Though they’ve hit some bumps in the road, the relationship between John Cena and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson seems to be in a good place now.
Tensions between the two were ignited in the lead-up to WrestleMania 27 as Johnson was announced as the special guest host for the big event. Johnson proceeded to mock Cena, and then WWE Champion The Miz, leaving Cena and The Miz to return the favor in the weeks following. The biggest blow, though, came in the main event of WrestleMania 27 as Cena challenged The Miz for the WWE Championship.
As it appeared Cena was closing in on the victory, Johnson snuck up behind to deliver a Rock Bottom on Cena, allowing The Miz to gain the pinfall for the win. John Cena and Dwayne Johnson went on to trade wins against each other at WrestleMania 28 and WrestleMania 29. Johnson scored the first victory before Cena bounced back a year later.
During a recent appearance at 92NY Recanati-Kaplan Talks, Cena spoke about his relationship with “The People’s Champion.”
“I would like to think in my perspective that we always have been good, except for one little patch where I really messed up,” Cena said, referring to their previous feud. “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 as not genuine. My view was if you love something, be there every day. 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.”
“So, I instead of, I had his number and we could have talked about it, 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, ‘F this, I’m just calling this dude out.’ This is a moment. He gave me an opening, I’m going to kick the door in, and I was diligent.”
After Johnson initially mocked John Cena and The Miz, Cena clapped back with a rap insinuating that Johnson’s loyalties lay with Hollywood, instead of WWE. Reflecting back on that moment, Cena now admits he understands why it struck a nerve with Johnson.
“I understand why he got upset because he’s changing the perception of the industry. Him, Dave Bautista, they made it okay to be in WWE. WWE has had that like carnival performer stereotype, and pro wrestlers have had that carny stereotype for so long. And these guys are breaking down barriers and 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’s so shortsighted, it’s selfish.”
“It worked, [but] 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, because Dwayne came back, and he wanted to give to the business openly and as what he could. He has a great perception of WWE and understands that you build equity, you go do something else and you pass the torch. You give away all of your electricity, as he would say. He was trying to do that on his own terms, and I wasn’t having any of it. We made some great TV, so much so that one dude wants to see it again. But it was almost at the cost of our friendship, which I would like to say now, is in a really good place.”
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