With Fast X officially in theaters doing pretty good numbers, the day will soon come when John Cena stops doing daily media appearances to discuss the film, his professional wrestling career, and how much in-ring WWE work he still has left in the tank.
… but until that day comes, fans will get intriguing quote after intriguing quote, including the latest tidbit about “The Champ's” match against Austin Theory at WrestleMania 39, which featured some pretty brutal on-mic promos surrounding the United States Champion's Superstardom.
Sitting down for an interview with Sam Roberts on Not Sam Wrestling, Cena discussed how he and Theory came up with the program and how it came together through mutual respect.
“Austin is great and easy to work with. We wrote that together,” Cena said. “He was in every step of the process. There comes a point where sometimes people need creative solitudes so they're like, ‘I'm going to go away and write my thing, come back, run it by you, and see if it's okay.' Then, there are some guys who are like, ‘see you out there.' I can dress for weddings or funerals, just tell me what color suit to wear. I respect everyone's process. I do know, that from all my experience, if you do not have something to care about, you do not have something. My job is to make them care. This is not a process I just do with Austin Theory.”
Cena then noted that despite being incredibly harsh in his comments – with some accusing the star of burying Theory before the match – he believed every word he said in the ring because fans can smell ingenuity from a mile away.
“That's what I love about WWE. Fans can see through the BS if you don't believe in your character,” Cena said. “It's what I said to Austin Theory. ‘You are young, you are athletic, you will work for this company, you will do interviews. I don't believe what you do when you're out there. I don't.' I said it to him personally before I said it to him publicly. I'm serious. In a room, with Austin Theory, I said, ‘The reason I came back to Boston is because you can't do this yourself yet. You cannot carry a WrestleMania promo yourself yet. If you fail, we waste the equity that I'm willing to give. In that match, if I get hurt, I hold up production, which puts 300 people out of work. Let's do this right. Let's get some equity here.' Then you start thinking about the angles, what's the most important thing, what's our story? ‘I don't believe what you do,' that's what I'm going with.”
Does Cena actually believe Theory is a certified phony? Probably not, but considering the reaction he received from that particular crowd in Boston and from fans online after the segment aired, it's clear Cena did his job well.
John Cena regrets his comments on The Rock's acting career.
Stopping by the Happy Sad Confused podcast for more Fast X promotion, John Cena discussed his decision to call out Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for being a WWE part-timer due to his interest in acting and revealed that he ultimately regrets his words, considering how his life has gone.
“I got selfish and me — living WWE at the point and not having any concept of growth or someone else's perspective — I took Dwayne's comments [about the business] as not genuine. My view was if you love something, be there everyday. Like, what a hypocrite I am, because I still love WWE and I can't go all the time. And I just didn't see that. I was so selfish. Instead of going like, ‘Hey man, I'd like to try to do this thing to hook you back in and maybe we can collaborate and really make it big,' I was just like, ‘Eff this, I'm calling this dude out. This is a moment. You gave me an opening. I'm going to kick the door in.' And I was diligent, and I understand why he got upset,” Cena said via Movieweb.
“These guys are breaking down barriers, shattering ceilings, and on top of that, just transcending the art form. I just got selfish and wanted a main event marquee match because it would better what I thought was the business. That was short-sighted and selfish. It worked! But it worked at the cost of two people who communicated and almost put it in jeopardy. There was a moment where there was a lot of bad vibes between us, and rightfully so.”
Now, as Cena has since discussed, he and The Rock are cool now, as they *spoiler alert* are featured in the same movie. Still, rewatching his feud with The Rock is incredibly interesting in hindsight, as it's fun to watch a naive Cena accuse Johnson of being a part-timer.