--- title: Review: American Grit Could Make John Cena a Superstar description: He's at once relatable and outsized—a star. canonical: https://time.com/4292656/review-american-grit-john-cena/ author: Daniel D'Addario article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-14T11:00:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:42:48.086Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Review: 'American Grit' Could Make John Cena a Superstar og:description: The military series downplays its charismatic host, to great effect og:url: https://time.com/4292656/review-american-grit-john-cena/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ca398e0e2413591/69888efe5f570f380eb20750/john-cena.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: john-cena og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Review: 'American Grit' Could Make John Cena a Superstar twitter:description: The military series downplays its charismatic host, to great effect twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ca398e0e2413591/69888efe5f570f380eb20750/john-cena.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Review: _American Grit_ Could Make John Cena a Superstar > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Daniel D'Addario](https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Apr 14, 2016 11:00 AM UTC  John Cena in the “Ruck Up” series premiere episode of American Grit. John Cena in the “Ruck Up” series premiere episode of American Grit.Olugbenro Ogunsemore—FOX  by [Daniel D'Addario](https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Apr 14, 2016 11:00 AM UTC [John Cena](http://time.com/4034629/john-cena-sting-little-girl-beating-cancer/) has been locked-and-loaded for stardom for a while now. Last year alone, the WWE wrestler appeared in supporting roles in _Trainwreck_ and [_Sisters_](http://time.com/4154807/sisters-movie-review/); he was good in both, and perhaps the best thing about the latter. And now, with Fox’s reality series [_American Grit_](http://www.fox.com/american-grit), premiering Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, Cena makes a bid to be America’s next top post-wrestling superstar. On _American Grit_, Cena notionally plays second fiddle to a team of four he calls “the cadre”; they’re military veterans who, like judges on _The Voice_, pick teams of competitors to mentor. “There’s always that fine line between confidence and cocky,” says one of the cadre about her new charge. “But you know what, that’s okay, because in the Marine Corps, we know how to do that attitude adjustment and break you down.” Cena’s undergone an attitude adjustment of his own. Coming from a field in which brash boasting is the order of the day, the performer is, here, deferent both to less famous figures and to a set of ideas that have basically nothing to do with the rest of his career. (His devotion to the gig recalls an early Dwayne Johnson giving his absolute all to movies not quite worthy of the effort.) “America,” he intones at series’s start. “We never retreat from a challenge. Our finest hours have come with our backs against the wall. And it’s in this land of opportunity that I’ve built my career as a WWE superstar and beyond.” This is intercut first with footage of soldiers returning home, and then with Cena wrestling and posing at a _Sisters_ premiere. It’s a look that works on him. Reality-show hosts are often too-rigidly bound to ideas of their gigs’ sociological significance and the role they can play in making that significance more apparent; Jeff Probst’s dramatics on _Survivor_ come to mind. There’s a certain flair in the way Cena speaks, fluently, the language of military veterans. Better still, there’s genuine grace in the way he lets the veterans themselves do most the talking. _American Grit_ was promoted heavily during the series finale of [_American Idol_](http://time.com/4286253/review-american-idol-finale-recap-season-15/), and it’s a connection that makes intuitive sense. Both series have a retro-feeling idea of stardom as both deeply symbolic and a jumping-off-point for public service. On _Grit_, that service can be in the military or on behalf of the military, as with Cena’s own attempts to mold young men and women. At one point, Cena demands that the most insubordinate cast member apologize to his coach, making a clunky declaration that the contestant sleeps “under a blanket of freedom” provided by veterans seem as though it trips off his tongue. To camera, Cena declares, “I think this will help him evolve into a man.” Cena is not, himself, a veteran, but with his inflated physique and carefully-crafted good-guy image, he’s a credible enough expert on masculinity. Having spent years performing emotions that are meant to be read easily even by the back row at Wrestlemania, Cena makes his moments onscreen count. He gives the cast a “token for allowing me to be a part of something really special”; the token is giant steaks. It’s a sort of performative masculinity that’s too knowing to be camp but lovable all the same. Telling the cast that they’ve been chosen for their refusal to give up, he announces, “I dig that!” They have to quit the show themselves if they want to leave: “Hell, I can’t even send you home if I want to!,” he says. It’s the “Hell,” as scripted as any of _Survivor_‘s tribal councils but delivered as if it just came to mind, that makes Cena seem more real than real. He’s at once relatable and outsized—a star. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4292656/review-american-grit-john-cena/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4292656/review-american-grit-john-cena/"},"headline":"Review: American Grit Could Make John Cena a Superstar","datePublished":"2016-04-14T11:00:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:42:48.086Z","description":"The military series downplays its charismatic host, to great effect","url":"https://time.com/4292656/review-american-grit-john-cena/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ca398e0e2413591/69888efe5f570f380eb20750/john-cena.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ca398e0e2413591/69888efe5f570f380eb20750/john-cena.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"john-cena","caption":"John Cena in the “Ruck Up” series premiere episode of American Grit.","creditText":"Olugbenro Ogunsemore—FOX","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4292656/review-american-grit-john-cena/","name":"Review: American Grit Could Make John Cena a Superstar"}}]}] ```