John Cena: ‘I Have No Guilt Nor Shame’ About Friendship With Vince McMahon

John Cena says he feels no guilt or shame about his friendship with Vince McMahon.

Cena addressed McMahon in an interview with Sasha Mistlin of The Guardian, published Sunday, while promoting Matchbox: The Movie. “I have no guilt nor shame about my friendship and my relationship with Vince McMahon,” Cena said, adding, “you’re obviously going to put this in [your] article. It’s OK to love somebody when they’re not perfect.”

The Guardian describes McMahon as a mentor who sponsored Cena’s career and gave him a second family during his years on the road in the 2000s.

McMahon resigned as executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, WWE’s parent company, in January 2024, after former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a federal lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and trafficking. WWE was also named as a defendant. McMahon has denied the allegations. This summer, the parties agreed to move the case out of federal court and into private arbitration.

What Cena has said before

Sunday’s comments are at least the fifth time Cena has been asked about McMahon since the lawsuit, and the position has not changed.

• March 2023, The Associated Press: With McMahon back on the WWE board after the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on hush-money payments, Cena said, “There’s no way I can go on record and say I don’t love Vince McMahon.”
• February 2024, The Howard Stern Show: Weeks after the Grant lawsuit was filed, Cena said, “I’m a big advocate of love and friendship and honesty, and communication, in the same breath, I’m also a big advocate of accountability.”
• April 2025, The New York Times: Ahead of WrestleMania 41, Cena said, “I don’t care who hears it: I love Vince. I’m not downplaying anything that needs to be decided or allegations of any kind, but when I love somebody, I love them wholeheartedly.”
• May 2025, Us Weekly: Asked about the reaction to the Times interview, Cena said, “I’m not surprised about any of that.”
• October 2026, The Guardian: “I have no guilt nor shame.”

Cena is not the only former WWE star to speak warmly about McMahon since the allegations were made public. JBL said on Something to Wrestle in July that he still considers McMahon a friend, while making clear he could not speak to the case.

“I like Vince, and I had no idea of the veracity of the case. I didn’t hear any of this when I was there. That does not mean that all of it might not be true,” JBL said. In the same conversation, he added, “Those allegations may be true. I have no idea.” He also credited McMahon with taking “a Northeast regional territory” and turning it “into a global power.” Full details of JBL’s comments are here.

Neither Cena nor JBL has disputed what Grant alleges. “People are obviously going to take me to task over that. That’s fine,” JBL said.

Cena retired from in-ring competition in December 2025, losing to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C. Matchbox: The Movie premieres on Apple TV on October 9.

Analysis

By Angel Aramboles

Cena’s comments are not out of the ordinary. The wrestlers McMahon built his company around have described a relationship with him that went beyond boss and employee, and often used the same words Cena uses. Bret Hart talked about McMahon as a father figure until the Montreal Screwjob in 1997. Hulk Hogan had that relationship through the 1980s until the steroid trial and the scandals of the early 1990s pulled them apart, and he still came back in 2002. Kevin Nash, as Diesel, was close to McMahon during his run on top. Shawn Michaels was closer than almost anyone.

The pattern is the main event. The wrestlers who drew the money were treated differently from the rest of the roster, spent more time with McMahon, and came away with a personal loyalty the others did not have. Cena was the top star for the better part of a decade. McMahon is the reason he made what he made in wrestling, and WWE is what got him to Hollywood. That he feels no shame about the friendship is the least surprising thing he could have said.

None of that absolves McMahon of anything he is alleged to have done, and he has been accused of a great deal over the years. It explains why Cena answers the question the way he does, every time he is asked.

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