 These were three young men that were all running different races, but ultimately it was going to end in the same direction, and that was professional football, husbands, fathers, great pillars of the community, and it was all cut short. Jackson was a standout college football star at Alabama and Oregon. Jackson was 24. Two of his friends were also killed in the crash. John Cena, the wrestler-turned-actor, announcing he will retire from pro wrestling next year after two decades in the ring. 16-time WWE champ. Chuck Severson, ABC News.