Earlier this week, former WWE star John Cena announced that he will be the host of WrestleMania 42 this month in Las Vegas, Nevada, but according to a new report, the 17-time World Champion was not originally planned to serve as the master of ceremonies for the two-night event.
On Thursday, Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select reported that Cena hosting this year’s WrestleMania was not an idea that was discussed as early as his retirement match at Saturday Night’s Main Event against GUNTHER in December. Cena apparently was asked to be present at WrestleMania this past February and agreed to taking on hosting duties for the weekend. Additionally, several reports have indicated that the move to have Cena host WrestleMania was in light of the lower-than-expected ticket sales for this year’s event, with WWE hoping that the “Never Seen 17’s” inclusion will fill more seats. On Monday, 39,866 tickets have been sold for night one, and 41,330 tickets have been sold for night two, which is 13.3 percent lower than last year’s show.
Throughout his farewell tour, Cena claimed that he would be open to taking on non-wrestling related opportunities within WWE, and just four months ago, he signed a five-year deal to be an ambassador for the company. Cena explained last December he begged WWE to allow him to be an employee in some capacity for as long as possible, but stated that he’s committed to not getting involved physically on-screen and breaking his promise to permanently retire.
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