Before his WWE return, John Cena obtained permission from the Screen Actors Guild to return to wrestling during the SAG-AFTRA strike!
Cena opened up on how his WWE return came together despite the ongoing strikes in Hollywood while speaking to Corey Graves on WWE After The Bell. The 16-time world champion revealed that he went directly to the Screen Actors Guild for written and legal permission to work for WWE during the strike.
“Well, that’s certainly a happening that’s beyond my control. I’m fortunate enough to have a lot of things on the movie and television side lined up, none of which I can talk about because we’re in the middle of a labor dispute. Then the labor dispute happens and the Screen Actors Guild decides, as an entirety, to go on strike which either leaves me idle or asking questions of, ‘Well, what can I do? What is within my control?’
I wanted to see if it was okay to come back to tour so we called the proper people at SAG, we got written, legal okay that it’d be okay to come back to WWE. Once I had that, then I could ask the question of ‘Hey, WWE, do you guys want me to come back and hang out for a little bit?’ So here we are.”
Cena went on to admit that he had little difficulty in getting permission to make his WWE return, a surprising situation given the fear of many in the industry over what they can and can’t do due to the strike.
“No, I think at the beginning of the strike… and it’s been going on a long time, I do hope we can find a resolve soon that everybody’s happy with. But in the beginning of the strike, I think everyone was trepidatious on what can you do and what can’t you do
I know along the path of the strike, there have also been some situations on ‘Well, we shouldn’t do this and we shouldn’t do this.’ I’m very grateful to have a home in WWE and very grateful for the Screen Actors Guild to allow me to be a part of it.”
John Cena Recently Named The Greatest WWE Star Ever
Later in the same interview, John Cena was asked who he believes is the greatest WWE star of all time. Surprisingly, the legendary star was named a talent of the present instead of the past.
John Cena claimed that current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns deserves the spot, praising The Tribal Chief for his intelligence and athleticism. He also claimed that Roman Reigns was helped immensely by the no-crowd era as it allowed him to be himself.
h/t to Haus of Wrestling