MR. TITO: John Cena is GREAT in HBO MAX’s Peacemaker – Where Does He Stack-Up Against Other Wrestler-to-Actors?
So I’m watching the second season of Peacemaker on HBO MAX, which is a series that stars WWE superstar and later turned actor John Cena… First and foremost, I LOVED the The Suicide Squad film that James Gunn did, which was a vast improvement over the previous “Suicide Squad” attempt. That film also featured John Cena as the Peacemaker character and had great chemistry with the ensemble. Then, Cena got his own weekly series on HBO MAX where he reprised his Peacemaker character. However, that TV show allowed Cena’s character to be fleshed out while building relationships, both friendly and loving, with his supporting team. LOVED Season 1 of Peacemaker, as they had a real conflict to solve and yet there John Cena was, portraying a character that was DIFFERENT than what we saw from his characters in WWE.
But then we get to season 2 of the Peacemaker… Damn!
I started having these thoughts throughout Season 2 of Peacemaker, but then I saw the ending of the 7th episode… I’m not going to spoil it, as I STRONGLY RECOMMEND checking out Peacemaker, but John Cena has a moment in Season 2, Episode 7 that I seriously think may put him into contention for an Emmy.
That’s right, a wrestler turned actor is getting better and better as an actor.
That somewhat contrasts with the many professional wrestlers who have tried to act. Many just cannot break out of their comfort zone, often being the same exact wrestling character that got them over in big arenas. Yet, that’s not what producers and directors fully want… They want someone with flexibility, willing to take risks, and someone who actually listens to coaching.
If you listen to podcasts or interviews from the Peacemaker cast members or production team, they’ll tell you that John Cena is eager to learn, putting in the hard work to get better, and is completely humble to receive feedback or criticism. That is 100% in contrast with how other wrestlers-turned-actors have been perceived on set. If you watch with each additional movie or television show that Cena does, he gets better and better. Furthermore, he’s not afraid to poke fun at himself or get placed in compromised positions.
It’s almost a shame that the “acting bug” didn’t bite John Cena earlier so that we could get more years of his physical prime on camera. Of course, years ago, Cena thumbed his nose at leaving the WWE for Hollywood opportunities, an admission that Cena would later apologize for when Hollywood began calling him. In the WWE, you have to work hard, as the very top star, to earn maybe one-fourth of what a leading man in Hollywood earns per film. PER FILM.
Gee, why is Roman Reigns suddenly seeking Hollywood opportunities? Yeah, the WWE should have let Rock vs. Roman Reigns happen during 2024 because that opportunity has been squandered and won’t be as effective when these two part-timers try it in Saudi Arabia at Wrestlemania 43.
Cena’s Peacemaker character has to present a variety of emotions. For one, he’s a complete hypocrite and has to deal with that… A guy who claims to want peace, but is completely OK with murdering many people to achieve it. Peacemaker grew up with an abusive father, one of which favors a certain political movement from 1930s and 1940s Germany (if you know what I mean), along with the guilt of accidentally killing his own brother in a fistfight as a child. Cena has to portray a character who has a ton of guilt swirling in his own head, while trying to build relationships with those within the organization who hired Peacemaker for various services after springing him from prison. With the cards dealt to him, John Cena is KILLING IT and is showing an acting range that other wrestlers haven’t showed, let alone other actors in Hollywood.
John Cena has the real potential to make Peacemaker films and television shows for YEARS, but he’s showing great improvements in his acting and range that will land him many other roles. He won’t get typecasted as just being Peacemaker because again, he’s willing to learn, takes coaching well, and isn’t afraid of how a role would bruise his ego.
Contrast that with other wrestlers who have tried to become actors.
The late and great Hulk Hogan saw most of his characters look like Hulk Hogan. Same hair (or lack thereof), same horseshoe mustache, and all acting like the same macho like character. Later, when he’d try to change his look for certain roles, he was still in his Hulk Hogan character. Thus, he wasn’t a marketable Hollywood star because he was too stuck in wrestling mode.
The Rock is the same way… Same muscular jacked-up guy for most of his films. Lucky for the Rock, the action film genre is always in demand and mostly draws at the box office. Thus, whether that is racing cars around, jumping between exploding buildings, or dealing with massive natural disasters, the Rock has been successful because he’s filling that Arnold, Sly, or Bruce mold and fits in perfectly because those guys simply got older. Yet, unlike Arnold, Sly, or Bruce, the Rock doesn’t have any memorable characters or tentpole franchises. He tried so hard with Hercules, which bombed, and then with the DC Comics Black Adam film, but nothing stuck. Hence why the Rock gets lambasted for playing the same character for most of his roles.
That said, I believe that the Rock made a WISE decision with The Smashing Machine which I think may land him in some Oscar contention for Best Actor. Why? Because he took a chance on a completely different kind of role for him, changed his look, and is working in a different genre than before. Yes, there will be fight scenes in the Smashing Machine, but it’s really a drama portraying the difficult life of UFC fighter Mark Kerr. After taking many safe action movie opportunities, the Rock appears to now be in the mode of being taken seriously as an actor.
That, or he sees his fellow wrestling peer John Cena absolutely killing it and has upped his game. In fact, the Rock’s unavailability since the RAW after Wrestlemania 40 has been due to the Rock taking on an increased amount of film projects. He’s busy rebuilding his acting career which took some damage during the early 2020s.
But let’s look at John Cena before the Peacemaker role… If you’ve watched his movies closely, you’ll see that John Cena was getting prepared to excel when handed a great role.
His first film was The Marine, which was a WWE Films produced movie. It’s OK, but overall good for a first film attempt. Personally, I like it better than the Scorpion King… For Cena’s starring debut, it’s basically his wrestling character playing the hero in a good popcorn film. However, this was just Cena trying things out and he wouldn’t make another film until 3 years later. For 3 straight years, he had smaller films with 12 Rounds, Legendary, and The Reunion. Nothing to crow about, but John Cena was a wrestler first and then an actor later.
By 2014, things were changing in the WWE, as they had Brock Lesnar back and Vince McMahon really wanted to push Roman Reigns. It was the perfect opportunity for John Cena to really jump into the acting deep-end.
While it wasn’t a starring role, Cena’s role in Trainwreck starring Amy Schumer stands out as he was Amy’s boyfriend or at least F buddy. Completely hilarious, as Cena completely goofs on himself and lets himself be placed in crazy predicaments. Cena would continue to try the comedic roles, as he appeared in Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Sisters film as a weird drug dealer character but in the brief moments, he stands out. Common theme is starting to happen here… Whenever Cena appears, the planets seem to orbit towards him. That commanding presence that led him to become a top wrestling draw is also translating to film with his charisma and magnetism. BUT the biggest thing is that he’s willing to be goofed on and try new things beyond his leading role in the WWE.
Cena always being open to doing supporting roles is important, too… When you’re not on the very top of the pecking order, you have to honor those at the top and let them be stars. For example, John Cena is in Daddy’s Home 1 and 2 as a supporting character. Both films, especially the second, are loaded with stars and yet Cena is only there to complement them rather than steal their spotlight. Again, there is that flexibility and ability to be humble again.
Personally, I liked what John Cena did during 2018. First, he was co-starring in the comedy Blockers, which centers around parents who are terrified that their daughters get de-flowered at prom. Cena’s character is in a mixed race marriage, too, which adds some complexity to his role as a dad but he nails it. I’m not saying Blockers is an all-time great comedy, but it made money in the box office and didn’t need a massive budget to just feature the personalities of Cena, Leslie Mann, and Ike Barinholtz. They just had to sell the comedy, and they did. Then, Cena was featured in the Transformers prequel Bumblebee as the villain. The movie made money and kept the Transformers franchise going, but I always think that Cena’s success in this big budget film allowed him to walk into the next big franchise.
The Rock’s star as an actor grew when he joined the Fast and the Furious franchise, and so John Cena followed him. Ironically, The Rock walked away from the Fast franchise after some internal heat between him and Vin Diesel and that created a great opportunity for John Cena to portray himself as the villain, once again, as the estranged brother of Vin Diesel’s character. Notice the pattern here? Cena is NOT the hero starring in an action film… For two major action film opportunities, John Cena plays the villain which requires more as an actor to portray themselves being evil or vindictive rather than someone everybody likes. It worked and F9 smashed it at the box office.
Which brings us full circle to The Suicide Squad and Cena’s role as Peacemaker. Yes, The Suicide Squad didn’t make money at the box office, but it was release simultaneously on HBO MAX with limited theatrical releases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since this 2021 release, cult following has grown significantly and helped Warner Brothers Discovery sign James Gunn, the director that film, to become the new President of the DC Universe films. Thanks to The Suicide Squad experience, James Gunn became so obsessed with John Cena’s performance as the Peacemaker character that he wrote an entire TV series for HBO MAX based on that character. And since then and combined with Season 2, James Gunn has said on various interviews that the Peacemaker show is the BEST thing that he has ever made. THINK ABOUT THAT!
We’re only scratching the surface on where John Cena could go from here. I think that Peacemaker, Season 2, is going to get serious Emmy contention thanks to its amazing storytelling and acting. While it may seem CRAZY to think that Cena could receive a “Best Actor” from a TV series nomination let alone a win, I really think that it’s possible. Cena is THAT good as an actor in Peacemaker and I’m not blowing smoke up your arses as a wrestling mark. He is KILLING IT in that series and James Gunn is putting Cena in the strongest light to succeed.
Having a great coach or boss matters, but being willing to LISTEN and IMPROVE from good coaching also matters.
That’s why I think Cena, and to another degree Batista, are succeeding in Hollywood. Cena and Batista are more willing to work as a team and elevate others. Guys like the Rock and the late Hulk Hogan want to be the top stars and have creative input on the film. I CRINGE when I hear reported stories of what went down on the sets of Black Adam and Red One for the Rock, as I was always under the impression that he was a likeable guy. Yet, everything was about what he wanted and how he wanted it.
If you haven’t seen Peacemaker on HBO MAX, do yourself a favor and watch it… Season 1 is out there fully, while Season 2’s season finale is this Thursday. You could easily binge this series and catch-up to join all of us believers in Cena’s acting.
With that said, let’s talk about the impacts of wrestlers to actors… There have been many that tried, with many having some degrees of success or others who have failed. In my opinion, here are the best wrestlers to ever make it in Hollywood.
#10 – Stone Cold Steve Austin
Lots of direct-to-video output, a few feature length appearances, and several television roles. Falls into the same category of mostly looking and acting the same in each role.
#9 – Hulk Hogan
He tried and tried to become a movie star, but all of his starring roles were OK at best. Lots of weak box office returns and straight-to video. Hogan has a big library of films, but nothing that jumps off the page. Sorry, but “No Holds Barred” is absolutely terrible and I think that got his film career off to a bad start. That and Hogan’s early unwillingness to try changing up his look or acting ability.
#8 – Macho Man Randy Savage
Come on, he was Bonesaw in the MASSIVE first Spider-Man film! While he essentially plays himself, he did exceptionally well and I get a tad emotional seeing him live and well in this film.
#7 – Jesse “the Body” Ventura
Could be higher, as much of Ventura’s film career is attributed to Arnold liking him and placing him in Predator and The Running Man. But it’s not like Jesse was there just for being liked by Arnold, as Jesse excelled in both of those roles and then in later roles until hanging up the acting tights to become Governor. “No time to bleed” quote is remembered for life.
#6 – Andre the Giant
Come on, “The Princess Bride”. One of the best films ever made. Watching it now, it brings tears to your eyes because we lost Andre so early but the entire cast on that film had nothing but love for Andre.
#5 – Kevin Nash
Nash doesn’t get love for his roles… He was in freakin’ Magic Mike, which might not be a film for you, but was MASSIVE for the female crowd. He was Super Shredder in freakin’ Ninja Turtles 2, which blows my mind to this day. Great job in the Punisher, too, as the Russian and he took a serious beating in that film!
#4 – Rowdy Roddy Piper
If you have never seen John Carpenter’s “They Live”, make it a point to seek that film out. Seriously, it’s one of the BEST films ever made and one of the most ballsy films ever made, too. Carpenter took a chance on putting Piper in the film and Piper took a chance by leaving the WWE after the massive Wrestlemania 3 to star in this film. Otherwise, I always have a soft spot for “Body Slam”.
#3 – The Rock
Box office numbers, yes, the Rock is CLEARLY #1. Not going to dispute that… But Rock has a “quantity over quality” issue, as he’s thrown many films at the wall in hopes that something would stick and took on many safe action roles. For me, he just doesn’t have that defining role that Cena and Batista now have, let alone the many defining roles that Bruce, Sly, and Arnold each had even as action stars. That said, the Rock can still climb this chart if the Smashing Machine does well and if his live-action Moana performance does incredible which I think it will. Take chances, Dwayne, and then your newer risks will be added on top of your existing resume.
#2 – Batista
Drax the Destroyer, need I say more? 3 Guardians of the Galaxy films, 2 Avengers films, and a hilarious Christmas special that I’ll watch annually moving forward. Had Peacemaker not been so incredible, Batista would be #1 alone for his work as Drax. Period.
#1 – John Cena
Call it premature, but Peacemaker is THAT GOOD. He’s the best character that any wrestler has ever portrayed and he’s just in the infancy of playing this character. Lots of runway to go… Because of simply that, he’s the best. Plus, his comedies are hilarious and his action roles in Bumble Bee, Fast and the Furious, and The Suicide Squad were all well done performances and had different degrees of characters.
John Cena’s star is only going to get bigger thanks to an amazing output of film and television and his WWE run.
Many rip the WWE’s creative surrounding his heel turn and then turning him back to babyface, but I’d argue that John Cena’s retirement tour has been very successful BECAUSE of that heel turn. Wrestlemania 41 was looking subpar until Cena turned heel in a shocking fashion at Elimination Chamber 2025 and having John Cena in the main event again has been entertaining for me.
The issue with Cena is that he’s just too popular to turn into a heel. The Cena haters of the early 2010s respect him because what has came since his SummerSlam 2014 demolishing, such as overpushing an inexperienced Roman Reigns from 2014 to early 2020 or trying people like Kofi Kingston as champion, has been subpar. But I also believe John Cena doing great in Hollywood has also boosted his relevance, and I think arenas have been packed throughout 2025 for the WWE because of Cena’s rising Hollywood star. His final few shows are getting serious demand-push inflation on ticket prices right now.
And then when Cena is gone, I predict that attendance will drop, just like it dropped during 2015 when Cena was limited and throughout 2016 when he wasn’t there much.
Cena’s 2025 return and retirement tour has proved why he’s only behind Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin as WWE’s top draws and he’s outdrawing Roman Reigns this year because somehow John Cena has made more WWE appearances and wrestled more matches than Roman Reigns during 2025. History will show that Roman peaked through 2023 and has been coasting on fumes since that period of time, while his opportunity to wrestle the Rock was blown. Cena has wrestled in 13 matches while Roman has only wrestled on 5, while Cena has been on television way more. Best ability is availability and even with filming Peacemaker, which is an 8-episode series, Cena has made himself more available than Roman Reigns has in a non-staring role of a 2 hour movie.
John Cena is a bigger WWE superstar than the Rock and soon, everyone will realize that he’s overtaken the Rock in Hollywood too.
Go watch the Peacemaker HBO MAX series, please… You won’t regret it. Some of the best TV ever made!
And watch Roddy Piper’s “They Live”. You won’t regret watching that masterpiece, either, especially when you’re all out of bubblegum!
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