to do with his wrestling career.

However, as Cena used his real name in the wrestling ring, WWE gained rights to the title which he's since gone on to use for his acting career.

The former wrestler discussed WWE's ownership of his name during an interview on The Howard Stern Show, where he confirmed that WWE founder Vince McMahon gets a cut of all of his movies.

When asked whether having his name owned by the wrestling federation bothered him, Cena responded: "Absolutely not."

Explaining his stance on the matter, he continued: "Howard, before this I was a kid in a small Massachusetts town mowing lawns for a golf course. I don't mind kicking a percentage of my earnings to the person who gave me a chance and an opportunity."

"If anything that's a sign of respect, I owe that guy a lot," the former wrestler said.

ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

Cena explained that McMahon owns his name through intellectual property, admitting 'it's a weird concept but in a way [he owns it], yeah'.

Investigative journalist Tom Colohue spoke further about WWE's ownership of names during an episode of Dropkick Discussions, where he claimed Cena isn't the only one subject to the intellectual property rule.

Colohue said: "To cite an example, the WWE owns the name John Cena and that is John Cena’s actual name. That means whenever John Cena is filming, whenever he is credited in a film, the WWE gets a pay cut. They get a cut of the profits.

"There are some people currently working for the WWE whose names are owned by the WWE. I don’t know who, I don’t have a distinctive list. I haven’t read everybody’s contract but those people know who they are."

Though Cena will have lost some money to McMahon over the years, with an estimated net worth of $60 million, it's safe to say he's doing okay.