Former 16-time world champion John Cena recently spoke with Bleacher Report about a number of different topics, most notably how WWE seems to be thriving without him before commenting on missing this year's WrestleMania 37 pay per view. Highlights from the interview are below.
Reflects on his last two WrestleMania experiences:
“We all have a window. And I love listening to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin talk about his window. My goal when I stepped foot in WWE was to leave it better than I found it, and it’s really great to be able to see an event. I almost had the best transition you can possibly have. My last two WrestleManias were very interesting: an almost cinematic-type match and before that I was a fan. I got to sit in the crowd and see WrestleMania. I got to see the product. I got to see a stadium full of fans and it was beautiful. I felt at home.”
On missing this year's Mania, but how WWE seems like they did just fine without him:
“I want to be where I am and doing what I am, that’s why I made that choice. I think it’s really special, and we all think they’re never going to go on without us. That’s not true. It’s more reassuring to me to not only see that WWE has a life after me, which is inevitable for sure, but that the life is thriving. There’s so many great storylines, so many great matches. It’s called WrestleMania, not CenaMania, you know? I’ve been a part [of it], and that part is over.”
Discusses his relationship with Vince McMahon:
“Vince McMahon to me is more than anyone could realize. He’s a close friend, a mentor, a father figure. He means a tremendous amount to me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to conceptualize how much I love him and how much he means to me. It’s also appreciative that someone like that understands what I’m doing and approaches my choices with empathy rather than apathy,” he said. “The guy who runs the joint isn’t saying, ‘Screw it, get down here! It’s on a weekend, I know you’re not working!’ He approaches those choices with empathy, saying, ‘This is a great opportunity for you, John. You’re always a part of this family, and if you do well, we all do well.’ I reciprocate in saying that I want the WWE to thrive. That’s why I’ve invested so much of my blood, sweat and tears. I don’t want to see it fall off. I want to see it be everywhere. I want to see it be larger. I want to see it have more success. I want people to look back and not say, ‘Oh, man, it was great when…’ I want people to say, ‘He kind of opened the door for what’s going on now.'”
How Roman Reigns is creating his own path towards success:
“Roman is walking in his own steps, he follows in no one’s footsteps. This happens every time a marquee attraction has moved on. I went through it, everybody said it with Steve [Austin] and The Rock and I understand that. But Roman is crafting his own path, and I think it’s very important to say that he’s doing a great job. I feel this is the best he’s ever been and that comes with comfort. I don’t know what got him over that hill, but he’s over it and that’s a very important one to jump over. I just went out there comfortable with who I was and comfortable even if I failed. Taking brave choices and those brave choices haven’t stopped and aren’t stopping today as I continue to try to challenge myself. Roman has hit that point and that is, for audiences, a beautiful thing. Now he’s going to challenge himself and entertain the audience in ways they didn’t think he was capable of.”