16-time WWE Champion John Cena has gone through many nicknames throughout his illustrious professional wrestling career. He’s been known as the Doctor of Thuganomics, the Leader of the Cenation, and the Prototype. However, one title that has always stuck with him is Super Cena because there are times where it seems like he never loses, just like Superman. And while that may hold up in the ring, the nickname hasn’t exactly carried over to his film career in regards to superhero movies. Despite landing some major roles in ‘Trainwreck’, ‘Daddy’s Home 2’, the animated ‘Ferdinand’, and the upcoming ‘Transformers’ spinoff starring Bumblebee, he has yet to score a place in a major comic book movie franchise after being rumored or discussed for ‘Superior’, ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, and ‘Shazam’ (which would have been opposite his in-ring rival Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). But based on a few mysterious posts on social media, that may soon change.
Though many wrestlers turn to Instagram to share photos from the road, the gym, or whatever arena they’re in that night, Cena’s page is filled with random images. From dogs to veterans to cars to weightlifters, Mr. Hustle Loyalty Respect probably has one of the most random accounts out there. In fact, that’s exactly the way he wants it as he mentions in his bio that “these images will be posted without explanation, for your interpretation”. But last month, he began sharing iconic imagery associated with the seminal graphic novel ‘Watchmen’ by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins. First, it was The Comedian’s bloody happy face button on November 19th. A week later, he shared another ‘Watchmen’ related post, but this time it was a portrait of Doctor Manhattan. Now this week, he shared another post spotlighting the Superman-esque character.
Naturally, these posts could mean absolutely nothing. After all, many WWE Superstars are comic book fans, so it’s possible that someone turned Cena onto the genius that is ‘Watchmen’ and he has just simply gotten around to finally reading it. Although, with the former world champion focusing more on his acting career these days and an adaptation of the comic series in the works at HBO from Damon Lindelof, he could be hinting at a role in the highly anticipated project. But until official word comes out from the production or Cena himself, it’s all nothing but hearsay.
Do you think that John Cena is set to join the cast of ‘Watchmen’ on HBO as Doctor Manhattan? Or do you feel like he’s just trying to get people talking so that he’ll be considered for the role? And do you even think that he’d be a good fit as the iconic comic book character? Sound off in the comments below.
