WWE's John Cena Assesses What A Character Needs To Be Interesting & Connect

Much like the movie and TV industry, professional wrestling is filled with over-the-top characters who exhibit incredible strength, grit, and the occasional supernatural feat. But, according to John Cena, who's flourished in both worlds, what makes a character connect with audiences has nothing to do with their physical abilities.

"The way you make any character interesting is vulnerability," Cena said during an appearance on NPR's "Bullseye." "A lot of characters don't want to look weak. They're afraid if they look weak, they won't have the interest of the audience. You can look weak. What you need to do is connect with the person that you're trying to communicate with. And a lot of that is the courage to be vulnerable."

A majority of Cena's WWE run was underscored by a powerful mix of boos and cheers, despite the company positioning him as a babyface. He noted that WWE's decision to embrace the dual reactions was a little atypical of how they would normally handle characters who weren't getting the reactions they wanted.

"Two things can happen — you tell the people who are booing, 'I hear you, and I don't like you, and I've never liked you,' and now you're a bad guy. Or, you block them out. You pretend they're not there and you keep going about your day. I was told to take the second path, but I did it under my own terms of smiling and remaining authentic to self," he explained.

Since Hollywood has become a priority for the 16-time world champion, the rare occasions he does resurface in pro wrestling tend to generate the pure babyface reactions WWE had always wanted. WWE will hope to get more of that in 2025 when Cena embarks on his farewell tour, making his final in-ring appearances at WWE's marquee events.