John Cena has endured more injuries than most athletes could imagine, but according to the WWE legend, he's never once taken a pain pill to get through them.
During a wide-ranging conversation on The Joe Rogan Experience, Cena revealed that despite a 23-year career filled with neck fusions, detached muscles, and multiple reconstructive procedures, he has always refused post-surgery pain medication.
"I've had fusion in my neck, right pec completely detached, reattached both triceps, scoped nose," said Cena. "I've had probably 10 physical surgeries where they had to go in and correct something. Never taken one pain pill."
He even admitted the prescriptions doctors gave him over the years are still sitting untouched: "I have all the prescriptions in the bottom drawer of my house. Some are labeled 2008."
One surgery in particular left doctors stunned: the reattachment of his pectoral muscle.
"When I woke up, I was able to mess around with a stress ball, and I never took one pill," Cena said. "The medical staff couldn't believe it."
Cena explained that while he understands why people rely on medication, especially when anesthesia wears off and the pain "hits a 10-out-of-10," he believes pain itself is part of the healing process.
"It's a slippery slope. I'd just be high on opioids all the time," he told Rogan. "Pain is your body's natural way of saying, 'Okay, maybe push a little bit more, try to get a few more degrees of range of motion.' If those senses are shut off, you won't do the work to get better."
When asked where his pain tolerance comes from, Cena credited his upbringing.
"I grew up with four brothers, and we kicked the shit out of each other… There's some value into losing a fight, getting your ass kicked, and dusting yourself off," he explained.
Still, Cena admitted he’s not invincible. After Rogan described a stem-cell procedure involving a huge needle, Cena laughed and said there are things he’s afraid of.
"I'd be shitting cufflinks if you get that stem cell needle out," he joked.
Cena also used the interview to shed light on how grueling professional wrestling really is. Many newcomers assume the ring is soft until they hit the mat, and he contrasted WWE—where performing while constantly absorbing impact is the job—with the UFC, which is all about survival.
"They fall down once and the wind's knocked out of them, like, 'My brain moved,'" Cena said. "And then you've got to do that again and again [...] In WWE, we're working together to put on the best show, but that's years and years of falling down. It's choreographed risk, and the trauma adds up."