In an Aug. 6 interview with People, the WWE champion opened up about his life-changing hair transplant and facing the pressures of aging in the spotlight.
Last July, John announced that he’s retiring from the ring in 2025, and explained that “age plays a factor.” The 17-time WWE World champion wants to make room for young, new wrestlers. “I’m not as strong or as fast as I used to be. I made a promise when I started gaining some notoriety that when I’m a step slower, I will go, because there will be kids just as hungry as I was who have earned a shot to see if they can make it,” he said.
As his retirement from wrestling approaches, he’s focusing on his health and 4-year marriage to Shay Shariatzadeh. “My health and my dedication to my partner are the tip of my spear in life right now, so I think every time I go out [in the ring], I just want to make sure I’m able to give my all, but it’s time to step away,” John continued.
The Peacemaker actor said his “farewell” tour will serve as a closure for his fans, who he described as “the reason for my optimism, my perserveance, my passion.”
“They don’t let you get away with phoning it in, because they’ll eat you alive,” he added, before opening up about a topic that he’s addressed recently after bullying from fans: his hair loss, and whether or not he got a hair transplant.
“As I was trying to hide my hair loss, the audience was bringing it to light,” John said.
“I saw their signs that said ‘The bald John Cena,'” he said. “They pushed me into going to see what my options were. I now have a routine: red-light therapy, minoxidil, vitamins, shampoo, conditioner — and I also got a hair transplant last November.”
“I hate the fact that if there wasn’t so much shame around it, I’d have gotten it done 10 years ago. I thought I was alone, but seven or eight out of 10 [men] suffer from thinning or baldness.”
The bullying doesn’t work on John in the same way at this point in his career. He’s actually “fired up” about the topic of his hair. “If somebody’s going to sweat me for that, I don’t think there’s any shame in that,” he said. “It completely changed the course of my life.”
The wrestling superstar has established himself as an actor with recurring roles in action movies like the Fast and Furious franchise, Heads of State (2025), or comedies like 2023’s Vacation Friends 2 and Barbie. And John said his hair has given him more range to continue his acting. “A different hairstyle can identify a part that can get me more work, do the thing I love to do.”
Read the full interview with People here.
