John Cena may have a successful career as a professional wrestler and actor, but finding his footing in the entertainment industry was far from easy at the beginning.
Cena appeared on Kevin Hart’s talk show “Hart to Heart” to open up about the beginning of his career and trying to find a career in the fitness field after majoring in Exercise Physiology at Springfield College.
“I didn’t move out to LA to pursue entertainment,” Cena said candidly. “[I] came out here to apply my degree and really failed.”
The WWE star admitted that he went through a bout of homelessness and had to sleep in his 1991 Lincoln Town Car while in California, something he had previously confirmed to the US Sun tabloid in a 2021 interview. He said he felt lucky because the car “happened to be very roomy.”
As for food, Cena cut himself a pretty good deal with a local pizza shop — if he could finish the entire pizza himself, it was his for no cost.
“They had a deal where, if you could eat their whole pizza, you got it for free,” he told Hart. “I used to eat there every night, a whole pizza, so I didn’t have to pay, because I didn’t have the money to pay the guy.”
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He also told Hart that he knew he had a place to return to back in West Newbury, Massachusetts, and that it was “his choice to have hard times.” He said he “chose to stay out” in L.A. because he wanted to prove to himself and to his family that he could do it and make it on his own.
In a last-ditch effort, he enrolled in the Ultimate University’s Ultimate Pro Wrestling School, and, well — the rest is history.
“My whole existence is an accident,” he said. “My whole existence is based on a series of fortunate events.”
In 2018, Cena became the highest-paid WWE wrestler with estimated earnings of $10 million in 2017, up $2 million from the year prior.
Cena’s endeavors in wrestling and Hollywood acting (and even sometimes playing himself) have helped him build a net worth where he can buy as many large pizzas as he wants.
Blogs place Cena’s net worth at around $80 million.
This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur
