John Cena is about to embark on a farewell tour this year as he announced his retirement from professional wrestling. The legendary wrestler and actor has been in the WWE for the past twenty-five years and has made a name for himself as one of the most popular superstars in the ring.
While the icon can be seen (pun intended) in Hollywood in multiple roles, he has still kept his wrestling roots intact, being the second-most popular WWE star to transition to Hollywood after Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. The actor has been in popular films such as the Fast and Furious franchise and the DCU. Will his retirement from WWE significantly impact his earnings?
John Cena earns millions at his WWE appearances
John Cena is one of the most popular WWE stars in the world, second only to Dwayne Johnson. The star began his career in the 2000s and is famous for his babyface persona on the ring. Famed for his ‘You Can’t See Me’ catchphrase and the resulting ‘invisible John Cena’ meme, the wrestler has become quite popular.
While Cena left the WWE to pursue a Hollywood career way back in the 2010s, the actor and wrestler returned as a part-timer and made several appearances. His popularity reportedly netted him huge paydays and made him a main event name. He made a surprise appearance last year at WrestleMania 40 and announced his retirement in 2025.
He is all set to embark on a farewell tour and will reportedly appear in WrestleMania 41 this year, which is set to be his last. He mentioned his future plans and how he wanted to be associated with the WWE to USA Today,
I look forward to ending my participation in the ring in the best way that I possibly can. And being a member of the extended WWE family for quite some time. I have no intention on being physical in any way. No guest refereeing, no falling through an accidental table. None of that stuff. I will be a fan and an advocate, and that’s it.
As he says goodbye to the career that made him the star he is today, he also will be paying goodbye to a large paycheck. The actor/wrestler reportedly ranked second in the top earners in the part-time category at $8 million. According to Parade, he also raked in a whopping $9.5 million annually in 2016.
Cena also reportedly earns per appearance, and the figure is huge. His main event appearances reportedly net him $500,000 for each appearance. He also reportedly earns 5% of merchandise sales (via The Sportster). With his 2025 retirement, Cena might lose a chunk of this regular salary, but his Hollywood career more than makes up for it.
How much does John Cena make from his movie appearances?
While John Cena began his career as a pro wrestler, he slowly transitioned to the movies and made a name for himself there. His off-screen personality was equally endearing, making him closer to the people with his sense of humor and kind persona. His willingness to be part of the legend surrounding his persona made him all the more popular.
Cena began his Hollywood career in the action film The Marine. Made at a $15 million budget, the film was moderately successful at the box office, making back $21 million (via The Numbers). However, the film received extremely negative reviews, but the franchise continued with Ted DiBiase Jr. and The Miz replacing Cena in sequels.
The actor was reportedly paid $280,000 for his first movie appearance (via Parade). While that is still a low price for a lead star, the film was a low-budget action film that was made at only $15 million. And the actor more than made up for it with his still full-time wrestling career. Cena became a bigger star as he continued to make movies and left the WWE.
One of his biggest roles is his recent appearance as Jakob Toretto in F9 and Fast X. The actor is the second WWE superstar to feature in the series after Dwayne Johnson headlined it till Fate of the Furious and is confirmed to appear in the upcoming last installment. Cena reportedly earned his biggest movie paycheck of $2 million for the role in F9 (via Collider).
For his role as Peacemaker in James Gunn’s show of the same name, there have been conflicting reports of his salary. Parade claimed that some sources listed his salary as $500,00 per episode while others said it was $1 million. He may have earned approximately $8 million for the first season. A second season is currently in production.
John Cena had a terrible contract as a rookie on WWE
John Cena is one of the biggest WWE stars in the world right now, and despite his retirement, he will remain a legendary fighter in the promotion along with his peers. He represented one of the greatest generations of WWE players, who are now in key management roles, such as Triple H and Dwayne Johnson.
However, Cena came from humble beginnings and initially had a failed run as The Prototype before reverting to his real name. When he was signed to the promotion, Cena revealed that he had a contractual salary of $12,500 per year, which is an extremely low figure. He said on the Impaulsive podcast with Logan Paul,
My first contract was for $12,500 a year. I quit my job. I still lived in Los Angeles. I had to operate pretty lean. I didn’t have to, I chose to. In all the stories I tell, ‘I lived in my car,’ I did that by choice. I had a warm bed and roof over my head in Massachusetts. My dad is the most giving person to his sons, ‘You always have a home here, I’ll always take care of you.’ I wanted to do that. I chose to go through some hardships to be where I’m at.
He mentioned that as the years went on, he got better contracts and a rise in his career. The actor/wrestler is currently worth $80 million and is one of the highest-paid WWE stars (via Marca).
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