John Cena Shares How He Used To Be A ‘Big Gift Giver’ At Christmas While Working With WWE To ‘Buy Through His Workaholism’

John Cena shares how he would attempt to cover for his workaholism around the holidays in the form of gifts.

For over 20 years, John Cena was one of the WWE’s top stars around the globe, and retired in December of 2025 after completing his retirement tour, losing to Gunther in his final bout.

While speaking to SI: The Takedown in a recent interview, John Cena spoke about his gift giving habits, noting he would open the chequebook in order to cover for his workaholism.

“When I was full-time with WWE, the most important thing was literally covering my tracks for being a workaholic. So, I was a big gift giver, thinking that I could kind of buy through my workaholism. And now the most important thing for me is to be with those and connect with those I love,”

Cena continued, noting that he now focuses on family from December 15th to the beginning of  January.

“I make sure around [December] 15th, I am a ghost and I will resurface about January 4th or 5th. And in that time, I make sure to spend 10 days in Massachusetts with my family and 10 days in Canada with my wife’s side of the family. I’d say the past six years, that’s been my path of action. And boy, it’s really been rewarding and great.”

Recent addition to the John Cena Classic, Zilla Fatu, showed off the gifts participants receive recently. You can read more about that here.