John Cena recently spoke with Justin Barrasso for Sports Illustrated; you can read a few highlights below:
John Cena comments on Roman Reigns claiming ‘his yard’, looking forward to facing off with him one day:
“Roman is in the trenches every night and he’s performing at an elite level with a champion caliber attitude. His performance and the response that he gets from certain audiences is indicative of an elite-level performer. He’s doing what I did in 2006, 2007, and 2008. He has all the justification in the world in saying it’s his yard.”
“I’ve made a career of shutting the mouths of people who’ve made that claim that WWE was their yard. I very, very much look forward to the day we put that to the test.”
Cena comments on the evolution of ring gear, how wrestlers’ looks can define them:
“The football helmet used to look different, too. Change is always met with adversity. When some people read this, they’ll want me strung from the tallest tree, but that would only make the thousandth time they’d want that. I believe our uniforms, in some cases, are archaic. That deters some people from showing their personality because they get latched onto this ideology.
“If you go back and trace the history of professional wrestling, the reason that people wore the high boots, the flashy tights, and the robes was to define personality. The high boots are just an extension of a wrestling shoe. I would like to see more diversity in terms of uniforms as a whole.”
“Nakamura’s costuming and appearance directly relate to his personality. Picture him in classic wrestling attire and you wouldn’t have the same personality. There are, however, folks that it works for, and I think it works brilliantly for Randy Orton. On the aspect of Roman Reigns, he belongs in the gear that he’s in. I don’t know him in anything else. I’m in jorts and a ball cap, and that defines me.”
Cena comments on the positive reception to his proposal at Wrestlemania 33:
“I was able to make it the greatest moment of my life, which just so happened to be at a WrestleMania, in front of what I consider my family at what I consider my home. I really want to thank the audience that attended WrestleMania for understanding what that moment meant to me. If you watch the match back, they certainly did enjoy Mike and they certainly didn’t enjoy me. That was par for the course and I figured it would be that way, but I think everyone understood the gravity of the situation. I can’t tell you how much their show of respect meant to me.
“It’s a moment I forever will have, and it could have been filled with ‘No!’ chants or ‘Cena sucks’ chants, and I was fully ready for that, which is why I was so nervous. I am so very appreciative to everybody for allowing Nicole and I to have such a wonderful moment.”
