John Cena's WWE retirement tour is more than halfway done, and after his final match in mid-December, his time as a professional wrestler will be officially over. A WWE Hall of Fame induction is inevitable, though, and we'll surely still see him make the odd appearance (with an AA here or there for good measure).
For the most part, Cena's focus is on Hollywood these days. His acting career has been a success, and while he occasionally still stars in the odd misfire, the 17-time WWE Champion has also received praise for his performances in Peacemaker and the Fast & Furious franchise.
During a recent interview to discuss his and Idris Elba's new movie, Heads of State, Cena was asked to name the best wrestler-turned-actor.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's blockbusters may have earned the most money, but in the Leader of the Cenation's opinion, Guardians of the Galaxy and Dune star Dave Bautista is most deserving of that title.
"I’m gonna give respect where respect is earned," Cena shared. "Dave Bautista, the dude has range and is like, now has like, transformed his whole body. So he’s the stuff he’s about to do. Look out for Dave Bautista. The stuff he’s already done is incredible."
Highlighting many of the former WWE Champion's most diverse roles, he compared those to his work and joked, "As far as, like, wrestler turned actor with, like, the range, you know me, I’m just d*** James, that’s it. Dave’s got range."
Surprisingly, Cena, The Rock, and Bautista have never crossed paths in a movie. That could change down the line, of course, but we will see a reunion, of sorts, in Street Fighter for current WWE Superstars Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes (you can learn more here).
You can watch the full interview with Cena in the player below.
In the action-comedy Heads of State, the UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) and U.S. President Will Derringer (John Cena) have a not-so-friendly and very public rivalry that jeopardizes their countries’ “special relationship.” But when they become the targets of a powerful and ruthless foreign adversary—who proves more than a match for the two leaders’ security forces—they are begrudgingly forced to rely on the only two people they can trust: each other. Ultimately allied with the brilliant MI6 agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), they must go on the run and find a way to work together long enough to thwart a global conspiracy that threatens the entire free world. The film also stars Paddy Considine, Stephen Root, Carla Gugino, Jack Quaid and Sarah Niles and is directed by Ilya Naishuller.