John Cena reportedly urged Nintendo to make a new 2D Metroid game in 2017

WWE Superstar John Cena reportedly urged Nintendo to make a brand new 2D Metroid game during a photoshoot in 2017.

According to Giant Bomb’s Dan Ryckert, who also formally worked for WWE, the 17-time WWE Champion told Nintendo reps how much he’d love a new game in the series.

“When Metroid Dread came out years later, he was sent a copy. Cena’s people sent an email back saying ‘John loves it.'” said Ryckert on Twitter.

Former Nintendo staff member Krysta Yang, who worked as part of Nintendo’s editorial team at the time, corroborated this story saying: “He did say how much of a Metroid fan he was. He’s a really nice guy!”

The image of Cena from this event, which became a meme at the time due to the fact that it appears as though his trainers are melting into the carpet, was part of the ‘Nintendo Switch in Unexpected Places’ campaign that Nintendo ran in the run-up to the launch of the Switch in 2017.

Cena has made his love of video games, particularly classic Nintendo titles, well known. Several pieces of WWE merchandise over the years have evoked classic Nintendo titles such as Super Mario Bros 3.

He’s also previously claimed that the Command and Conquer series are his favourite video games of all time.

In VGC’s Metroid Dread review, we wrote: “With a near-perfect balance of nods to the past and fresh ideas, Metroid Dread brings cinematic flair, fast-paced action and a surprising story to the side-scrolling classic. This is the comeback fans have been waiting for.”

Cena isn’t the only WWE legend with opinions on classic Nintendo games. WWE Hall of Fame wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin made a splash earlier this year when he claimed that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is better than The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.