Cena: Retirement, How Much He Generates, Clothing Line

[SAIYANS]

John Cena spoke with Neil Cavuto of FOX Business about how long he plans to continue wrestling and also revealed that his character generates $100 million a year for WWE.

Cena says he made a pact with himself to "gracefully walk away" from the company when he feels like he can't hang with the young wrestlers on the roster anymore. He went on to mention that most professional athletes are winding down their careers in their mid-30's, but stopped short of saying how close he is to retirement.


"A lot of these athletes that are married to their sport think this is going to last forever," Cena said. "Then, they blow out an ACL, they look around when they're 35 or 36 and their career is coming to an end and they act like the income stream is going to continue."


Cena also spoke about his new clothing line, "Essentially, the message of the clothing is to empower you through a positive message I think that's why we were able to leverage our brand (WWE), my brand especially with Kmart, because it wasn't just a typical sponsor deal. A lot of athletes get a sponsorship - 'here's your upfront money, we're going to use your likeness.' I wanted to hold on to my asset, do it correctly, and create an inspirational line. So, it's not a 'wrestling-driven' line. The line is called 'Never Give Up,' and truly my character on WWE plays one of aspiration, inspiration, and motivation. I try to defy all odds and do what I can to do the right thing."


He added, "Kmart picked up on this concept. And, from a branding standpoint, I just didn't outright leverage myself; I wanted a piece and equity in the brand. So, there was upfront money, plus equity in the brand."

I guess he's basically saying he is waiting to he suffers lower body injuries. I don't even know how long he will go, but I expect him to pass Flair easily (as he should) and probably move on to a HBK schedule years from now.

As for that revenue thing 5: "franchise doing big business"

 

[Deezy]

Cena ain't no dummy, the gravy train always has an end of the line. If he generates a 100 mil a year, wonder what his percentage of the cut he gets? Has to be close to half, it's not like WWE can say they own the intellectual property of John Cena. Lucky for him, the company wasn't in rebranding mode when he started.

 

[SAIYANS]

That's so true, I bet they wish they named him, even if it was just a tweak. I wonder if he gets close to the first lifetime contract from them

 

[Deezy]

Couldn't see why not, Cena is the guy Vince McMahon has been looking for his whole promoting life.

Loyal, busts his ass, driven, doesn't question what is right for his character, never refused to work with anyone or put them over. He's like a mix of Hogan, Hart and Austin, without any of their selfish hangups. The perfect company man.

 

[Dale]

I'll believe gracefully walking away when it actually happens. Wrestling seems to be his life and is he really going to walk away from that if he can't hang with the younger guys all the while still being the top guy? I don't buy it.

 

[The Cork]

Never really occured to me until now that most WWE's top talent are reaching their mid/late 30's.

I think they've done an exceptional job in having a revolving door type roster where new wrestlers are always given chances, but I think they really need a slice of luck now. I can't see Punk and Cena working full time for even a few more years, and stars like that aren't two a penny.

It's time to stick with a wrestler and give them a massive marketing push. I honestly think Ryback could of been the next big thing before they threw too much baggage on him and he bombed.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

He'll still be working for the company in some capacity, no doubt about it. I'd have a ton more respect for him if he stuck to the retirement thing too.

 

[SAIYANS]

Never really occured to me until now that most WWE's top talent are reaching their mid/late 30's.

I think they've done an exceptional job in having a revolving door type roster where new wrestlers are always given chances, but I think they really need a slice of luck now. I can't see Punk and Cena working full time for even a few more years, and stars like that aren't two a penny.

It's time to stick with a wrestler and give them a massive marketing push. I honestly think Ryback could of been the next big thing before they threw too much baggage on him and he bombed.

That's probably why its best to unify the titles, formally end the brand split, and launch the network. Having one large roster with storylines continuing 2 days like in the attitude era and then having a network to profile, promote, and highlight these divisions and youngsters will help them.

I personally still believe that if I were looking at the roster now it would be Reigns, Langston, Miz, and Titus (yes I said Titus)

 

[Deezy]

Network is being shopped around, but no ones buying from what I hear. If I was WWE, I'd just go straight to NEtflix and Hulu, they partnered up with them already, get some upfront cash and produce some exclusive content and rake in the dough. Think you have enough legends under contracts to produce their own 30 for 30 documentaries Netflix exclusive, I'd watch that, I already went through the entire WWE library on it. Think it would work, think of the tomorrow, not the yesterday.

Agree on Titus Psych, too much personality to not be a big deal, if his in-ring skill ever matches his charisma, he will be a big star.

 

[SAIYANS]

I think it will be a HBO or. LP type thing. That is short of wwe not just reaching a deal with universal for one of their lesser channels. They are faced with the ppv problem, cable and satellite have been sucking Vince ppv dick for decades now and its hard to lose that to any network

Titus needs to sharpen his in ring skills, but there's something there. He's also straight blue collar, former sheriff, family man, disciplined, Dave's gym partner, etc. I think he could make something of himself as a solo act, and I'm not even condemning Young who I still believe can function in a team with a guy like JTG (Redemption showed that). He's a likable and amusing big guy that can be physically imposing.

Funniest thing I have to point out in an ironic way.


These same grown men who chants Cena sucks ... These same men are buying their wives, their girlfriends, nieces, nephews, and their kids who are behind the lets go Cena chants merch, ppvs, and tickets.


Cena trolls em with a smile when he walks out for a reason, them bitches still paying his salary and keeping him on top. He's winning like Sheen