John Cena Talks His Start in Pro Wrestling, Vince McMahon’s First Words to Him, Who Did He Get the AA From?, American Grit and More

The origin of the “Attitude Adjustment”:

“I actually got a signature move from a guy named Tommy Dreamer. A local guy. A New York guy. And he was using a move, that is a fireman’s carry, and you basically pick somebody on your shoulders and drop them down to the mat, and he gave it to me and I gave it a name and then changed the name and now it’s the Attitude Adjustment.”

Being a pizza-eating champion:

“I’m a Zeppy’s pizza-eating champion. That was a place that closed down on Hermosa Beach (Californa) and I was broke and didn’t have any food, and they had a promotion, they had really thick dish pizza, if you ate a whole pizza, you’d get the pizza free. So, I went in there on a lunch break and crushed a pizza in about 20 minutes and the (pizza parlor) guy’s face dropped. He didn’t realize that I was broke and hungry, so I went back the next day and did the same thing. Finally, he pulled me over and he’s like, “Man, I kind of know what you’re doing. Just stop by for a free slice any time you want.” So, he saved me from eating pizza.”

Getting involved with FOX’s American Grit:

“Here’s the thing about American Grit that’s unique…all the competitors, they come from different walks of life, and I wanted to be involved with a show that was aspirational and attainable, same thing as the WWE. You say you wanna be a WWE Superstar, there’s a chance (you) can be, and always hold onto that dream if you have it. When you watch American Grit on FOX, you’ll be able to watch these people go through these evolutions and it’s not something you feel as if you’ll be alienated from. I think everyone in this room will get the sense of, “I could probably do that,” and that’s what I want America to feel, because I want you to have that experience. I want you to be able to come back for American Grit 2 and compete and be able to get the knowledge of these military leaders and really live this experience. It is a special show. It’ll be entertaining, but it’s just a really, really cool message, and some really awesome people are a part of it, so I hope they watch it.”