Happy 2019 everyone! With the start of a brand new year, it's also time for a shake-up of a lot of other things. Perhaps you'll be starting a new diet, or taking on a new gym routine, or - if you're John Cena - sporting a brand new haircut.

The 41-year-old wrestler and actor returned to WWE for the first time in years this weekend, but it wasn't his performance that got people talking. Instead, fans and admirers seemed more interested in the sudden mass of hair that had appeared atop his head since his last appearance on the network. Gone was his classic buzzcut, and in its place was, uh, this:

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Twitter/WWE]]

Looking a bit like a cross between Kevin Bacon and Wreck-It Ralph, Cena teamed up with Becky Lynch to take on Andrade Almas and Zelina Vega on Smackdown - and was, unfortunately, not victorious. But instead of giving him a hard time for failing to make an impressive comeback, fans instead took to social media to comment on his new look.

"John cena look like a middleaged ten year old boy with that hair," said one person.

"Welcome back Cena," added another. "PS get a haircut."

Others argued that the wrestler must be going through a mid-life crisis, while some theorised that he may have undergone a hair transplant in order to achieve his new luscious locks.

But this is what the man himself had to say about the matter:

In a recent appearance on The Ellen Show, Cena explained exactly why he'd ditched his simpler buzz cut - and how he was reacting to all the negative criticism.

"I'm just trying to figure my life out with a haircut and everybody's like, you ruined my life," he said. "Like, it was a great exercise in embracing the uncomfortable because apparently I've altered the space time continuum for some people. And it's cool to be able to just try something new."

In an earlier interview with Jimmy Fallon, Cena noted that he originally let his hair grow out for a role in the upcoming film, Project X, which also stars Jackie Chan.

"Now that we're all here, let's get into it. With the state of haircuts that are on television today, people are talking about mine?" he said jokingly.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Twitter/John Cena]]

"I had to grow it out for a role and I am trying my best to manage it, like they style it out differently on the set. They asked me to grow it out and I said no problem.

"I left for China, so the last time people saw me I had the traditional short crew cut and now I came back and this ball of wax that's on my head, so now everyone's like, 'Man, you ruined my childhood.'

"Or I came back and wrestled in Australia and it really was met with some heavy negativity."

Aw, cheer up John - it's not that bad...

Happy 2019 everyone! With the start of a brand new year, it's also time for a shake-up of a lot of other things. Perhaps you'll be starting a new diet, or taking on a new gym routine, or - if you're John Cena - sporting a brand new haircut.

The 41-year-old wrestler and actor returned to WWE for the first time in years this weekend, but it wasn't his performance that got people talking. Instead, fans and admirers seemed more interested in the sudden mass of hair that had appeared atop his head since his last appearance on the network. Gone was his classic buzzcut, and in its place was, uh, this:

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Twitter/WWE]]

Looking a bit like a cross between Kevin Bacon and Wreck-It Ralph, Cena teamed up with Becky Lynch to take on Andrade Almas and Zelina Vega on Smackdown - and was, unfortunately, not victorious. But instead of giving him a hard time for failing to make an impressive comeback, fans instead took to social media to comment on his new look.

"John cena look like a middleaged ten year old boy with that hair," said one person.

"Welcome back Cena," added another. "PS get a haircut."

Others argued that the wrestler must be going through a mid-life crisis, while some theorised that he may have undergone a hair transplant in order to achieve his new luscious locks.

But this is what the man himself had to say about the matter:

In a recent appearance on The Ellen Show, Cena explained exactly why he'd ditched his simpler buzz cut - and how he was reacting to all the negative criticism.

"I'm just trying to figure my life out with a haircut and everybody's like, you ruined my life," he said. "Like, it was a great exercise in embracing the uncomfortable because apparently I've altered the space time continuum for some people. And it's cool to be able to just try something new."

In an earlier interview with Jimmy Fallon, Cena noted that he originally let his hair grow out for a role in the upcoming film, Project X, which also stars Jackie Chan.

"Now that we're all here, let's get into it. With the state of haircuts that are on television today, people are talking about mine?" he said jokingly.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Twitter/John Cena]]

"I had to grow it out for a role and I am trying my best to manage it, like they style it out differently on the set. They asked me to grow it out and I said no problem.

"I left for China, so the last time people saw me I had the traditional short crew cut and now I came back and this ball of wax that's on my head, so now everyone's like, 'Man, you ruined my childhood.'

"Or I came back and wrestled in Australia and it really was met with some heavy negativity."

Aw, cheer up John - it's not that bad...