John Cena has wrestled less and less in recent years. Establishing himself in Hollywood has become a priority for the leader of the Cenation, and like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Dave Bautista before him, that's meant putting WWE on the back burner.
His in-ring career is winding down and we're anticipating Cena retiring either this year or next. He made a cameo appearance at WrestleMania a few months ago, of course, but hasn't been seen since.
Talking to PEOPLE about his fitness regime, the Leader of the Cenation explained where WWE fits into that.
"I know my WWE journey is coming to an end, but fitness was a part of my life long before the WWE journey started," he stresses. "Fitness will be a part of my life, hopefully as long as my heart's beating. So the WWE has been a great chapter in my life — it's year 23 for me — and the sun's setting on that chapter in the book, but fitness will never not be a part of my life."
"I feel as if I am operating at my best when I talk about health," the 16-time WWE Champion later added. "Graduating from Springfield College, their ethos was ‘Spirit, mind and body.’ It's not just how you look, it's how you think, and also what's on the inside."
"So I would say from a spirit of mine and a body standpoint at 47, I'm the best I've been in all 47 of my years on this earth."
It's a shame that Cena's time in WWE is going to end and that he'll likely never have another lengthy run where we see him every week for several months at a time. He's been on something of a losing streak in recent years (it wasn't that long ago we saw him get obliterated by Solo Sikoa) so here's hoping he can end his career on a high.
Based on previous comments, the Peacemaker star is keen for one final run in WWE and, given how unselfish he is as a wrestler, we'd imagine he's keen to put over a rising star on his way out the door.
"That time is gonna come and it's gonna come soon," Cena said earlier this year of his retirement plans. "I made a promise to the consumer early on, to WWE fans, 'cause I know how tough it is to be a fan. You gotta come out of pocket - and WWE has a ton of content - it takes a lot to be a passionate fan and our fanbase is passionate and global. I never wanted to go out there just for the sake of going out there."
"[Inside] I feel great, but I know what it takes to be a WWE performer night in and night out and I don't ever wanna just go out there and do it to do it," he added. "I wanna have the passion - the same passion as the fanbase - and I wanna give them exactly what they give me. The miles on the speedometer say, 'Hey, that's gotta be done before 50.'"
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.