John Cena says he was ‘short-sighted and selfish’ during feud with The Rock
‘There was a moment where there was a lot of bad vibes between us and rightfully so,’ Cena said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.John Cena has admitted that he was “short-sighted and selfish” when he publicly feuded with Dwayne Johnson.
The actors had a long-standing rivalry while working as pro wrestlers, but remained friends behind the scenes.
However, one rough period in the pair’s friendship came in 2012, after a number of comments Johnson – who performed as “The Rock” – made about the business.
While Cena was publicly mouthing off about Johnson, who had just begun his move to Hollywood, Johnson said: “This is what happens when idiots have confidence.”
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Cena, 46, recalled: “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.”
Rather than contacting Johnson personally, Cena decided to air his grievances publicly, explaining: “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.’”
Cena, 46, said that he “understands why he got upset”, adding: “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.”
The Peacemaker star said that while he and The Rock made for great on-screen rivals, that came “at the cost of our friendship”, which he added “now is in a really good place”.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Speaking about the rivalry during a recent appearance on The Late Show with Kimmel, Johnson offered his own thoughts on the feud.
“We had a great rivalry,” the 51-year-old explained. “In the world of wrestling, it’s fictionalised, it’s a show, but here’s the thing. Our rivalry was, it was so real. We had real problems with each other.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments