WWE veteran John Cena recently spoke with Busted Open Radio for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling. During the discussion, Cena talked about being in the movie Fast X:
“They asked me in on the ninth installment, so like they did all the Undertakers, The Hogans, The Sammartinos who had already been there, and it’s like, ‘Hey, kid, do you want to play for the winning team?’ Of course, it’s a yes and then you get a chance to try to prove yourself. The parallels that the Fast family runs like a WWE locker room is uncanny. I think it’s the way it is because the original cast has been doing it for 22 years and they don’t want some new person coming in and essentially negating their hard work. So everybody is like, vetted properly, and it’s a real family environment. There’s a few conversations and cocktails that are encouraged, which I really love. It’s a great place to work and reminds me of my early days in the WWE.”
Passing the torch:
“You don’t pass it to anybody. You just hope to put energy out there and anyone with potential can get it. It was said that I passed the torch to Roman years ago, and he absolutely is the face of the franchise. In my mind, he’s the greatest of all time. I tried to do what I could, and when I did it, it wasn’t the miracle. Like, it didn’t happen. He got it on his own terms. I just like seeing people who are passionate about the business, who want to be there, who want to show up, who aren’t using it as a vehicle to do something else because the thing itself is awesome. It’s okay if you get other opportunities outside. That’s a testament to your work, but man, I wish I was still there every day. My body can’t do it anymore and I don’t want to give the consumer a bad product. That’s another thing that I learned from those veterans at the time, guys like Eddie just would risk so much. and he’s like, I’m never gonna give the consumer a bad product. I don’t care how I feel. I don’t care how I feel physically. I don’t care what baggage I have mentally. When I’m on, they paid good money and I’m gonna go out there and give everything I have and sometimes find it when it’s not there. I’m at a point where everything I have in comparison to the bar that’s been set, like what I have is what you saw at WrestleMania 39. That’s what I feel confident that I can deliver and that’s really nice for here and there. That’s not every day in the WWE. That’s not every day in sports entertainment. Sports entertainment has raised the bar and I’m humble enough to say that’s awesome because you’re supposed to leave it better than you found it and the people are supposed to advance it. That’s why you go from smokey bingo halls to the Pontiac Silverdome to now towns offering us financial incentives to be in WrestleMania.”
On the difference between himself and Roman Reigns when it comes to creating stars:
“I love that Roman did it his way. He did it his own way by crafting his own personality. He did it as a way by redefining what it is to be at the tip of the spear. He is there selectively. He has made himself exclusive and in doing so, he’s brought like eight people with him. He’s allowed the whole Bloodline to get over. So with me, if you put me in that conversation, I could only help the person that I was working with while I was working with him. The reputation I had in the sauce while I was in it was that I buried talent because I would really invest my wholeheartedness. I sat with Austin Theory for like 10 hours. Not wasted a day, invested a day, to talk about our why, like, what’s our story going to be? I would do that with everyone. I live it. My heart is on the plate. But after they were with me, they didn’t take that energy with them, but I gave it to the next guy. So okay, who’s next? It was AJ and now it’s Kevin Owens. Alright, ‘Kevin, come here. We’re gonna sit down for two weeks and just talk about stuff. Then we’re gonna go out there and try some crazy stuff, see what works, and then put our best foot forward.’ Kevin’s done, Sami, no problem. What Roman does, just being affiliated with his energy, he gets so many people over. That’s something I could never do, ever, period. Like, you’re with me and you got a chance when you’re there, but a lot of times you went off to do stuff that wasn’t looked at in the same way, and then the perception of the audience is, ‘Oh my god, he buried him.’ Winning and losing doesn’t matter. I haven’t won a match in five years. It doesn’t matter. Roman’s ability to be that good, to spread his energy so thin that he makes other talents, and do it exclusive. That’s the difference between Ric. Ric was always the centerpiece. Roman has off days. but he’s still there, like, his presence is so great. I think that’s never been done. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
You can listen to the complete show below:
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
