John Cena, whose days in WWE are winding down, has begun reflecting on the people who paved a path for him, including former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. McMahon is currently a party to multiple lawsuits and ended his time with the company in January 2024 after allegations in those lawsuits came to light. While Cena was not an active member of the roster at the time, McMahon played a significant role in his rise to fame, and Cena has since expressed his appreciation for his former boss on several occasions.
In an interview with Bill Simmons of The Ringer before his retirement match, Cena spoke about what he took away most from his time working with McMahon. Cena explained that of all the things McMahon did and taught him, one very important piece is that “no one is irreplaceable. That’s the truth.”
He then discussed the product’s consumption, stating, “The one thing that needs to stand firm is the consumer’s belief in what we do.” Cena noted that McMahon has so much knowledge and thinks what has 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, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have able-bodied folks who can’t put on creative programming.”
Despite his current legal situation, Cena has continued to support McMahon publicly. In elaborating further on the lessons taken away, Cena noted that McMahon was not afraid to make an example out of even the biggest names in WWE.
He recalled a specific instance, saying, “I was there the day he fired Stone Cold. Missed a date, gotta go. Biggest attraction. ‘I gotta let people know this isn’t okay.’ Things happen, we gotta let people know this isn’t okay. ‘It’s time for you to go.’ Everybody goes.” Cena is referring to when Stone Cold Steve Austin refused to work with Brock Lesnar over creative differences in 2002, which resulted in Austin and McMahon parting ways for nearly a year. Austin would return for a short in-ring run in 2003, culminating with his WrestleMania XIX match against The Rock.
The 17-time world champion Cena is set to retire on December 13 in a singles match against GUNTHER at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C. GUNTHER earned the match by defeating LA Knight in the finals of The Last Time Is Now tournament on the December 5 episode of SmackDown.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Bill Simmons of The Ringer with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.Â
