John Cena was a guest on the Opie & Anthony radio show this morning, and while it was mostly playful banter, Cena did cover some interesting ground.
A couple of months ago, Cena was quoted in the UK Sun as saying the following: "“What I kind of get peeved about — and this is my Achilles’ heel — is that I've wanted to do this my whole life. At one point Rock loved wrestling and wanted to do this all his life. So explain to me why he can't come back."
O&A producer Sam Robert asked Cena to clarify his statement today, and Cena reiterated much of the same. He said although he believes that the Rock always wanted to be an actor, his "beef" was that he said he'd never leave wrestling behind, and he very clearly has. He said Rock's about face "makes my job harder" because nobody believes him when he says he will always remain a part of pro wrestling, even if he finds success in acting. He said it's similar to the way that nobody believes he doesn't do steroids because fans have "pre conceived notions."
"I'll find a way to make it work," said Cena, who said has a passion for working in front of live crowds on a regular.
On the subject of steroids, Cena said that the proof that he doesn't use them is that he has remained the same size even as other wrestlers' bodies have gotten smaller over the years.
Asked whether he's be interested in taking part in mixed martial arts, he said while he had "nothing but respect" for MMA fighters, he has no desire to compete in their sport. He said he couldn't accept training for six months for a fight that might last just 30 seconds and end with him getting his "a-- kicked." He said he loves going out night after, wrestling as many as 270 dates a year.
Asked by a caller what he does to relax when he's stressed out, he said he'll often tip back some Coors Lights at a local bar, work on his muscle cars, or visit "an establishment of ill repute." Asked by the hosts if he was serious, he said he was.
I can just see Cena walking into a brothel with a wad of cash of exclaiming, "The champ is here!"
Comments (26)
I can just see Cena walking into a brother with a wad of cash of exclaiming, "The champ is here!"
do you mean brothel?
Could he be referring to a strip club?
I am a Big O and A fan and I listened to the interview. Cena was actually talking about a strip club and not a Brothel. Also on the subject oh him not using Steroids it was O and A that brought up the fact that they knew that he didnt use them because he was the same size and had not gotten smaller, it was not Cena that said this. It was a great interview and Cena did a great job as usual.
I am a Big O and A fan and I listened to the interview. Cena was actually talking about a strip club and not a Brothel. Also on the subject oh him not using Steroids it was O and A that brought up the fact that they knew that he didnt use them because he was the same size and had not gotten smaller, it was not Cena that said this. It was a great interview and Cena did a great job as usual.
I am a Big O and A fan and I listened to the interview. Cena was actually talking about a strip club and not a Brothel. Also on the subject oh him not using Steroids it was O and A that brought up the fact that they knew that he didnt use them because he was the same size and had not gotten smaller, it was not Cena that said this. It was a great interview and Cena did a great job as usual.
Was he not recently engaged?
the more i hear from cena, the more i like and respect him. he seems like a guys guy ... just down to earth, loves his job, lives hard, plays hard ... i think that is cool. i'm sure a lot of the wrestlers are like that, but he seems to really be having fun with everything his career has given him.
the more i hear from cena, the more i like and respect him. he seems like a guys guy ... just down to earth, loves his job, lives hard, plays hard ... i think that is cool. i'm sure a lot of the wrestlers are like that, but he seems to really be having fun with everything his career has given him.
More than one person has written to suggest that Cena was more likely talking about a strip club that a whore house. It could be, but to me he was pretty clear. O&A and Jim Norton (who admittedly frequents prostitutes) even asked him to back up and noted that you don't just mention that matter of factly. I believe one of the hosts even noted that Cena had something in common with Norton. Cena said he was serious.
Granted, Cena's not exactly a rocket scientist and may have chosen his words poorly. Wouldn't be the first time.
Yikes. Who cares what he meant? The "champ is here!" line was funny. Sometimes you people miss the forest for the trees.
Anyway, it seems like people give Cena far too hard of a time, especially considering just how big of a fan of the industry he is. Have you see the Cena video, where they show all of the old WWF and WCW PPVs he taped off of TV? It's pretty impressive.
I never really got the sense that the Rock ever wanted to be in wrestling for the long term -- it always seemed like he did it because he couldn't make the NFL, and then moved along when something better came. And I can't blame him either -- he was clearly too big for the industry, and to the point that he made everyone else look bad just by how good he was.
But the Rock remains revered by so many on the Internet, while Cena reviled. I don't get that.
Cena seems like a good guy, but he can never replace a guy like The Rock or Stone Cold, they are legends. I think WWE hurt Cena by taking the edge off his character. Stone Cold stayed the same guy even after the double switch of WM13. Cena used to do hardcore putdowns and raps, now he is too vanilla. I dont think he is trying to disrespect The Rock either, but should try building up guys on the roster that he can draw money with, cause The Rock is not coming back.
Cena seems like a good guy, but he can never replace a guy like The Rock or Stone Cold, they are legends. I think WWE hurt Cena by taking the edge off his character. Stone Cold stayed the same guy even after the double switch of WM13. Cena used to do hardcore putdowns and raps, now he is too vanilla. I dont think he is trying to disrespect The Rock either, but he should try building up guys on the roster that he can draw money with, cause The Rock is not coming back.
I would certainly hope that if Cena ever got the chance to leave wrestling behind for much better paying work and a lighter schedule that he would take it.
Anything else would be silly, really.
Yeah, I can't imagine why Rock would want to leave wrestling for greener pastures. I mean, doesn't he want to die of a heart attack at 42?
I agree with both of the previous post. Well not the heart attack at 42 comment bc that has nothing to do with actual wrestling and more to do with someone's personal decisions to take drugs. Anyways if Cena was offered a deal like Rock was he would be crazy to not take it. More $, less time away from family and friends and less damage to your body. Now if we could only get Great Khali to become a full time movie star and leave WWE.
It's really annoying that Cena always says he doesn't use steroids, and dumb interviewers never asks him if he uses HGH! As well as, Cena never is specific of what his training regimen is, i.e., supplements, workout, diet.
After the Benoit tragedy, Mr. Kennedy went on long rants about how the "internet lies about WWE drug use" and he "doesn't use drugs", or "how WWE doesn't have a drug use problem due to their Wellness Policy".
Within a few months, the Signature Pharmacy list came out of who they prescribed HGH and/or steroids to, and Kennedy's name was there! He was suspended, and came back smaller. Of course he didn't lose his push too much because they like him, but he was really shown to be a hypocrite.
I hope Cena is not doing a "HGH is not steroids because it's not delectable " slant.
And for Cena's opinions on The Rock. Cena is an idiot. The Rock is making somewhere around $7 to $12 million per movie last I heard. He works for 3 months at a time, is treated like royalty on a movie set, and gets to work with gorgeous co-stars like Kelly Hu, Roslyn Sanchez, and Anne Hathaway!
How would anybody be able to give that up just to sit there and listen to HHH and Stephanie McMahon come up with some of their goofy ideas on how to get hacks like Cena, Orton, The Undertaker, and HHH himself over!
The Rock will have to stand there listening to Orton stammer through a promo, or wait for Cena to use the word "ass" to get himself a cheer, or have wait for the 25 other wrestlers to interfere in his match with The Undertaker so he could get a pin on him, or have HHH book a match where he dominates The Rock for 15 minutes. Oh please!
I miss The Rock as much as everybody, but he's in a better place right now.
"And for Cena's opinions on The Rock. Cena is an idiot. The Rock is making somewhere around $7 to $12 million per movie last I heard. He works for 3 months at a time, is treated like royalty on a movie set, and gets to work with gorgeous co-stars like Kelly Hu, Roslyn Sanchez, and Anne Hathaway!
How would anybody be able to give that up just to sit there and listen to HHH and Stephanie McMahon come up with some of their goofy ideas on how to get hacks like Cena, Orton, The Undertaker, and HHH himself over!
I miss The Rock as much as everybody, but he's in a better place right now."
Cena never said Rock should give up movies. His point was if you want to be an actor, be an actor and don't talk about how much you love and miss wrestling when you have no intentions of returning.
"Cena never said Rock should give up movies. His point was if you want to be an actor, be an actor and don't talk about how much you love and miss wrestling when you have no intentions of returning."-Chris
No, Cena is an idiot. Why can't The Rock still love and miss wrestling? The Rock did not know his career would go so well. He probably even had the intention of coming back once and a while, no one know for sure, and I doubt Cena does. If you go look up Rock's schedule of movies, the guy is constantly DOING movies! He never stops working! Critics overall love the Rock and his movies are still overall making decent bank.
Cena trying to compare his current film career to The Rock's is like comparing Pop Tarts to a runway model! So far, Cena's films are produced by WWE Films with the intention of keeping his schedule clear for wrestling with minimal time off. The Rock's career is now completely independent of wrestling. The Rock is a regular movie star now, and like I said, why would Rock want to deal with politics of wrestling?
This Cena opinion of the came after The Rock was only going to make an appearance at the Hall of Fame and not Wrestlemania., but we do not know what they pitched to Rock.
For example, Steve Austin said in an interview that they asked him to come back to referee something having to do with the Hornswoggle and the Vince McMahon thing, and Austin did not want to do it because he thought the idea wasn't that good. Does that discredit Austin's love of wrestling. Not at all.
So we do not know, maybe bad storyline ideas, politics, busy schedule, or even maybe Rock does not feel comfortable in wrestling because he is much smaller than he used to be. He's no longer the 240-260 lbs. guy the fans are used to seeing.
My point is, I do not think Rock's "love" for wrestling should be criticized when The Rock grew up with the wrestling business and did work his way up to become a star in wrestling and Hollywood.
I think Cena should keep that in mind when he's trying to put himself over to Vince and the company by saying he's going to stay loyal.
Ben, Cena never said Rock should give up movies and never tried compare his film career with Rock's. He just said Rock talks about how he loves wrestling and misses it, yet wouldn't even tape a video message for the RAW 15th Anniversary show.
Don't say one thing and do another. That was all Cena was saying. Cena also put him over big time in these recent interviews and seems to have no real beef with Dwayne Johnson.
No, Cena IS comparing his film career to The Rock's:
"He (Cena) said Rock's about face "makes my job harder" because nobody believes him when he says he will always remain a part of pro wrestling, even if he finds success in acting."
Cena is saying that even if he had a large amount of success like Johnson, he would still make time for wrestling. I feel this point is goofy. Cena cannot have the same success as Johnson and still have time for wrestling.
And again, we do not know the reason why Rock did not tape a message. Perhaps it was something as simple as late notice, we just do not know; and like HGH, Cena doesn't ever say anything specific.
Of course Cena does not have beef with The Rock, he was making a professional opinion. I'm saying his opinion is wrong, and I think his motives are suspect.
"He (Cena) said Rock's about face "makes my job harder" because nobody believes him when he says he will always remain a part of pro wrestling, even if he finds success in acting."
And it does. Cena has made exactly 2 movies since 2004 (likely only because they were from WWE Films) while Rock sought out roles since around 2001 because he wanted to act more and more. Rock is obviously much more interested in acting than Cena, so Cena probably does get mad when people ask "So when are you going to leave wrestling for Hollywood? You know, Rock did it, so it's inevitable that you will, too, right?"
"Cena is saying that even if he had a large amount of success like Johnson, he would still make time for wrestling. I feel this point is goofy. Cena cannot have the same success as Johnson and still have time for wrestling."
Rock did that from 2001-04, actually. Also, yes, Cena would not have time for a full-time wrestling career if he wanted to be a Hollywood star. He also doesn't expect The Rock to do that or for Rock to even wrestle another match. Cena has stated this quite clearly.
"And again, we do not know the reason why Rock did not tape a message. Perhaps it was something as simple as late notice, we just do not know; and like HGH, Cena doesn't ever say anything specific."
And just as easily, maybe Rock couldn't be bothered to do it. It wouldn't be that surprising.
The one thing I never seem to see people mention is that WWE let Rock's contract expire. They let him go. Sure, they used the excuse that it slipped through the cracks but come on...then don't come out crying about how Rock has left and won't come back. If he was that big of a priority they should have sent him an extension.
I don't get the "he owes wrestling something" argument. What could he possibly owe the business or the fans? He did his job and did it well, made WWE a ton of cash and had a very good to excellent wrestling career. Now he's moved on. You can still see him, just rent or go to one of his movies or watch one of his myriad of television appearances.
No one bitched about Johnny Carson "owing" his fans and the business something when he retired from the Tonight Show and never made public appearances.
Rock retired from wrestling. Cena (and the WWE ) needs to get over it.
And Cena even talking about his acting career is ridiculous. Starring in WWE films is like having your dad buy the Red Sox so you can be starting pitched. It's nowhere near what an actor has to go through to get parts and "make it".
The one thing I never seem to see people mention is that WWE let Rock's contract expire. They let him go. Sure, they used the excuse that it slipped through the cracks but come on...then don't come out crying about how Rock has left and won't come back. If he was that big of a priority they should have sent him an extension.
I don't get the "he owes wrestling something" argument. What could he possibly owe the business or the fans? He did his job and did it well, made WWE a ton of cash and had a very good to excellent wrestling career. Now he's moved on. You can still see him, just rent or go to one of his movies or watch one of his myriad of television appearances.
No one bitched about Johnny Carson "owing" his fans and the business something when he retired from the Tonight Show and never made public appearances.
Rock retired from wrestling. Cena (and the WWE ) needs to get over it.
And Cena even talking about his acting career is ridiculous. Starring in WWE films is like having your dad buy the Red Sox so you can be starting pitcher. It's nowhere near what an actor has to go through to get parts and "make it".
I see a lot of hate for Cena on here. You cant compare Cena to The Rock, its not fair to either. If Cena was a main eventer during the boom of 98 and given the opportunity to be in a mainstream movie, he could have been successful too. He does have charisma, and when he was a heel, he was very over with the fans. Personally, I dont need to see The Rock ever wrestle again, but can't he be a manager, just so we can have the promos?
Seth and ALfonso,
Do you guys know who the guy is over at www.thewrestleblog.com
I saw his new space the other day on a google search, but no clue who he is.
peace