John Cena Discusses WrestleMania, Personal Reud With The Rock, More
During the lead up to this year's WrestleMania, former WWE and World Heavyweight champion John Cena was interviewed and discussed an assortment of topics. Topics included; the advantages both he and The Rock will have at WrestleMania, his strategy for their match, the pressure of hyping the encounter and more. Here are some of the highlights:
On who John believes has the advantage at WrestleMania: "I think you can throw statistics and records out of the window. This is a match where the two people involved — myself and The Rock — genuinely don't like each other. So, I don't think we're going to worry about what we've done at WrestleMania's past.
"I just think I'm more prepared because I've been out there in the ring every night. He hasn't had a legitimate singles match in seven years. I think when the chips are down, if you want to throw statistics out, that's the one that's going to matter.
On wrestling The Rock in his hometown of Miami, Florida: "Advantage-counter advantage. I've had matches all the time but the match is in his back yard. It's here in Miami, it is his hometown. So, where I have the experience edge, The Rock certainly is the home team. The fans will be cheering for The Rock at WrestleMania. He lives here.
"That's what I love about WrestleMania. That's why this is a once in a lifetime match. You truly don't know who has the advantage. I can tell you I'm confident until I get out in front of 80,000 of The Rock's best friends and they make me feel otherwise. ... (It will) absolutely (be overwhelming). Absolutely. If there's any guy that can handle that — that's what I do. That's what I've been able to make a living out of (doing). I'll be fine."
On how The Rock performed in his tag team match with John Cena vs. The Miz and R-Truth at Survivor Series and the fact that Cena took all the punishment in that encounter: "I've watched that back a bunch of times. That's exactly what happened but it stands testament to The Rock. Even after being away for seven years, he's still got it. It's not like he's going to get out there and fumble around and not be able to move.
"He's in the best shape of his life and he truly can still go in the ring. It's just that that was a tag team match and this is a marquee singles match. A WrestleMania match. There's a lot more pressure. So, in a tag team match, once you get in, you can go and be able to take all the glory and leave. In a singles match, there's a lot more avenues for mistakes. It's a longer match.
"When the chips are down, I know he's got big summer movies to make. He's probably not going to want to get hurt too badly. I think, if I can get to him early and keep him hurting for a while, I've got a good chance."
On the unique aspect of this encounter at WrestleMania 28: "I think this has been a unique moment for WWE because a large portion of our audience has that, 'OK. John Cena has become the new Hulk Hogan, or, 'John Cena will never be The Rock.' But over the past six weeks, I think they've realized that The Rock is the The Rock and John Cena truly is John Cena.
"This is not Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant at WrestleMania III. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the biggest individuals in WWE stepping foot in that box in the biggest match-up of all time.
On when he knew that he would wrestle The Rock at this year's WrestleMania: "I honestly didn't know until the day after (last year's) WrestleMania. It's not very private that when you do a $200,000,000 movie — the cast gets out. I knew Rock had commitments to movies this summer, so I didn't know what he was going to do after WrestleMania.
"When he announced in Atlanta that we were going to have the match, it was like a breath of fresh air. This dream has come true. That is when I kind of got nervous because here we are — a year away — we have to make this interesting a year away. When I look around at all the international media, all the local radio: We've done our job.
"This is a very important match. I don't know how long we will see Dwayne but I'm certainly glad he's here April 1st to get beat."
On the build-up for his match with The Rock: "It's been stressful The build-up has been the most stress. When I go through the curtain on Sunday, that's when it becomes enjoyable. But the build-up has been very burdensome. ... There was [a lot of pressure] until, like, today. The last of the interviews are going to happen. This is pretty much the end of the build-up to WrestleMania on Sunday, April 1st. Like I said, that's when the good times start for me. I love being able to get in there and do what I do best.
"So, after all this, the giant monkey is off my back and I'll be able to concentrate on WrestleMania."
Plenty more is discussed. To check the entire video out, watch it below.