AMPTP's Refusal To End Strikes Forces John Cena Back Into Wrestling Ring
The entertainment industry has been effectively shut down for over 100 days now, as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has yet to negotiate a fair and equitable deal with both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), inciting the first dual strike in over 50 years. Studio heads are continuing to live comfortably off of their million-dollar salaries as striking workers are only able to pay rent thanks to generous donations to the Entertainment Community Fund and thanks to wealthy celebrities comping meals at certain establishments.
As productions and press tours are at a standstill, it's left a lot of creative folks with a lot of time on their hands. Had the AMPTP made a deal that didn't include dystopian regulations like the ability to create digital replicas of actors to use in perpetuity without compensation or consent of how they would be used, perhaps productions like season 2 of "Peacemaker" would be shooting. But since that ain't happenin', John Cena now has the free time to return to WWE for his longest run in five years. Cena was the top guy at WWE for many years but pivoted to a part-time schedule in 2018 so he would have more time to commit to acting projects (and stop putting his body through the ringer). For the last 5 years, getting the opportunity to see Cena wrestle was like seeing a shooting star.
Okay, no one is forcing Cena back into the ring, but make no mistake, this is only happening because the AMPTP is unnecessarily extending a strike that has already cost the industry far more than what it would cost to meet the asks of WGA and SAG-AFTRA. And I'm petty, so my headline is reflecting it.
Making history while history is being made
John Cena has a say in the type of creative work he's involved in, like his Wrestlemania 36 feud with the incomparable Bray Wyatt in 2020. From a storytelling perspective, Cena's return has the potential to lead to a history-making event. Not to bore any non-wrestling readers out there but Cena is one title away from becoming a Grand Slam Champion, which means having held the World title, a Tag-Team title, and (in the current revised format) both the U.S. and Intercontinental titles. Cena has everything except for the Intercontinental title, which is currently held by Gunther, the longest-reigning champion of the 21st century and the second-longest reign in history.
I have no idea what WWE creative has planned to eventually get that belt off of Gunther, but having him drop the title in a historic event making Cena a Grand Slam Champion would be a hell of an ending — and a means to keep Gunther strong, even with a loss. Cena has been announced as exclusively appearing on Smackdown and although Gunther wrestles on RAW, Cena's a free agent so he could theoretically do whatever he wants! Or they could completely waste a cool storyline with the roughly two months they have Cena back on TV, which wouldn't be a shock to anyone, either.
But I (and I cannot stress this enough) admittedly feel weird about Cena's return, because this shouldn't be happening. Cena should be on set for "Peacemaker" or any of the number of projects he'd signed onto before the strikes, but he's not. He's going to be wrestling again, and no amount of excitement that Cena or the fans have about the situation erases the fact that this availability only exists because the AMPTP has yet to negotiate what should be a historic deal.
And lest we forget, the WWE is non-union and none of those performers have health insurance through their employer.
Author's Note: This article previously stated Gunther wrestles on Smackdown, but as of the 2023 WWE Draft in April, he is now on RAW. This was an oversight due to my not following WWE religiously after the return of Vince McMahon because it's hard to support a company with him in charge.