I will watch, play, read, and consume anything with John Cena. The Man Who Can’t Be Seen was my first childhood crush, and that fascination has extended into adulthood as he begins to star in exceedingly bigger films and TV shows. He isn’t just a WWE superstar anymore, he’s a gamer.
Now, the Doctor of Thuganomics has infiltrated the world of Overwatch 2, single-handedly reigniting my interest in a free-to-play hero shooter I lost passion for months ago. The power of this man is not to be underestimated, and I hope Blizzard understands the potential it has unleashed here.
Blizzard has been using a mysterious figure called ‘Enigma’ to interrupt the streams of content creators to share details of what’s to come in the upcoming Invasion update. Obviously, most of these events are scripted given Cena’s involvement, but it’s a fun little meta that leans into Overwatch 2’s motley crew of unexpected heroes and evil organisations. It’s utterly ridiculous, but strangely compelling in how the fandom has been buying into this unknown force and what it possibly means for story missions they’ve been waiting months for. Here’s hoping Blizzard didn’t blow its budget on Cena and said missions are more than waves of copy and pasted robots to kill.
The reveal trailer has Cena hunched over a desk mashing into a tiny keyboard with his massive gamer hands as a distorted narration acts as a distress call to disbanding heroes in dire need of regrouping to fight Null Sector. Several locations are listed as Cena rises from the desk and plays with a number of weapons displayed on a nearby wall. Reinhardt’s hammer and Tracer’s pistol - both of which look like cosplay props - are shown with amazing detail, all before Cena returns to his desk to remove his hood to reveal his hidden identity. He’s still wearing a baseball cap to hide his receding hairline, but he’s still dreamy and would protect me from all harm if I asked him to like a true American Hero should…
It remains unclear if Cena’s involvement is little more than a marketing tactic, or if his character will be referenced by other characters. Maybe if we’re lucky, he’ll even make a brief appearance in-game as part of the upcoming PvE missions. He’s obviously a vital part of narrative glue holding the Overwatch reunion together, so even a brief voiceline or two would be amazing. Part of me just wants to see John Cena in Overwatch form, even if he never emerges as a playable hero, since that might be going too far for a joke. Or maybe it should take things that far, indulging in this celebrity crossover to reignite interest in a fading live service shooter well past its prime.