John Cena to Appear on the April Cover of Men’s Fitness

– The following press release was sent out today, hyping John Cena appearing on the April Cover of Men’s Fitness:

JOHN CENA TALKS ACTING, WRESTLE MANIA AND
LIFE AFTER THE WWE IN THE APRIL ISSUE OF MEN’S FITNESS
On Newsstands March 16th Nationwide

NEW YORK, NY—He’s an actor, hip-hop artist and the top name in the WWE. Now John Cena graces the cover of Men’s Fitness where he talks about everything from his new role in the new film 12 Rounds to growing up as a scrawny teenager in West Newbury, Massachusetts, forced to workout to protect himself. “I started listening to hip-hop when nobody else was, started dressing all urban when nobody else was, and I got hell for it,” he says in the issue. “To counteract, strictly for self-defense, I wanted to get bigger. I figured if I worked out three times a week, I’d get big. If I did it seven days a week, I’d get huge.” And it worked. By the time he was 16, Cena had gone from 155 pounds to 215. “Nobody was giving me any more stuff,” he says.

Following are highlights from his interview in the April issue of Men’s Fitness, on newsstands March 16 nationwide.

On rumors about him being on steroids…
“Train with me for just a week, and you’ll see that I’m the guy who drives 250 miles between shows but will be at the gym tomorrow at 10 a.m. when most people are still sleeping in. I’m the guy who’ll fly to Australia, find a gym, fly back, and the first thing I do off the plane is work out, before I even shower or eat. I’ve made a living out of working hard.”

On his favorite Wrestle Mania (1987’s WrestleMania III)
“As unstoppable as Hulk Hogan was, I didn’t see him beating Andre the Giant, let alone picking him up. No one remembers anything else about that match, but that moment is so frozen in time. It was a moment that defined WrestleMania.”

12 Rounds Director Renny Harlin on his acting ability…
“He’s intelligent, he’s funny, and more invested than anyone I’ve worked with. I don’t know if it comes with his physicality, but he has such confidence in himself, definitely not to be confused with cockiness. I truly feel he’s a new movie star, a new action star, which Hollywood desperately needs.”

On getting the role in “12 Rounds”…
“Renny (Harlin) originally thought, ‘OK, I’m getting a wrestler, he can’t act, so how can I build the best movie around a broomstick?”

On bringing his personality to the ring…
“You hear a lot of people in our business say, ‘Oh, the character you see on TV is me with the volume turned up.’ What you see is me, 100%. That’s who I am at home. That’s how I am here.”

On life after the WWE…
In a 2005 Men’s Fitness interview, when Cena was asked if there was life after wrestling, he said no. “If I wasn’t doing this, I’d probably be mowing lawns,” he said. Apparently not much has changed. When asked if he still stands by that sentiment, he says, “Absolutely. When you hear the opening roar of the crowd, you’ll understand why. I certainly don’t want to be one of those guys who can’t let go. I think, hopefully, knock on wood, it’ll be for quite some time. If not, I’ll buy a big ass lawn mower.”