John Cena On Vince McMahon Leaving WWE: He Taught Me That No One Is Irreplaceable

Vince McMahon was once synonymous with WWE, as both its chairman and an onscreen character that was a part of the biggest storylines of the "Attitude Era" and beyond. Today, WWE is a subsidiary of TKO, instead led by Paul "Triple H" Levesque and the TKO Board of Directors, and continues to further distance itself from McMahon in the wake of a sexual assault and trafficking scandal.

As John Cena does his rounds on the press circuit to promote the end of his career, he has been asked about his relationship with McMahon and what his WWE departure taught him. "Of all the things he did, and of all the things he taught me, one piece that was very important is that no one is irreplaceable," Cena expressed during an interview with Bill Simmons. "I think what's happened is unfortunate, because you have this individual with so much depth of field who can still offer things, and we no longer can pull from that well."

Cena noted that WWE can still function without McMahon, but he admitted that he never wanted his former boss to leave the promotion. "I love him, and I know how much he loves the business, but he taught me [that] we're all going to go. All of us," he added. The wrestler first began learning this lesson decades ago, when McMahon fired "Stone Cold" Steve Austin when he no-showed an event. This was surprising because Austin had been one of the company's biggest draws, but Cena believes McMahon felt he had to make an example of him.

"His biggest attraction! 'I gotta let people know this isn't okay.' So, things happen, 'We got to let people know this isn't okay. It's time for you to go.' Everybody goes, man. Everybody goes."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Bill Simmons and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.