Since his impressive comeback, Dwayne Johnson has become increasingly popular among WWE fans, but he is not the only person making headlines. The 51-year-old is resuming his wrestling career, but it seems that the talk will primarily center on his past rivalry with John Cena.
Although they are friends now, there was a brief rivalry between Johnson and Cena in real life. But the latter apologetically reflected on the moments when his feud with The Rock became tense outside of the ring. Cena is also presumably the happiest about the Black Adam actor’s decision to join the WWE board.
The WWE star expressed his regrets for publicly criticizing Johnson’s decision to leave wrestling to pursue an acting career, which led to the beginning of a feud between him and the Baywatch star in the late aughts. Claiming that Johnson’s contract with WWE is “good for everybody”, Cena also congratulated the former on becoming a board member of WWE’s parent company, TKO.
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John Cena Admitted to Have ‘Violated’ Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Trust’
When the allegations and tensions were high, a feud arose between John Cena and Dwayne Johnson, with the former accusing The Rock of leaving WWE to pursue a glamorous Hollywood career. As fate would have it, Cena followed in The Rock’s footsteps, and he entered the world of Hollywood. As he made a name for himself as a leading actor, Cena couldn’t resist reflecting on his past comments and the irony that unfolded.
At the press conference for WWE’s 2023 Fastlane event (via Variety), Cena said that he could “100% see and understand” why some might call him a hypocrite for criticizing Johnson for switching from wrestling to acting and then pursuing a similar career path.
“If you’ve been following what I’ve tried to do, especially as of late, publicly and personally to Dwayne Johnson, I’ve stated that although I thought I was trying to do what’s best for business. I went about it the wrong way. I violated his trust and I made allegations about his perspective that I knew nothing about. And deep down, I was a fan. I wanted The Rock back [in WWE]. I wanted to do anything to get The Rock back, but I did it the wrong way.”
Currently, Cena is fully in favor of the WWE’s recent deal with Netflix to stream Monday Night Raw on the platform next year. At the worldwide premiere of his latest movie, Argylle, in London, he told Variety that the deal is “good for everybody”, and he congratulated Johnson on joining the board of WWE’s parent company, TKO.
“That’s great for WWE, that’s obviously great for TKO. It came in tandem with an announcement that Dwayne Johnson is now on the board of TKO and he’s going to be more involved with WWE — that warms my heart.”
Evidently, Cena had a revelation that fundamentally altered his thoughts and behavior, in typical protagonist fashion.
Is John Cena Planning to Retire from WWE Soon?
When asked if the world would see John Cena on Netflix, the wrestler-turned-actor appeared open to the idea, although he reaffirmed his decision to retire from the sport. He told Variety:
“I will retire soon from in-ring action. WWE’s always my family, I’ll always be there in any capacity they’ll have me, but we got a wonderful young generation that needs to strut their stuff. I hope I’m lucky enough to be on Netflix in 2025.”
In addition, the actor and professional wrestler recently revealed to Entertainment Tonight that he intends to leave the WWE within the next few years:
“That’s not a maybe. That time is gonna come and it’s gonna come soon.”
That being said, the Argylle actor still intends to make sporadic appearances in the ring, so fans can still anticipate seeing him there after retirement.
“I’ve had at least one match every year in WWE for the past 23 years. I’ve never missed a year, and as long as I can perform, I don’t intend to miss a year.”
Cena will soon be seen as Wyatt in Matthew Vaughn’s spy action comedy flick, Argylle, which is written by Jason Fuchs. Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson are among the ensemble cast members in the film.
Argylle will hit theaters on February 2.
