John Cena hails Shah Rukh Khan's TED talk as 'beyond inspirational', praises variety of cuisines at Ambani wedding

Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, married pharmaceutical heiress and childhood sweetheart Radhika Merchant on July 12.

WWE superstar John Cena has in an interview hailed a TED talk he saw of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan as 'beyond inspiration'.

He also said that SRK's words helped orchestrate a change in his life.

"He (Shah Rukh) did a Ted Talk that found me at the right time in my life and his words were beyond inspirational to me. They helped orchestrate a change in my life," Cena was quoted by ANI as saying.

"Since that change, I've been able to recognize all the jackpots that I've been given and been grateful and work hard to make sure I don't waste them. It was just such an emotional moment to be able to shake a person's hand that affects your life so drastically and tell them specifically what they did. He was amazing. He couldn't have been more empathetic and kind and sharing. It really was wonderful. It was wonderful. I was awestruck," Cena further added.

After their extravagant pre-wedding celebrations, Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, married pharmaceutical heiress and childhood sweetheart Radhika Merchant at a star-studded event on July 12.

Adhering to the 'big fat Indian wedding' concept where food is the actual star of the show, the Ambani family had planned a wide range of global cuisines for the pre-wedding and wedding events.

Cena expressed how much he really loved Indian food at the Ambani wedding and said that the event had a fair share of cuisine.

He said, "The Ambani wedding had its fair share of cuisine but they also did Indian food and Indian street food very well. The food was fantastic. I had a short stay which means I would like to go back and be able to try some Indian food. The level of spice was just enough for me. Just enough to break a small sweat."

Cena had said that he had a "surreal 24 hours" in India attending the Ambani wedding, which was an experience that gave him an opportunity to meet Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

In an X post, Cena said one of the many unforgettable moments at the grand ceremony was meeting Shah Rukh and telling him how the actor has had a "positive effect" on his life.

"A surreal 24 hours. So grateful for the Ambani family for their unmatched warmth and hospitality. An experience filled with so many unforgettable moments which allowed me to connect with countless new friends, including meeting @iamsrk and being able to tell him personally the positive effect he has had on my life," Cena captioned a picture of him with the 'King of Romance'.

Cena, 47, said it was important to shake Shah Rukh's hand and share with him the positive impact the Indian actor has had on his life.

"And the great thing about it is he (SRK) couldn't have been nicer, empathetic, more sharing and interactive. It really was a wonderful moment. It's an unforgettable one for me and it was like the perfect end to a wonderful trip," he recalled.

The WWE wrestler-turned-actor will next be seen in Prime Video's film Jackpot! opposite Awkwafina and Simu Liu. The comedy drama, directed by Paul Feig of Brides Maids fame, is slated to premiere on the streamer from August 15.

Cena is looking forward to the film's response in India, a country he has travelled to in the past and where fans recognise him because WWE is very popular here despite it being "so far away" from the US.

"I came to India in 2006 and then I just recently performed there last year, which was very, very fun. That was the first time I'd ever performed (there). My constant awareness and recognition of India is simply a way of saying thank you for the support."

Pictures and videos of Cena dancing to the 'dhol' beats ahead of the Ambani-Merchant wedding while doing his famous provocative gesture "You can't see me" from his wrestling heyday was one of the highlights on social media last month.

"I would not be where I am without the support of the fanbase we have in India because they're a driving force that centres around my relevancy and popularity. I don't ever want to slight that. I always want to try to give it the respect that it deserves. It's a way for me to repeatedly say thank you," he said.

Cena, a record 16-time world champion in WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and one of the most successful professional wrestlers of all time, hopes he gets to travel to India again after his retirement from the sport. He will officially retire next year.

"In 2025, I'll begin a retirement tour that, crossing my fingers, hopefully, comes to India. My last WWE performance will be in December of 2025. So we'll start in January and go to December.

"I'll remain in the WWE family as an ambassador and I'm looking forward to those times because hopefully that gives me enough time to get boots on the ground in India and shake hands with some of the fans over there while the young performers give it all they got in the ring. I'm really excited for the future and certainly excited to close the chapter on my performance in WWE," he said.

Cena, over the years, has successfully branched out and build a career in Hollywood, starring in hits such as Blockers, Bumblebee, F9, The Suicide Squad, Fast X and Ricky Stanicky.

In Jackpot!, the actor gets to flex his comedic muscles as a protection agent who teams up with Awkwafina's character Katie, a struggling actor new in a near future California. After Katie wins a lottery, the public is after her life because of a rule that allows the person who kills her to claim all the winning money.

Cena said he boarded the movie as the script and the people attached to the story were great.

Would he love a sequel to Jackpot!?

"I would love to work with this gang again. But first and foremost, I want fans to watch it and be entertained. I would love to always do a sequel. But unfortunately, that's not up to me. That's up to our audience. So, I hope the audience in India certainly loves 'Jackpot!"

The film also stars Ayden Mayeri and Donald Elise Watkins.

(With PTI inputs)