John Cena realized that he needed to completely forget his physical training to master martial arts in his film with Jackie Chan

 

Apart from Dwayne Johnson, John Cena is the other professional wrestling champion who has successfully made the seamless jump into Hollywood. Cena put his muscular prowess, strength, and arduous physical training in the WWE ring to good use in many action-packed films like The Marine, The Fast and the Furious films, and his marquee DC gig as Peacemaker.
WWE champion and Hollywood actor John Cena
With the skill that the former athlete possesses, one would assume that choreographed action sequences would be a walk in the park for him. But even the mighty John Cena was humbled and had to face reality when he shared screen space with Jackie Chan in Hidden Strike. For the first time, the star was out of his element, and realized that he had to undo all of his training and completely change his body structure to perfect the martial arts stunts in the film.

John Cena’s Extreme Martial Arts Training For Hidden Strike Left Him Depressed

John Cena and Jackie Chan starred together in Hidden Strike, a story about two elite soldiers who must escort a group of civilians to safety through one of the world’s most dangerous roads amid explosions and fire. While the filming happened a few years before, it released straight into streaming only in July 2023.

John Cena and Jackie Chan in Hidden Strike
While Hidden Strike presented an opportunity for Cena to try his skills at a different form of combat like the martial arts, the actor was not physically or emotionally prepared for how tough his training was going to be. In an interview with GQ, the Peacemaker actor revealed that the shock of the strenuous physical routine not only took a toll on his body, but also on his mental state.

Cena also realized that his training for a particular kind of physique in the wrestling ring, was now being completely wiped out to modify his body to bring in the flexibility that defined the essence of martial arts. This drastic change also affected Cena significantly.
“They just wanted me to kick over my head, which was impossible. I went over there to train with him for about three months and they stretched me like taffy.I immediately lost 20 pounds, which was very difficult for me. I even fell into a weird depression because it was like ‘I’m losing everything that I worked on for 30 years,’”
Cena’s determination to give it his all, ultimately paid rich dividends. The actor confessed that putting his body through this type of rigor allowed him to walk taller, be more flexible, and taught him that movement can work in different ways.

Why did John Cena’s Hidden Strike Receive a 0% Rotten Tomatoes Rating?

Hidden Strike released directly on Netflix in July 2023, and  gained steady popularity among viewers with the interesting and offbeat pairing of John Cena and Jackie Chan. Critics though, were not too enamored with the film, and gave it mixed reviews. In a peculiar occurrence, Rotten Tomatoes, which is a widely viewed movie review site known for its specific ratings, gave Cena’s film a 0% rating.
John Cena’s Hidden Strike received a 0% RT rating
The reason for this was the fact the the film was seen only by a handful of critics, considering its rather low key release on streaming. Since all 5 reviewers who initially saw the film gave it negative feedback, the rating stayed at 0%. Subsequently, a lone positive review that followed, bumped up the number to 17%. The unfavorable responses though, were negated by fans who lauded John Cena’s effort and his chemistry with Jackie Chan in the film.

Hidden Strike is streaming on Netflix