WWE's John Cena Talks About Getting Into Pro Wrestling 'By Accident'

Wrestler-actor John Cena first rose to prominence with a lengthy run at the top of WWE. However, Cena didn't originally intend to become a wrestler, as he explained during a recent appearance on "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard." The WWE star was asked how he first made his way into the world of pro wrestling.

"By accident," Cena replied.

He then explained that, after moving to California from Massachusetts, he worked a series of jobs he disliked before landing an opportunity with Gold's Gym in Venice Beach. Cena slept in his car and showered in the gym at the time, and found himself preparing to enter the United States Marine Corps. However, a timely encounter led him down a different path.

"One of my friends, Mark Bell, and his brother Chris — they were like, 'Hey, we're training to be wrestlers in Orange County. Would you do that?'" Cena continued. "As soon as I saw a ring, I was like, 'Okay, this is going to be the thing that keeps me here.'"

At that moment, the future star of "The Marine" decided to forgo his planned military service and stay in California. Cena said that working a dead-end job during the week became easier when he knew that he'd be able to wrestle on the weekends. At first, Cena only saw wrestling as a hobby but, over time, he started taking it a little more seriously. A couple of years later, in 2001, Cena signed with WWE, kicking off a career that would skyrocket him to mega-stardom.

Cena made his most recent wrestling appearance at WWE WrestleMania 40 last weekend, where he helped Cody Rhodes win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. While Cena has said he intends to retire from wrestling in the not-too-distant future, he also plans to come back for another WWE run before that happens.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.