John Cena is now WWE’s most decorated champion, but his journey hasn’t been without regrets, especially when it comes to how he handled his real-life tension with The Rock back in 2012. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Cena opened up about that time in his career and revealed that he acted unprofessionally in the lead-up to their high-profile clash at WrestleMania 28.
“I did something foolish and started to go into business for myself and drum up rumors about things I knew nothing about,” John admitted. “Which were great for this rivalry. But it’s very much a professional faux pas.”
Cena said that Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson had never treated him poorly and had always been supportive. But despite that, he allowed personal feelings and ambition to cloud his judgment during the feud.
“Dwayne had always been cordial to me and always helped me out,” John said. “A few days before this (WrestleMania 28 match), we began to put this puzzle together, and I think that’s when Dwayne finally realized that I’m not in it to take anyone’s spot. I’m just trying to do good business.”
Once their match was over, Cena knew he had to own up to how he’d handled things. “The very first thing I do is apologize to Dwayne’s mother because she was the first person I saw,” he revealed. “And then went right into Dwayne’s locker room and apologized to him.”
Looking back, he believes their rivalry could’ve reached even greater heights if they had worked more closely together from the start. “That was the first moment of me being like, ‘Man, this was great. If we had worked together, I don’t know how great it could’ve been. Like it could’ve been so much better.’ He was empathetic, he was gracious.”
Now, more than a decade later, Cena and The Rock are on the same page, even joining forces at Elimination Chamber 2025. That moment led to Cena’s historic 17th World Title win at WrestleMania 41, where he defeated Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
As for Cody, he bounced back by winning this year’s King of the Ring at Night of Champions, defeating Randy Orton. He’s now set to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
Also Read: SmackDown Star Credits The Rock For Saving Her WWE Dream
