• Another WWE Legend Was Originally Supposed To Be Peacemaker Instead Of John Cena
John Cena has been a part of multiple projects in Hollywood. His most famous role has been Peacemaker, a character that first appeared in The Suicide Squad film written and directed by James Gunn.
A year later, a TV series centered on Peacemaker debuted, which was also created by Gunn. Interestingly, the Peacemaker character wasn’t originally written with John Cena in mind.
James Gunn revealed on a recent episode of The Howard Stern Show that he wrote the character for Batista, Cena’s former WWE rival and fellow Hollywood star.
“I wrote the character of Peacemaker for him, and we offered him the role, but (he) was offered two movies, and we weren’t paying him a lot, so he had to go where the money was.”
Season 2 of Peacemaker is currently underway, with the next episode set to air tonight on HBO Max.
• More On WrestleMania 43 Taking Place In Saudi Arabia
WrestleMania is heading to new territory. Turki Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, announced in a Snapchat video that WrestleMania 43 will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2027, marking the first time the event will be held outside of North America.
Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp quickly reached out to WWE for confirmation, but the company has yet to comment. One WWE higher-up told Fightful that “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” hinting that Triple H’s recent remarks about “inspiring change” could have been tied to this looming announcement.
PWInsider added that an Arabic-language press release confirming the news briefly went live before being pulled. English-speaking outlets never received it, but sources close to the situation confirmed it existed.
WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has long included discussions about hosting a WrestleMania. Officials in the Kingdom have pushed for it since the partnership began in 2018, and earlier this year Fightful reported that plans were in motion, with ideas ranging from a traditional WrestleMania to a potential “Super WrestleMania” branding.
Internally, WWE has also explored branding strategies like “Wrestlepalooza” to diversify its biggest events, generate new site fees, and attract bids from global locations. That effort appears to line up with Saudi’s ambitions to secure a WrestleMania.
Those familiar with the situation believe an official announcement is coming this week, possibly Friday in Las Vegas. The timing would coincide with TKO’s promotion of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford superfight in the city, an event backed by Riyadh Season.
