John Cena recently appeared on Logan Paul’s Impulsive podcast for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling. During the discussion, Cena commented on WWE attracting celebrities like Logan Paul to be part of the show:
“The business has changed and because the business has changed and we have better distribution, you can find us in more places. The perception of what we can offer has changed and now people come to us seeing opportunity, not just what can I take from this place, and right away with what you’re willing to sacrifice in terms of your health and well being with moves that you do, I can tell that you give a sh*t and that means a lot. You’re not here to just do the thing once. You went from special guest to full time superstar in five minutes and that’s very refreshing. I think it speaks volumes to you understanding what the WWE can offer and how the WWE has changed, and I really appreciate that.
What he was going to do if he did not go into wrestling:
“When I found that ring, I was just about ready to take a career leap that would have not allowed me to do that, and if that failed, I was just gonna go back home. I was gonna join the Marines. I just failed at every avenue in life. I got my college degree. I could not apply it. I tried to be a cop. I failed the exam. I was running out of time and money and I just didn’t know what to do. I was like, man, I can follow a schedule. I’m in shape. I think I can abide by the rules. These people have always been heroes to me. It’s right in San Diego. It was in Los Angeles at that time. I’m like, ‘Man, I’m gonna go for it.’ The weekend I was thinking about it, a friend of mine was like, ‘Dude, you’re always talking about RAW. You know we train down in Orange County. Would you want to do it?’ ‘Yes, of course.’”
His character in WWE:
“John Cena in the WWE’s existence is quite easy for me to define. Superman. I don’t mean like, I’m stronger than everybody, I can outrun a speeding train, or stronger than a train, or faster than a bullet, whatever. I mean, Superman acts with pure virtue. Superman has a moral code. Superman can be conflicted, but when he’s conflicted, his North Star, his moral code, and his virtues, it affects the body language. It affects your delivery. You’re like, ‘I don’t know when you’re off script, when you’re on script.’ Neither do why because you just get out there and you feel the energy. Now over the years, there’s been a difference in Superman. The Superman of 2012 where, man did they want CM Punk to win the championship because everybody was sick of me winning. They were sick of Superman, which is the forever problem with Superman. He’s too good. Now it’s an older Superman who’s looking in the mirror and saying, ‘I was this. I’m not this anymore. What am I now? I’m trying to figure it out. I need your help.’ ‘Hey guys, I don’t know how much time I have left’, and I gauge their interest off of that. If they’re like, ‘Get the f**k out’, I do know how much time I have left and it’s now (he laughs), but it’s fun to be able to play with that dynamic of having that run. Just like the evolution of the Doctor of Economics. It was an immediate shift into the rap guy and it was a slow climb into the virtuous Superman character that became the face of WWE. The person sitting before you is me. The person you see in WWE is more of me now than it ever has been in totality.”
Why he feels his early film roles were not successful:
“The reason, one of the many reasons a lot of those early projects weren’t successful is I wanted to be back in the ring. I look at those images in the wall in your gym when you’re in midair and the people behind you are like, ‘Yo, look at this dude’s face.’ That doesn’t happen on a movie set. That doesn’t happen. It is radio silent and it is really finite and the days are long. You have to have a certain mindset. As a young man in the traveling business with every town going fu**ing nuts, I did not have that mindset. Every time I had this golden ticket of an opportunity, I was like, I want to be back in the ring’, and the project sucked because I always wanted to be elsewhere.”
If he will have another match:
“I hope so. I am not officially done. I know that I’m close. I can feel it, especially seeing you out there doing incredible stuff. Our talent now, the product has become so crisp and so fast and so skilled. It is a different world and I love it and I still feel fluent, and I would like to say good goodbye when I still feel fluent. It’s coming, like, to the point where you know at that moment in the sunset when it starts to go down. That’s kind of where I’m at. I’m not done, but I need to decide when I am.”
If he would like to have an executive role:
“I live very close to the Performance Center and I would like to go in as a guest. That way, I’m not obligated and they’re not obligated in any way. It’s stuff I do on my free time anyway, I love going in just picking people’s brains, having conversations about like, ‘So who are you?’ They’re like, ‘What does that have to do anything?’ ‘Oh, only everything. Let’s talk.’ I enjoy that, doing half a day there and then going back to normal life. I’m fortunate enough to have some other stuff going on so I’ll be focusing on that too. But, I always want to be involved in the business. I get so passionate about it and it’s something that I love and I think I have a few pieces of wisdom that need to be passed on and I don’t think they should die with me. So I’ll try to do that the best I can.”
You can check out the complete podcast below:
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
