John Cena Has Only One Goal For His Post-Retirement Run With WWE (Exclusive)

John Cena is retired from WWE, but he's still John Cena. That means a lot.

Cena hung up the wrestling boots and jorts after taking a submission loss to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event last year and he vehemently maintains that he's not going to ever put them back on for physical action in a WWE ring. Business action? That's an entirely different beast.

In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, Cena gave an update on his retirement, his goal for WWE now that he's not an active wrestler, and how he's changing the business for current WWE Superstars.

"It's great," Cena said of in-ring retirement. "Physically, I feel great. Gosh, I love watching the product. As you saw, I was having a bunch of fun at WrestleMania. Really looking forward to the future and my future role in WWE."

Cena admitted to being a tad confused about his retirement, but reconfirmed that he won't ever do physical in-ring work again. He's still passionate about the business and WWE as brand, so he's working to figure out where he fits in now. Cena and the WWE are still moving the pieces around to make that a harmonious relationship, but they're on the right path. Ultimately, Cena has a simple goal for his out of ring career in WWE. Just make it better.

"I just want to try to develop a way to pay it back and pay it forward for all the moments I was able to have," Cena said. "My goal is to leave the business better than I found it and there has to be some acumen behind it. (This is) a chance for the business to continue to get energy from me, because they've given me so much energy."

How did John Cena know he was ready to retire?

John Cena was the special host of WrestleMania 42 this year in Las Vegas. He announced the John Cena Classic at Backlash earlier this month. In both of those appearances, Cena stuck to his word. He did nothing physical.

The Never Seen 17-Time World Champion opened up about the physicality that comes along with being a WWE Superstar for over 20 years. He said he could feel himself slowing down, but data showed a slow down too and that's why he retired when he did.

"As much as I love feel and I love passion, I also love data," Cena said. "I'm a strength athlete, so I consistently test one-rep max. I test vertical jump, all of these metrics — whatever they tested at the combine.

"When these numbers start to go down, you look at it like, 'Okay, why? I'm getting plenty of rest. I'm training on a regular schedule. I'm not eating like garbage. I'm hydrated. My caffeine intake is monitored. All the data lines up. You should be strong.' And then you look at the age graphic, and you're like, 'Oh, man.'"

Cena said that he saw the retirement writing on the wall when he was 45-years-old. He admitted that he could change his style and hang around, but said that there was a cost involved with that.

"The game just looks too fast for me, because it is," Cena said. "I could change my style at the risk of ruining that energy that WWE invested in me. And that's tough, because from an ego standpoint, you've got to step away from the audience. I love it. It's great, but that's not respectful to the fans and it's not respectful to the company."

John Cena sets out to leave the wrestling business better than he found it

Cena is hosting big events and making major announcements in his new WWE role. He's also changing the business game for his fellow WWE Superstars.

Cena is the face of Tarsus and Demodex Blepharitis, a common eyelid disease affecting approximately 25 million Americans. Demodex Blepharitis, or, eyelid mites. Asking Cena about eyelid mites wasn't on my bingo card of potential interview questions for a 17-time world champion, but just like he is with WWE, Cena is a passionate partner there too.

"Authentic storytelling has given me so many opportunities in life," Cena said. "It's allowed me to have a second birth on screen and in television and it's allowed companies like Tarsus to be like, 'Hey, wait, you were affected by this. We have the only FDA-approved treatment in Xdemvy.'

John Cena Addresses WWE Fan Backlash Over John Cena Classic Announcement (Exclusive)

"This whole thing has kind of been like a happy accident. My eyes were gone, right? I'm 49, I read a lot, and I started reading pages three times. I also had itchy eyes, red eyes, eye crusties. We all get them. I was self-diagnosing like an idiot. I was like, “I'm getting old. This is just how my life is. I went to an eye doctor. The eye doctor was like, 'Yep, you're right, your eyes are gone.' He also said something I didn't know: 'You have eyelid mites.' And he's like, 'Hey, don't worry. There is an FDA-approved treatment here, Xdemvy from Tarsus."

How does this diagnosis and partnership help the current wrestling business and the current crop of talent? Cena says it helps attract new fans and opens up new revenue doors for WWE Superstars.

"When I got into the business, Madison Avenue, let's say, wouldn't even talk to us," Cena said of the capital of the advertising industry. "Since then, one by one, it's become more acceptable to be associated with pro wrestling ... (It's a) huge gain on a macro level. We have an entity and a whole category that wasn't interested in us before, and now they're like, 'No, this is a great idea.'

"It just spreads the reach. I love our passionate fans, but there are (other) passionate fans out there — they just don't know it yet. We can get there. Leaving the business better than where I found it: that's my objective. So, partnerships like this are a dream come true, because it's an easy sell for me."

Cena is not booked for a WWE appearance at this point in time, but he continues to be the voice of the new Club WWE program. I didn't have to ask, because I already knew the answer. He's doing it because he wants to leave the WWE in a better place.

"I pride myself as a brand partner, because that's great for WWE. It's great for us individually. People around the world, around the globe, take pro wrestling more seriously, which leaves the business better than you found it. That's all I'm trying to do."

You can check out our full interview with John Cena in the YouTube video above. Please give us a thumbs up and consider subscribing for all of our exclusive interviews and talk shows.

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