The Real-Life Heat Between WWE Wrestlers John Cena and The Rock, Explained
The Rock versus John Cena program that dominated WWE programming from 2011 to 2013 is one of the most profitable rivalries in wrestling history. The booking and execution left a lot to be desired, but in terms of finances, Cena and Rock have sold over 3 million PPV buys. WrestleManias 27, 28, and 29 were sold on the back of this program.
The Rock returned to WWE in 2011 and in his first promo back home, he set his sights on John Cena, the top babyface in the company. John Cena had spoken before out of kayfabe, questioning whether The Rock really loved the business. During his promo, the Rock mentioned that Cena started talking about Rock “out of the blue." He went on to blast Cena for the majority of the segment. This kickstarted the dream feud between The Rock and Cena, built on real life animosity.
The Rock Vs John Cena Dominated Three Consecutive WrestleManias
In early 2008, John Cena showed up for a radio interview, and when asked about his opinion on The Rock, Cena took aim at one of the biggest stars in wrestling history and said that The Rock only did professional wrestling so that he could catapult himself to a Hollywood career.
He wondered why The Rock could not make time to show up for WrestleMania or the SmackDown anniversary, and even went as far as to say that The Rock claiming that he loved the business angered him on a personal level. The flood gates opened up and Cena, who was already public enemy number one for the Internet Wrestling Community. He was slandered even worse for talking ill of the Great One.
When the Rock showed up at the Hall of Fame ceremony in 2008, rumors began to circulate that a backstage altercation took place between Cena and The Rock, with Rocky giving Cena a black eye. That didn’t happen, but for a period of time many fans were convinced that the fight happened backstage and Rocky had decked Cena for his insolent comments.
When the two got together for the WrestleMania programs, the weekly dirt sheets were all about the mood backstage. One particular promo, where Cena pointed out the promo notes on the wrist of his opponent, led to a lot of lingering animosity. That was apparent on camera too, as the Rock was visibly agitated. For the record, the wrist line wasn’t scripted and when The Rock got backstage, he was irate.
Week by week, the animosity began to build up, and according to the Rock, they nearly came to blows backstage during WrestleMania season. He described the tension backstage as palpable and that it got really uncomfortable for a lot of people. The Rock was not happy about the unscripted jabs from John Cena but Cena himself was unhappy about the result of the match.
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According to match referee Mike Chioda, Cena was upset about the finish of the match and the fact that he was going to lose to The Rock. The leader of Cenation felt he was working too hard to lose to someone who was mostly in Hollywood and that was further fuel to the fire. Regardless, The Rock and John Cena put on a great main event the first time around, and backstage, the two megastars shared a hug.
John Cena Later Apologized For His Comments About The Rock
The feud continued over the next year, but by that point, the animosity was pretty much resolved, as was apparent on the program. Cena, who used to blast The Rock for not committing to the business, sang his praises about how Rocky was back and how he loved the WWE Universe. Ironically, Cena went on to emulate the career of The Rock in Hollywood, and from 2015, he worked a part-time schedule. Nowadays, he is featured as a very special attraction.
Reflecting on the real life rivalry, Cena admitted that he spoke out of ignorance and had no idea how tough a career as an actor really is. The record-tying champion went on to thank his former rival and credited him for paving the way for other superstars such as himself. Interestingly, The Rock, during the heated 2011 program, said the exact same thing. It took a while for Cena to understand but props to the guy for admitting that on camera and apologizing.
Nowadays, Dwayne Johnson and John Cena are good friends. The rivalry was going to be something great no matter what, but the real life heat certainly added a little something special.
