John Cena reflects on his journey to self-assurance: 'Age plays a factor'

John Cena recently spoke about a myriad of different topics about his personal life and journey to success. 

In a new confessional with PEOPLE Magazine, John reflected on his life as a wrestler. 

During this chat, he admitted that his journey to self-assurance has been a lifelong one.

Reportedly, he started working on his physical strength at just 13 after growing tired of being picked on by school bullies.

“I got picked on for dressing a certain way or acting a certain way,” he began.

He recalled, “But the experience made me realize what was important in my life. I doubled down on being myself. And as a 12-, 13-, 14-year-old that doesn’t even have a fully formed mind yet, I just knew, ‘Hey, man, don’t waver. Just be you.’ That’s what helped me.”

After graduating from Springfield College, he climbed the ranks at Ultimate Pro Wrestling before debuting in WWE and maintained his position for over two decades.

That streak ended on March 1, when Cena shocked fans by ambushing Cody Rhodes and aligning himself with longtime rival Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Guinness World Records later recognized JOhn Cena’s unprecedented run as the longest babyface stint in professional wrestling history.

One month later, the wrestler cemented his legendary status by clinching his 17th WWE World Championship and officially became the most decorated wrestler of all time.

The back-to-back milestones are part of what he calls his “farewell tour,” following his announcement last July that he plans to retire from the ring in 2025.

“Age plays a factor,” he said candidly. 

“I’m not as strong or as fast as I used to be. I made a promise when I started gaining some notoriety that when I’m a step slower, I will go, because there will be kids just as hungry as I was who have earned a shot to see if they can make it.”

Now, nearly five years into his marriage to Shay Shariatzadeh, an engineer he met in Vancouver in 2019, he reflected and saidthat his outlook is evolving.