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John Cena Comments on Current WWE, Vince McMahon, Praise for Roman Reigns and Hosting “Wipeout” TV Show, More

John Cena is a busy man these days starring in major motion pictures like Fast 9 (check out the trailer here), filming the HBO Max show “Peacemaker” and hosting Wipeout on TBS. Cena is also a former 16-time WWE Champion that hasn’t had a match in a WWE ring since January 2019 unless you want to count the “Firfely Funhouse Match” at last year’s WrestleMania. While it was entertaining to watch, it was about 15 minutes of skits instead of an actual wrestling match. Cena also got married last year too.

Anyway, Cena missed WrestleMania 37 earlier this month because of filming Peacemaker in Vancouver and even though he told us that well in advance, there were probably fans thinking he would find a way to show up at WrestleMania. Sorry guys, but it didn’t happen. Cena did a wrestling-related interview with Bleacher Report, so here are some of his comments and a little bit on Wipeout too. Speaking of Wipeout, here’s a tweet from Cena plugging tonight’s new episode.

Cena spoke about missing WrestleMania this year and WWE moving on without him:

“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.”

“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.”

Cena has developed a close relationship with WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon since John was WWE’s top guy for about a decade before he started to slow down. Here’s what Cena had to say about Vince:

“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. 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.”

Cena had a lot of kind words to say about WWE’s current top guy Roman Reigns, who is thriving on Smackdown as the Universal Champion:

“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.”

Lastly, here are some of Cena’s thoughts on hosting Wipeout on TBS along with co-host Nicole Byer:

“We wanted to keep the spirit of the show lighthearted. I think the people at TBS realized Nicole and I were also passionate about being in front of the contestants. I wish we had a little bit more of that. I think that’s really special. Nicole and I both really enjoyed hosting, and the fact that the show hasn’t lost its ability to laugh at itself is what makes it special.”

“I like that they’ve made the course different and kept the roots of it, but the thing I like most about it is its ability to laugh at itself, which is what makes it OK for you as a viewer to laugh along with us.”

There is a lot more that is covered in John Cena’s interview with Bleacher Report here including his thoughts on social media, more on Wipeout and how WWE superstars may be benefitting from this Thunderdome era.

You can check out Wipeout tonight at 9pm ET on TBS Network. We don’t know when Cena will return to WWE TV, but maybe later in the year he’ll be back if his schedule allows it. Best of luck to John in whatever he does next.