The best John Cena movies and TV shows prove that the transition from professional wrestling into acting was a great career move for the WWE superstar. Born in Massachusetts in 1977, John Cena rose to international fame through his highly successful WWE career, with whom he signed in 2001. He made his mainstream roster debut in 2002 on SmackDown, and went on to hold the WWE Championship belt a record-breaking 13 times.
However, like Dwayne Johnson before him, John Cena had ambitions outside the ring. He appeared in his first movie in 2006, The Marine, followed by 12 Rounds in 2008 and Legendary in 2010, all three of which were produced by WWE Studios. However, Cena’s acting career truly took off in 2015 with the comedies Trainwreck and Sisters. Since then, the WWE star has proved he’s also an incredible comedic talent, as the best John Cena movies and TV shows prove.
2017’s Daddy’s Home 2 is the sequel to 2015’s Daddy’s Home, which saw John Cena make a brief closing-credits cameo as Roger, the ex-husband of Dusty’s (Mark Wahlberg) wife Karen. John Cena returns as Roger in Daddy’s Home 2 in a much more plot-centric capacity, going directly against Dusty to win back Karen’s affection.
While the movie itself wasn’t as well received as the 2017 original, John Cena’s increased presence ensures that Daddy’s Home 2 surpasses it when considering his best movies and TV shows. Daddy’s Home 2 may have failed as a sequel as far as many are concerned, but John Cena’s performance was a definite highlight, and remains some of his funniest on-screen moments to date. Of particular note is his on-screen chemistry with Mark Wahlberg, and that he managed to carry one of the more emotional scenes of the film (when Roger decides to stay at Karen and Dusty’s Xmas celebration to be with his daughter, Adrianna).
Writers
John Francis Daley, Tom Mullen, Jonathan Goldstein, Clay Tarver, Tim Mullen
Vacation Friends stands out among the best John Cena movies as it’s one of the earlier examples of a comedy in which he’s playing the zanier wacky character rather than a serious presence the central comedic presence can bounce off of. The 2021 movie from director Clay Tarver was released directly to Hulu, and stars Cena as part of an ensemble cast that also includes Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orjo, and Meredith Hagner.
John Cena stars in Vacation Friends as Ron, who (alongside Meredith Hagner’s Kyla) crash the wedding of Marcus (Howery) and Emily (Orji) after meeting them on vacation. They prove to be the guests from hell, and it’s a delight watching John Cena cause chaos as a happy-go-lucky character. While Vacation Friends received mixed reviews from critics, it remains one of the best John Cena movies so far.
While the majority of the best John Cena movies and TV shows utilize the WWE star for his comic talents, this isn’t always the case. Cena has proved he’s just as suited for dramatic roles as well as comedy parts, and few movies in his filmography demonstrate this as clearly as 2017’s The Wall, from director Doug Liman. Cena plays Staff Sergeant Shane Matthews, an infantryman in the U.S. Army stationed in the Middle East.
John Cena co-stars alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson in The Wall, and the pair share an incredible chemistry as two infantrymen pinned down by a sniper in the Iraq war. It’s one of the tensest movies Cena has appeared in. There are many moments in The Wall that are truly nailbiting, and it should be considered a must-watch title for John Cena fans who predominantly know him for his wrestling or comedy careers.
The Matthew Vaughn spy comedy Argylle proved to be a hit when it arrived on Apple TV+ in 2024, and the incredibly well-selected cast was a key reason why. Among the wide ensemble which includes Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Catherine O’Hara, Bryan Cranston, and Samuel L. Jackson is John Cena in one of his most intriguing roles so far.
John Cena plays Wyatt in Argylle, one of several characters (such as Henry Cavill’s Argylle) who exist in the mind of author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard). While Argylle isn’t Cena’s most central casting, his presence elevates his scenes, turning a role that could have been a somewhat forgettable one into an incredibly memorable presence. Of particular note is his chemistry with Henry Cavill, and should Argylle 2 go ahead, many would like to see Wyatt’s presence in the story elevated.
Writers
Eben Russel, Jim Kehoe, Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, Brian Kehoe
Teen sex comedies have come a long way since the controversial days of films like 199’s American Pie, and a key change has been the emergence of movies that focus on the female, rather than male, experience. Among the best of these is 2018’s Blockers, which still stands not only as one of the funniest John Cena movies, but one of the most hilarious teen comedies of the 2010s.
John Cena co-stars in the ensemble cast of Blockers as Mitchell, the father of Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan), one of three girls who make a group pact to lose their virginities on prom night. Portraying an overbearing father failing to come to terms with his daughter becoming a young adult proved to be a fitting role for Cena, even though Mitchell is somewhat more grounded (and relies considerably less on his physical stature) than his usual castings.
The Transformers movies have been one among the most successful blockbuster sci-fi films of the last few decades, and in 2018 they got their first spinoff, the character-centric prequel spinoff focusing on the titular Autobot. The story, set in the 1980s, required a new group of characters to differentiate it from movies later in the timeline, and among the fresh faces was John Cena as Sector 7 agent Jack Burns.
While Burns could have been a gruff and two-dimensional character, John Cena managed to make the former U.S. Army Colonel unexpectedly funny. Moments like Jack Burns asking if the evil Transformers the Government wants to work with calling themselves Decepticons stands out as a red flag or not are among the comedic highlights of Bumblebee. Cena’s presence truly elevates the Transformers spinoff, and it remains among his best movies so far.
Writers
Jeff Bushell, Brian Jarvis, James Lee Freeman, Peter Farrelly, Pete Jones, Mike Cerrone
2024’s Ricky Stanicky is a quirky comedy from director Peter Farrelly, and it’s perhaps the entry among all the best John Cena movies that sees the former WWE star commit most to comedic antics. Releasing directly to Amazon Prime Video, Ricky Stanicky focuses on a group of friends who create a fake persona (the titular Ricky Stanicky) to be the scapegoat for their various antics.
However, circumstances soon find they need to hire an actor to play the “real” Ricky Stanicky in their day-to-day lives. This is where John Cena’s Rod enters the picture, and the results are nothing short of hilarious. Cena absolutely excels in the role, with Rod/Ricky Stanicky being one of the most bombastic characters of his filmography so far. While critical response was mixed, John Cena’s performance received notable praise for how far he pushed himself and the results doing so brought.
3 F9 (2021)
John Cena Plays Jakob Toretto
In the 2020s, John Cena is no stranger to blockbuster franchises, having appeared in the likes of the DCEU and Transformers. 2021 saw him lend his name to another instantly recognizable cinematic brand - the Fast and Furious movies. 2021’s F9, from director Justin Lin, is the 9th Fast and Furious movie. The F9 cast included returning franchise faces like Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez, but also new faces too, among them John Cena as Jakob Toretto.
John Cena’s Jakob is the estranged brother of Vin Diesel’s Dom, and so was, of course, an instantly integral part of the Fast saga (where family is everything, after all). Jakob Toretto proved to be one of the fiercest foes faced by Dom yet, and it was all thanks to John Cena's incredible mix of physical presence and gritty, aggressive vocal delivery.
2 The Suicide Squad (2021)
John Cena Plays Peacemaker (AKA Christopher Smith)
Considering that his switch from acting to wrestling in the 2010s coincided with the rise of popularity of the superhero genre, it seemed inevitable that John Cena would star in a Marvel or DC movie sooner or later. However, nobody predicted that his eventual venture into the world of capes and cowls in 2021’s The Suicide Squad would be quite so successful - or hilarious. The James Gunn DCEU movie starred John Cena as Peacemaker, one anti-hero in an all-star ensemble that also included Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Idris Elba’s Deadshot.
While every member of the cast of The Suicide Squadbrought something unique to the table, John Cena was the breakout star for many. His performance as Peacemaker, especially during scenes shared with Idris Elba, was an instant hit with fans. It helped secure Cena his own spin-off show, and remains one of his best movies to date.
1 Peacemaker (2022-Present)
John Cena Plays Peacemaker (AKA Christopher Smith)
Not only did his performance as Peacemaker in The Suicide Squadcemented the 2021 DCEU film as the best John Cena movie, but it also spawned a spin-off for violent vigilante Christopher Smith. Season 1 of Peacemaker arrived in 2022, and still stands as the best John Cena TV show (and the finest work of his filmography overall).
Peacemaker takes everything that made John Cena’s The Suicide Squad and spins the violent hilarity out into 8 hour-long episodes (with Peacemaker season 2 also in the works). The show also gave Peacemaker his own roster of supporting characters, all of whom have incredible chemistry with Cena (especially Freddie Stroma as Vigilante). Nothing else the former WWE star has appeared in makes use of his unique comedic style and physicality quite as well, ensuring that Peacemaker stands as the best John Cena movie or TV show.
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