John Cena Talks 'Ryder Revolution' & The Rock
Chad Dukes of 106.7 The Fan DC's Lavar Arrington Show with Chad Dukes does a wrestling show (The Chad Dukes Wrestling Show) on Friday nights. On November 16th Chad did an interview with John Cena. Here is a link to the show's twitter (https://twitter.com/DukesWrestling) and a blog post about the interview on the show website (https://chaddukeswrestlingshow.com/2011/11/17/john-cena-on-why-hes-part-of-the-ryder-revolution/). The interview is included in the post. Below is a quick transcription of the highlights of the interview, where Cena covers his view of the feud with The Rock brewing before Wrestlemania and putting over Zack Ryder.
On Zack Ryder's career path and his support for him:
Chad Dukes: You were putting over Zack Ryder before Zack Ryder was cool?Just curious why that is; what did you see in Zack Ryder to say this is a guy I want ot make sure gets his spotlight on Raw?
John Cena: You're probably going to censor me out but I saw a set of balls. I saw a kid in an era in which everyone is afraid to show their talents. This kid was like 'You know what; I'm going down anyway so I'm going down swinging.' And I've been in that spot before. I've been told by everyone 'You're nothing; You're not going to be anything; Hey how you feel about doing this rap thing?' If I'm going down, I'm going down swinging. So I really, I saw a lot of that in him. I honestly, whether he's battle tested and ready for the next level, I'm not into that sort of speculation. I just like seeing a kid with a set of nuts who is just ready to throw it out on the line and risk it all, rather than 'Hey man I just don't want to rock the boat and I don't want to do anything that's going to draw attention to myself.' We're in the business of drawing attention to yourself. So when I see a kid like Zack Ryder- by the way you have to follow him on twitter @ZackRyder?- the kid is, he's just one of those guys that was willing to take a chance. And I admire that quality out of people. Its something that's not found enough in the WWE locker room.
Chad Dukes: Do you see [Zack Ryder]?being a figure that's out there and 'you're the main event' on a Monday Night RAW or Friday Night Smackdown?
John Cena: Well, honestly, that's up to Zack Ryder. And I really like the fact that he was like 'I really don't care about the next step, I care about the first step.' The cool thing about Zack is he has made that first step. And so many guys speculate on "What if I do this, then this is going to happen." F it, like just make the first step. So now, Zack has to realize that he's got some steam going and realize how he got the steam going in the first place, and then take it to the next step. Bu the fact that he threw speculation out the window and took a dive into the deep end and really did something that wasn't being done and made an impression, that's great. I think the biggest thing for him is maybe these upcoming weeks or months leading up towards Wrestlemania I think it would be a huge victory if you would see Zack Ryder on the Wrestlemania card.
On his feud with The Rock and they're upcoming match at Survivor Series:
Chad Dukes: I got to ask one last thing about your feud with The Rock. Are there any parameters set up? Have you guys had a conversation? Because this is not just 'Hey brother I'm going to kick your ass' type f stuff going on, it gets personal. And you call him out for not being there and he calls you out for things, and it looks like you guys are really willing to say whatever you need to get this feud over with the fans. Which you don't need to do anyway, who doesn't want to see John Cena and The Rock at Wrestlemania. But were there any parameters going into this thing saying 'this is out of bounds, this is off limits?' Because it doesn't look like it?
John Cena: Well I think if we're both professionals and Ill say this with the utmost of integrity, Rock is a future Hall of Famer. He's had an illustrious career in the WWE. He's now a bona-fide box office superstar. If anybody is at fault for waving the personal trigger its me, just because I get a little testy about some of the stuff that he's been quoted as saying in the past, some of the stuff he's quoted as saying on our broadcast. I get testy about that, because I work for the WWE full time. I work for the WWE all the time. I will work for the WWE when I cant physically perform for the WWE. As long as there is a brand to work for, I want to be involved in it. I love the company, I love the people who run it, I love its administration, I love success stories like Zack Ryder. I love being there to see that and develop before my eyes. Whether I'm a part of it, whether I'm helping it or whether I'm just a third wheel watching someone succeed. And everybody knows that I have a little bit of a discrepancy with the way Dwayne handles himself. And every once and a while when things get too tense I bring something up that I probably shouldn't. But, you know, sometimes your personality gets the best of you and if they're going to remember this feud for eternity- which I really think they are, like you said it's the match that everyone has to see- at least at the end of the day I'll have got my point across. Yea, so I've already apologized to Dwayne, not only on twitter but in person about some of the stuff I said. It was unprofessional but in the heat of the moment sometimes you let your heart pour out rather than thinking with your head. And I have a feeling it's probably not the last you've heard of me saying all that stuff.