The Marine could have looked very different.
Cena’s debut movie was The Marine, which was released in 2006. Its critical reception was abysmal and fans didn’t like it either. However, it would still be the catalyst for Cena’s future career in Hollywood, where he is now one of the most famous stars alongside fellow former pro wrestlers Batista and The Rock.
While speaking on Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, Bruce Prichard confirmed that John Cena was not the original character they had in mind for the role but it was Steve Austin instead.
“It was [The Marine was actually written for Stone Cold Steve Austin]. Well, yeah, but see, I think the part of the problem was that the Condemned rating was ‘R.’ And so, it alienated a lot of our audience at that point. But to me, Steve was an ‘R-rated guy’ anyway. I don’t know how you could have done the Condemned with the PG-Rating. But I thought Steve would have been great in The Marine, too.
Something to Wrestle With Bruce Prichard
Of course, as Bruce mentions, Stone Cold was likely turned off by the age rating for the movie, hence why he chose to act in The Condemned instead.
H/T to RingsideNews
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