John Cena recalls his red-carpet interactions with MJF.
On December 11, 2023 figures across the entertainment and professional wrestling world gathered together for the premiere of The Iron Claw film. This red-carpet event also saw the collision of WWE and AEW, as then AEW World Champion MJF was seen mingling with the likes of John Cena and Liv Morgan. On a recent episode of Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Cena spoke about his experience in meeting MJF that night.
While the younger version of Cena may have hesitated to approach MJF due to the continued competition between WWE and AEW, 2023 Cena chose to push that feeling aside and create a joyful memory with him. Cena even teased the possibility of bringing MJF over to WWE one day.
“He couldn’t have been nicer. He couldn’t have been more cordial,” Cena said. “And we meet each other and I got pulled away to take some pictures. Then we were about to go do everything else before I even got to you. And I was like, ‘Hold on, give me two minutes.’ I shook his hand. I said, ‘Man, I’m so sorry. Excuse my ignorance, I didn’t know what to expect from you today. You are a class act, I can’t believe you’re as professional as you are. That’s just my ignorance. I’m sorry, I had that judgment, I want to thank you for being so special. Thanks for making my night.”
MJF’s Undeniable Professionalism
“Then we got back I was able to talk to him more. And I kind of [said] ‘Maybe we can get you to play for the right team one day,’ all that. There’s no denying the fact that he’s doing good work. And I don’t think that I should ignore that. Honestly, I was floored by his professionalism, where it would have been an easy target at a wrestling movie premiere, to have yourself a moment. We did have a moment, and it was one that the internet paid attention to. It was one where I was hoping that this person that I met, I could once bet on like, ‘Man, oh, if we just get you over here, that’d be awesome.’ But it was great — it was great to meet a professional, classy, driven young man.”
For MJF, meeting John Cena was a mixture of personal and professional delight. As excited as he was to meet another peer from wrestling, this moment signified so much more than that. As MJF previously pointed out, Cena was also one of his biggest idols growing up, making The Iron Claw premiere the official stage for an incredible full-circle moment.
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