Since WrestleMania 19, John Cena has been involved in some capacity at WrestleMania.
Whether he's had rap battles with cardboard cutouts, attending as a fan, or competing in the main event; Cena has always had a presence on the Grandest Stage of Them All over 15 years.
That changed at WrestleMania 37 when Cena was nowhere to be seen. Cena had warned fans that he would not be part of the event due to filming commitments, but in wrestling, saying "I'm not going to be there" just adds more fuel to fans believing you'll show up.
Speaking to Graham Matthews of Bleacher Report, Cena discussed how it felt to miss WrestleMania for the first time in almost two decades.
"We all have a window. And I love listening to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin talk about his window. My goal when I stepped foot in WWE was to leave it better than I found it, and it's really great to be able to see an event. I almost had the best transition you can possibly have. My last two WrestleManias were very interesting: an almost cinematic-type match and before that I was a fan. I got to sit in the crowd and see WrestleMania. I got to see the product. I got to see a stadium full of fans and it was beautiful. I felt at home," he said.
Cena continued, "I want to be where I am and doing what I am, that's why I made that choice. I think it's really special, and we all think they're never going to go on without us. That's not true. It's more reassuring to me to not only see that WWE has a life after me, which is inevitable for sure, but that the life is thriving. There's so many great storylines, so many great matches. It's called WrestleMania, not CenaMania, you know? I've been a part [of it], and that part is over."
Cena literally disappeared from WWE television at WrestleMania 36 in his Firefly Fun House match against Bray Wyatt.
It is unknown when or if Cena will return to WWE TV.
