Metroid fans were made to wait an awfully long time between 2D games in the series before Dread finally launched last year. What most of them probably don't realize is they were sharing that lengthy and agonizing wait with John Cena, and in 2017, the multi-time WWE Champion gave Nintendo a little nudge, repeatedly asking them to make a new title in the 2D Metroid series.
That's according to Giant Bomb's Dan Ryckert, who previously worked in WWE. Ryckert posted the famous photo of Cena playing a Switch in a very Nintendo-heavy room. The photo not only garnered online fame because it confirmed Cena is a gamer like the rest of us, but also because his shoes were bizarrely the exact same pattern as the carpet. Living up to his “you can't see me” mantra from the ankles down.
Cena might look pretty stiff in the photo, but apparently, he wasn't just sitting there holding a Joy-Con staring at a blank screen. The talkative WWE Superstar saw his window and took the opportunity to bug Nintendo about a new 2D Metroid game. “During this photo shoot in 2017, Cena repeatedly told the Nintendo reps how much he wanted a new 2D Metroid,” Ryckert revealed.
“When Metroid Dread came out years later, he was sent a copy. Cena’s people sent an email back saying 'John loves it'.” In case you're still thinking this is all one funny prank on Ryckert's part, shortly after he tweeted the photo, Krysta Yang, who worked for Nintendo at the time of the photo, confirmed it to be true and shared a Cena photo of her own. “He did say how much of a Metroid fan he was. He’s a really nice guy,” she tweeted.
Between wrestling, making movies, working out, and granting wishes, it's hard to imagine Cena has the time to kick back and play games, but apparently he does. The clues were there all along too. Cena has worn ring gear inspired by classic Nintendo games like Super Mario Bros. in the past. Perhaps he and Stone Cold have shared a beer and talked about how much they both love Breath of the Wild.