John Cena has opened up about the sentimental value behind his unconventional rubber wedding ring.
The WWE legend, 49, appeared on “Live with Kelly and Mark” last Friday where he showed off the simple band and explained why it outranks his estimated $80 million fortune in personal worth. Cena married product manager Shay Shariatzadeh in 2020, though pandemic delays pushed their formal celebration to a lavish 2022 ceremony in Vancouver, Canada.
“I want to be able to wear it all the time, and when I get the opportunity to play different characters, I have to take it on and off, and it gets scuffed up a lot. But it means everything to me,” Cena said during the daytime talk show appearance.
“It’s amazing that this rubber hoop is the most valuable possession I have,” the actor laughed.
The practical choice reflects Cena’s demanding schedule split between Hollywood productions and occasional wrestling returns. The durable material accommodates his need to remove the ring frequently for different roles without damaging a traditional metal band.
Cena’s path to this marriage nearly didn’t begin at all. Both he and Shariatzadeh needed convincing from friends on the night they first crossed paths. Cena told the hosts he was filming in Vancouver when his friend “convinced him to go out and watch a football game that he didn’t want to watch.”
“My now bride’s friends convinced her to a go to bar that she never goes to,” he continued. “So two strangers meet in a barn. The rest is history.”
The former 16-time world champion was quick to downplay any smoothness in his approach. “She’s a trooper, I have not been called cool ever,” Cena admitted.
The rubber ring revelation follows Cena’s recent explanation for another habitual gesture fans have noticed on red carpets. He carries a pocket watch engraved with the phrase “comparison is the thief of joy,” reaching for it during moments of self-doubt. “You will see me literally rubbing it in places where I feel like less than,” he shared.
Cena’s stance on marriage itself has shifted notably over the years. Following his 2012 divorce from first wife Elizabeth Huberdeau, he had publicly stated he did not want to remarry. His six-year relationship with WWE star Nikki Bella, documented on E!’s “Total Bellas,” illustrated his earlier resistance to both marriage and fatherhood. Bella wanted both, while Cena was adamant about remaining child-free.
The pair began dating in 2012, moved in together in 2013, and Cena proposed in the ring at WrestleMania 33 in April 2017. They called off the engagement in April 2018, briefly reconciled, then split permanently that July.
Cena has since maintained his position against having children, recently addressing the “oddball” label in a candid podcast interview by stating he wants to “choose to be over here.” His marriage to Shariatzadeh represents a selective evolution of his views rather than a wholesale change.
The couple’s pandemic-era wedding and subsequent Vancouver celebration marked a new chapter for Cena, one where practical symbols carry deeper weight than luxury ever could.