Are John Cena & Nikki Bella Working You?

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John Cena, Nikki Bella
WWE.com

IS love a work?

The news of John Cena and Nikki Bella's recent separation just weeks before their planned May 2018 wedding day sent a bizarre slew of shockwaves through the industry. Wrestling fans betrayed their love of star ratings, workrate and wristlocks to feast on the gossip ordinarily shared and celebrated by showbiz channels, tabloid news and the broader entertainment industry.

The relationship sharply skewed both audiences - John and Nikki's love was documented in painstaking detail in commercial avenues beyond the enormous spotlights of SmackDown Live! and Monday Night Raw, but only recently crossed over to their place of origin when a telegraphed wedding proposal became an achingly transparent 'WrestleMania Moment'.

Back then, Cena's going from five-knuckle-shuffle to one-knee-kerfuffle was as much woven into pre-written Sports Entertainment as it was sterile scripted reality. Bella's claim that she had no idea he'd planned to even do it was as loaded with bullsh*t as The Miz and Maryse's on-the-nose parodies of the pair in the run-up to their 'Show Of Shows' clash. That it represented ultimate synergy between the Total Divas spin-off and WWE canon neatened the last frayed edges of the relationship between the former Divas Division doyen and the company's top star, not least in opening up Cena's personal life to a Hollywood scene stretching closer to snatching him away from his 'dream job'.

With a carefully planned proposal executed to perfection to the benefit of virtually everybody involved, is it really that big a leap to suggest that this carefully timed split is equally suspicious?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett