John Cena and Nikki Bella kiss on ‘SmackDown Live.’ (WWE.com)
John Cena proposed to Nikki Bella at WrestleMania 33 on Sunday. So what’s next for the soon-to-be-married couple? Are they taking time off from SmackDown Live?
Cena and Bella are indeed both about to begin a hiatus from the WWE, although this was planned before the engagement, and they’re each taking time off for different reasons. Nikki Bella is doing so to heal her neck; her neck was injured in 2015, and she had major surgery on it in early 2016. There was actually some speculation around this time as to whether Nikki Bella would ever be able to wrestle again.
Bella explained in a recent interview why she would need some time off to heal this year.
“I have a slight herniation above where I had surgery,” Bella said in an interview with Between the Ropes. “I just got cleared by my surgeon Wednesday, so I’m good to go….I kind of sprained my neck, and we found out some other stuff is going on, so I’m definitely going to have to take some time to heal that. But I’m cleared. I’m competing at WrestleMania.”
Bella was actually supposed to perform at a number of live events leading up to WrestleMania, but she was pulled from them due to this neck issue.
Meanwhile, John Cena is taking time off because he’s about to become incredibly busy with his Hollywood career. He’s getting ready to film The Pact, a comedy about three fathers trying to prevent their teenage daughters from having sex on prom night which comes out in April 2018. Cena stars in the movie alongside Leslie Mann.
We don’t know exactly how long he’ll be gone, but it looks like Cena’s hiatus will last for a good chuck of the year. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter via Forbes, Cena is not advertised for any SmackDown events after this week, and he’s not even advertised for Money in the Bank, which will be held on June 18th, 2017.
Cena just came back from a hiatus a few months ago; he was off shooting his TV show American Grit. He has several movies coming to theaters this year, including Daddy’s Home 2 and Ferdinand.