John Cena Discusses His WWE Storytelling, Says This Archetype Only Works So Long

Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena has discussed his thought process behind crafting his character, and emphasized what he strived to do to stay relevant with the audience.

For two decades, Cena has been one of the most important characters in WWE. His longevity in WWE may rarely be replicated, and during a recent appearance on "The Breakfast Club" show, he explained how he has used storytelling to build his character in WWE.

"Well, I've worked very hard to try and use my storytelling through WWE. If, again, I've had a 25-year arc as the same character, so if you essentially go out and play the same stuff all the time, people get tired. So you have to introduce your character. My character started as an underdog and a very brash, smack-talking character who got their ass kicked all the time," said Cena. 

The veteran star also expressed how his character had to change and evolve to keep the audience hooked constantly. He pointed out the various character traits that have helped him continue to capture the fans' attention.

"Then I began to lean into this sort of Superman persona, and that only works for so long. And then the audience — I really feel like I have a strong connection with the audience because I put myself out there. I'll embrace losing, I'll embrace embarrassment, I'll embrace failure, and I think those are all important things — not only as life skills, but to connect with the viewing audience so they can watch for a quarter of a century and still be like, 'That's my guy.'"

Cena recently gave the example of his current retirement tour to highlight how adaptable he is to changes made to the stories he is involved in within WWE, stating that he and WWE have pivoted many times over the last few months.