In one of the most brutally honest interviews of his career, John Cena has opened up about the reality behind one of WWE’s most iconic main events: WrestleMania 28’s “Once in a Lifetime” showdown with The Rock.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, the 17-time world champion pulled back the curtain on what many consider one of the most anticipated matches in modern WWE history — and admitted he was not only fully aware of the match outcome a year in advance, but that he himself was the root of real-life backstage tension with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“You would think that like, man, going to the actual stage is gonna be the worst part. That was the easy part,” Cena revealed. “I knew I was losing the year before the fight. All of those promos you see, all those speeches — every single one of them — I knew that I was gonna finish second place.”
Cena added that the emotions fans saw after the final bell weren’t just part of the act.
“I lingered in the ring after the match to soak in the embarrassment. It was all part of telling the story — but it was also real for me.”
But perhaps the most striking admission came when Cena reflected on his off-screen rivalry with The Rock, acknowledging that he crossed a line in their war of words leading up to the event.
“Dwayne had always been cordial to me and always helped me out,” Cena said. “And I did something foolish — I started to go into business for myself, drumming up rumors about things I knew nothing about. It’s very much a professional faux pas.”
After their match in Miami, Cena said he offered a sincere apology — not just to The Rock, but also to his own mother.
“He was empathetic. He was gracious,” Cena shared, noting that the experience taught him a hard but valuable lesson about respect, professionalism, and humility.
The highly personal revelations add new depth to a rivalry that shaped a generation of WWE storytelling. What was once sold as “Once in a Lifetime” eventually led to a rematch at WrestleMania 29, but it’s the emotional scars of their first encounter that clearly still resonate with Cena today.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more exclusive WWE insights, career retrospectives, and behind-the-scenes revelations from the world’s biggest wrestling stars.
