Where else but in the world of Zangief and Kratos can a man lift the 500-pound Big Show and the 250-pound Edge ... at the same time?
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010
But that's the weight Cena hoisted during this past WrestleMania, a feat he laughs off in an almost shylike manner.
"I didn't know if I was going to have it in me," he says, "but I guess that's what makes WrestleMania WrestleMania."
But could he add any more weight the next time Mania rolls through? Maybe add Hornswoggle as almost a cherry on the top for a triple slam?
"Don't let Hornswoggle fool you," Cena says of the 4-foot-4, 138-pound leprechaun. "He's heavy."
ESPN caught up with Cena, the biggest star in wrestling since the days of The Rock and Stone Cold, to talk about everything from performing his own stunts in the film "12 Rounds" to being the face of the upcoming game "WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010." Here's what he had to say:
wwe john cena
John Cena: Not only the stunt work but the acting as well. One thing people don't realize is we film episodic television. We're the first to say that what we do is entertainment and it's for the sake of the fans. The fans are pretty much why we exist. So you learn to perform on the fly, and you pretty much learn how to act. So not only did it help me with the stunt work as far as keeping in good physical shape, but it helped me understand the story, helped me understand the script and helped me understand my role. It really got me prepared to be an actor. Those people who are successful in the wrestling business really have to be well-rounded.
John Cena: Not only the stunt work but the acting as well. One thing people don't realize is we film episodic television. We're the first to say that what we do is entertainment and it's for the sake of the fans. The fans are pretty much why we exist. So you learn to perform on the fly, and you pretty much learn how to act. So not only did it help me with the stunt work as far as keeping in good physical shape, but it helped me understand the story, helped me understand the script and helped me understand my role. It really got me prepared to be an actor. Those people who are successful in the wrestling business really have to be well-rounded.
wwe john cena
John Cena: The one where I was really scared was the stunt where I had to repel off a 10-story building. The other stuff I'm OK with. I'm fine with being beat-up and pushed around, but I'm really scared of heights and scared of ledges. It was one of those things, though, where I had to do it, and you can watch in the special features in the DVD, they show me, and you can see I'm really scared. There's no faking it. I didn't want to do it, but I ended up doing it, and it came out great. But at the same time, that was the only one where I was like, "I don't know about this."
wwe john cena & rende ortan
John Cena: The one where I was really scared was the stunt where I had to repel off a 10-story building. The other stuff I'm OK with. I'm fine with being beat-up and pushed around, but I'm really scared of heights and scared of ledges. It was one of those things, though, where I had to do it, and you can watch in the special features in the DVD, they show me, and you can see I'm really scared. There's no faking it. I didn't want to do it, but I ended up doing it, and it came out great. But at the same time, that was the only one where I was like, "I don't know about this."