The Baltimore Sun recently spoke with John Cena about WWE, he movie 12 Rounds, and more. Here are some of the highlights:
On Ted Dibiase Starring in The Marine 2: “I really think he has a lot of potential to be a success and another person to kind of transcend the wrestling business into the movie business. He’s a very hard worker, learns very, very quickly and understands exactly what this opportunity is. That’s the one thing I really tried to hit home with him. I said, “Listen, they’re choosing you for a reason. The Marine did extremely well on DVD, so when The Marine 2 comes out, just because of the franchise, the DVD will sell, so you’re already involved with something that will be successful. If you do a good job, that’s a great way for you to make a name for yourself on to bigger and better things.” So I think he totally understood that. I certainly didn’t give him much advice about acting because he went through the same kind of torture chamber I did – meeting with an acting coach all the time and really trying to do his best. I just really hit home about how great the opportunity was for him.”
On Dwayne Johnson: “The truth is that Dwayne Johnson is a great actor and I think always wanted to be an actor, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s like an athlete saying, “Hey, I don’t do drugs,” and then getting busted for drugs. It’s not the truth. I mean here’s a guy who said he was WWE through and through, and then the first chance to take a road to a different career path, he took it. There’s nothing wrong with that. Dwayne’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He’s one of the hardest workers you’ll ever meet, and he certainly is a great actor. The roadblock that I have, because I certainly am in love with this business and I don’t see myself leaving it any time, is when someone says that and then leaves, it cheapens our business. If he’s going to say that, then back your word. That’s the only beef that I have and that’s what I told the people at The U.K. Sun. It just cheapens that phrase: “Oh, I love this business.” So then next time I come up and say I love this business, well, the guy before me who said that left. That doesn’t look good for me or our business.”
On Randy Orton: “As a matter of fact, when we were in OVW, we thought we wouldn’t make it out of Kentucky. I don’t want to say we were two lost souls, but we were surrounded by talent that was one of the greatest developmental units to ever be assembled. I think WWE started the developmental system in the mid ’90s, and that class of 2000 through ’02 I think is the most successful that has ever been. We were literally just two average guys among some very gifted performers, and never once did we think we’d be headlining WrestleMania. I’ve said this before and I said this before his – what is this, his fifth or sixth “breakout?” – that he is the best guy we’ve got. He is certainly the best performer of my generation.”
On His Tweener Character: “Here’s the deal with my character: I’m in a really unique place. You’ve seen me get cheered, you’ve seen me get booed. Where I’m at right now, there is no good guy or bad guy. I can just be me, with certain little adjustments to my character, I guess, that makes me a “good guy” or a “bad guy.” The people who are going to decide that are the paying customers. When they get sick and tired of me, they’re going to turn on me. And when they turn on me, I’ve openly shown in situations where I get booed that I can turn on them back.”