John Cena Interview: Blockers

John Cena first got his start in the professional wrestling world, starting off with UPW and transitioning to WWE (formerly known as WWF). Cena was the public face of WWE during the 2000s going into the 2010s. Outside of his professional wrestling career, he has held a steady acting career, with his first role being in 2005’s The Marine. He has since been in movies like Trainwreck, Daddy’s Home, and Ferdinand. Now he’ll be appearing in Blockers, which premieres in theaters on April 6, 2018.

Screen Rant got a chance to sit down with John Cena on Press Day, where we discussed Blockers, what he learned from fellow co-stars Leslie Mann and Ike Barinholtz, Wrestlemania 34, and why the WWE Attitude era wouldn’t work today.

SR: Your comedy timing is great! It starts off with Trainwreck and when you do this film and you realize John has great comedic timing is that something that you saw yourself kind of doing in wanting to accomplish?

John Cena:  I can say I love telling stories and that’s what I love most about being in the WWE and once you get as physically seasoned as I am and you continue to be drawn back to the element of WWE, I really have looked at it like what is a what is it about this that excites me so much, and it’s the stories. It’s the new archenemy, or the old rival, or whatever my thinking? And to tell those stories over a period of time, the longest that I’ve been able to do it, you have to show moments of embarrassment. You can’t always win because it’s just not believable so in a very rare circumstance, I’m one of the few characters that have had to eat crow, be humiliated, and lose. Tell them to bet the farm on me because it’s going to work out and not, and then explain myself afterward. I started to draw a lot from like many people losing major sporting events because that’s genuine pure emotion but then you apply your life moments, and then I had the opportunity in Trainwreck, to kind of take that and tell a different story, from a different point of view, and I remember Trainwreck specifically being written because Amy had an experience with an over the athletic dude and she was worn out and like that was the joke.

There’s a montage of scenes where she’s with a guy with a huge penis, a guy who’s got weird fetishes, and then I was supposed to be the big guy, but it morphed into her boyfriend because I thought there was one joke in there that was written, one joke of upon climax the dude says to me, “You look like a guy,” so I took that to be like this guy’s sexually confused. In the same vein, he wants a white picket fence and two and a half kids but he doesn’t really know who he is. He hangs out the gym a lot and like then I find myself overly obsessed about those weird details that the director was, Judd (Apatow) was unbelievably giving and Amy too.  Like yeah, run with it. See what happens and that spawn into like the theater scene because once you understand that the guy is overwhelmed, has body dysmorphia, doesn’t know his sexuality, thinks he wants things, like these, are all questions, and now, okay, now I see all that stuff falling into place so when you want to something like this, it’s the same sort of environment. It’s a very improv-driven environment, and the story is right there in front of you but you have these options to choose and create this character of your own.

SR: By the way, I’m one of the biggest WWE fans you’re ever going to meet.

John Cena: Oh cool, man.

SR: Wrestle Mania V, Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage. I  was hooked. You were in Dallas last night for Monday Night Raw. You’re here in Los Angeles today. You have an amazing work ethic and a lot of people credited the WWE is kind of what help Dwayne Johnson really maintain his work ethic. Can you talk a little bit about how the WWE helps you prepare for your work ethic because it’s crazy all the stuff you have to do?

John Cena: Stuff we have to do should be replaced with stuff we want to do because the WWE is it is a tough life to live if you don’t love it. You earn every penny and if you get into WWE saying I want to be rich, you may get there but you will hate it every step of the way. Those who have succeeded under the umbrella of WWE say I love it there and this is my home, and that’s the way I feel, and that’s why I can be in Dallas Monday, and I can be a Los Angeles Tuesday. I’m hosting the Kids’ Choice Awards Saturday I’ll be in Buffalo for a live event and Sunday night because I’m going to make it, and I love it. Actually, when you work out the economics, I’m operating at a loss at that point, so it’s not about money, it’s about passion. All this stuff, sitting down talking with you today, traveling the world to promote this movie, I’ve been fortunate enough to have such or a long-standing career with Vince (McMahon) and I don’t, I mean, I’m okay. I could just go fishing and be alright, but I love this. I love telling stories so I get the the the luxury of being like, that’s a good story. I’d like to do that, and then when the stars align, the movie was like, yeah, we want the kid to stay in the picture, so I really like it, I already have a great idea of like, how I’m going to do it, and then they say we want you, that’s a lot different than like, man, I got it I got to keep the lights on. I have I have that in total perspective. I wouldn’t be where I’m at without the WWE. It’s my home. It’s my family. I know things may happen as a 41-year old that are going to take me away a little bit more but I’m in for life, man. It’s my home.

SR: Never retire, John. Please never retire.

John Cena: (Laughs) Never say never. It’s from Vince, himself. that’s the way it always is.

SR: You talked a little about improv. You have a lot of experience that, especially with WWE. What did you learn from Leslie (Mann) and Ike (Barinholtz) on set about how they approach things and maybe something you can you took away from them?

John Cena: I love never, I think when you’re the smartest guy in the room some shit’s going wrong. Like, you’re in the wrong room. They are experienced in their craft, they’re funny people, they are creators. They both have a different storytelling process so you just surround yourself with funny people. Trainwreck was a similar situation. Sisters was a similar situation. Daddy’s Home, both of them. I get the luxury to sit under the learning tree of some of the funniest people around. That’s like when I started, I got to work with such experienced WWE personnel, and know the thing in the live entertainment business that keeps me from being the smartest person in the room is the audience. You never know what the hell they’re going to do and if you’re at a point where I can teach the person I’m in the ring with because everyone else is a bit less a lesser experience caliber, I’m still not the sharpest tool in the shed because the audience changes on a dime.

SR: That’s completely true. Especially with what you guys do. It’s all based on audience and crowd reaction.

John Cena: Yes, so I think that in itself has prepared me for anything. I’m one of those characters that get a varied response no matter what so I’m literally, ready for anything.

SR: I mean it happens to the best of them. When I was a kid Hulk Hogan got towards the end of this WWE run.

John Cena: Yeah

SR: So it happens.  If I were your daughter’s prom date in this movie, I would be terrified if you were chasing me. Terrified. So I was wondering if you had any fun prom experiences of your own.

John Cena: Gosh. With my prom, it was so uneventful because I didn’t go. But it was a weird scenario. I was boarding school student so I lived at school. It was a coed school so you essentially ask the people you saw every day. it’s like a summer camp formal but after nine months instead of three weeks, you know, so I was broke and it was a school of diversity, where there were economically impoverished people and very privileged people. The people who could go went.  Did it to the nines, had a great time, and came back with great stories, but I had a chance to stay on campus, work, and then make some extra money. I didn’t go to my prom because I stayed to work and made some extra money.

SR: I do have to ask, with video game movie on the rise again with Tomb Raider coming out, Duke Nukem is something you’ve been attached.

John Cena: Yeah.

SR: You look like Duke Nukem

John Cena: I think that’s the direct attachment. I’m very honored to be attached to that but that is a very fragile franchise. That was one that was very timeline specific that is the 1990’s to the hilt so once again, it reflects upon story. That story has to come in dead on balls, man. It has to come in told correct. Told a palatable sense for this generation which you walk on an eggshell so it’s just it’s got to, you can’t not be Duke Nukem but you can’t make the wrong movie soI mean, what a blessing to be attached to that, a name like that, and I just hope development does the franchise justice.

SR: Another film that I saw you your name floating around with, and I don’t know how much you would you even know about this was Knight Rider.

John Cena: Yep.

SR: And I think the take on that was more of a comedic tone.

John Cena:  It was.

SR: Is that still in the works at all?

John Cena: Ehhh, once again, it takes a miracle to make a movie nowadays. It is still in the works and hopefully, it will come to fruition because the draft that I read of it, I thought it was amazing.

SR: Speaking of reading drafts, I’m going to tell you the butt chug scene was hilarious. I cannot control myself. Was that scene all of the version of the script?

John Cena: A hundred versions of the script and that was in a hundred of the hundred. It was in many different scenarios but it was in every single version of the script so when I was first handed it, I loved it and where the script ended up, I still loved it but I knew what I was getting into when I signed up.

SR: When you open up that script you start reading it, was that the scene that jumps out at you the most?

John Cena: No. Like, for me it’s not one scene that’s like, okay this is going to make my career, It’s is this going to be fun for me because when I read it and love it, you have to put it into context and this is the underworkings that people don’t understand. Every day. No matter what. Twelve hours. And a lot of that is waiting patiently. Just kicking it and then you have a small amount of work and then you go back to waiting so like, it’s not painful but for a guy who moves in fast forward like me, you have to talk yourself into that. So when I read something, I read in one sitting like I did with this. Man, I would love to do that and then I talk myself out of the romance and go back to like, would I love to do that twelve hours a day for four months. Would I still love it? Yes, I would. This is going to be awesome, so it’s not about like oh that gag is going to be great or they have it’s such a meaningful part, if you go back to a movie like The Wall, I laid in the dirt and I loved it because I loved the script, and that was shot in like fourteen days and we earned our money on that one, man, but it was awesome because I was so involved and attached to the story. like it’s very different things, you know what I’m saying? I don’t look at it in a perspective like that. Even if it’s just if my role is just to cross through camp the last Daddy’s Home. My role is to pull up on a bike and take a helmet off. I like the role so much that I’m like yeah, that’s a great idea, I think I should do it.

SR: As a wrestling fan I have to ask, you know, that you’re on a collision course possibly with the Undertaker WrestleMania 34. Past and present what who is your dream opponent and are you going to WrestleMania 34 possibly face that dream opponent?

John Cena: Well, that’s a difficult question because it’s out of my hands. I’ve never been much for Dream opponents because if you look at my existence and WrestleMania it’s been all over the map. I’ve been first been on the pre-show, I’ve been last, I’ve been in the middle, I’ve been with veterans, I’ve been with rookies, I’ve been with my wife. WrestleMania is not for me. It is for the consumer.

SR: That’s for me.

John Cena: Yes, so when the guy tells you, hey this is what’s going to be best for our consumer, I then go to work. I’ve had a lot of interesting and really creatively challenging stories in the last few years, and this being one of the most because I am hanging in the balance of a dude who hasn’t made a decision, and because of that, because I’m put in this awkward place, I now have to enjoy WrestleMania as a ticket buyer which is something I love. I love the audience. They’re my favorite part of the damn show so it felt great to just jump into the crowd for a second and be a fan. I think a lot of our superstars forget that. They forget the excitement to sit in there be caught up in those moments so as far as dream opponents, I just want to contribute and  literally I’m not B.S.ing and when I say this, if me contributing is a Where is Waldo of the Superdome where I’m on the floor and you get a shot and I appreciate the third section so I’m up in the mezzanine and it’s something people remember so that’s my contribution.

SR: Well, for me, I hope that you’re definitely on the card because I know this isn’t blowing smoke either, I was just having this conversation, you don’t have a bad match or at least, I haven’t seen a bad match for quite some time. I’m excited to see you come to WrestleMania and do your thing.

John Cena: Well,  I think that has a lot to do with taking the people that I have the privilege of locking horns with and convincing them that the most important thing is the story so thank you for your kind words. I don’t get that often.

The conversation then switched gears. Cena was then interrupted by the publicist wrapping up the interview, but John graciously granted Screen Rant more time to talk just about wrestling.

SR:  You’re in my favorite matches of all time against C.M. Punk at Money In The Bank 2011. Punk obviously didn’t leave on the best terms, however, never say never because we’ve seen it happen in the wrestling business tons times. In an ideal scenario, do you, in your own opinion think he’d ever come back?

John Cena: I would hope so. I would hope so. I mean, the cruddy thing about that is that every sun that sets it gets farther and farther.

SR: You think so?

John Cena:  Time gets us all, my friend.

SR: I mean, I agree with that to an extent, but then I felt like time heal the wound with Bret (Hart) and Vince (McMahon).

John Cena: Healed it but if he’d have come back sooner.

SR: Yeah. What could have been.

John Cena: What could have been. You’re right, but every sun that sets it gets farther and farther away from what could have been.

It’s amazing to see that the trajectory of your career as well because when you first started the rapper thing was that something that just kind of happened out of the blue? I always heard it started on a bus.

John Cena: It was. It was a mistake. I was just a literally writing of the last few months my contract and was set to be terminated.

SR: No way!

John Cena: Yup. it’s just.. the Ruthless Aggression, and by the way, this is very tough to put into perspective for young talent because they take a look at me, and they’re like, the guy can do whatever he wants, he’s got it all figured out, he’s been handed everything. That is that is my perception. I understand that and it’s a viable one because they haven’t ever seen anything different. I’ve been at the top of the conversation in this company for twelve years maybe more but what they don’t understand was a guy who came out of O.V.W. (WWE’s former developmental system, Ohio Valley Wrestling) Absolutely last. If you look at who they brought up before me, they were betting on everybody else but me. I’m a guy who came in because the Undertaker was sick. the Undertaker was supposed to wrestle Kurt Angle, couldn’t show up. they literally threw in this kid. Ruthless aggression and it didn’t work. It didn’t work because I was still learning the craft. I was a heel in O.V.W. and I was thrown out there and I was told to be a good guy. So I didn’t understand what that opportunity meant.

That is very vague but now as my veteran self-looks back on that opportunity I was given two words one, Ruthless and one, Aggression. You can make an entire persona out of those two words and you can take it, either way. You can you can ironically not be ruthless and or aggressive but then find it somewhere you can be ruthlessly aggressive. What does ruthless mean? He’ll cut anybody’s throat to get whatever, like, I could take that character now and give it a fighting chance whereas before, I just want to wear matching tights, and boots, and throw dropkicks. Less than stellar dropkicks and I was surrounded at the time, by guys who could really work their boots off. It’s really good work, the good stuff you know so I wasn’t as good as those guys. My strength was telling stories and talking folks into matches and I was supposed to be released, I think it was in December. And in October on the overseas tour, they just happened to fly creative out for all T.V. and Stephanie McMahon and heard the rapping at the back of the bus. It was something that we did to pass the time and the veterans kind of accepted me into the circle, and it was something I used to do in college so I kind of held my own. I remember when Stephanie would get on the plane and we were all boarding the plane she was like, how do you remember all that? I don’t just make it up that’s why it’s Freestyle. She’s like, no you don’t do that. I told her I can rhyme about everything or anything and she had tuna fish in her hands and she said rhyme about this and I spit her like six bars on her dietary needs, the tuna fish, the plane, where we’re at, what we’re doing, so she asked, would you want to do that on television, and I said yeah, and I remember consciously them wanting to make me look cool but then me wanting to defer to like the outlandish hip-hop outfits. The blue sheepskin suit. The crazy like Gucci looks because I thought that was identifiable and that was a personality like in Malibu’s Most Wanted. Something that I hated so I figured if I hated it everyone else with it because that was my goal.

I was a bad guy but that’s how good the good guy thing worked. They turned me immediately and people caught on then I was able to speak and I was able to relate. Then I was known as the rap guy and once you make a connection, it’s just a matter of keeping them connected. It was my conscious decision, mine, and mine alone, to say I’m not rapping anymore and everybody looked at me like I was crazy and I was going to, “you’re going to kill your career.” Little did they know how obsessive I am about our audience. I watch our audience file in every night and I could see the shift. I could see the paradigm shift. Coming in in 2002 you’re still riding the coattails of the Attitude era. It’s 18-35-year-old males, it’s very visceral, the entertainment is very extreme. Fast Foward 2004, 2005, 2006, more families are showing up. I don’t feel comfortable saying the things I was saying on the microphone because I got to look a little kid and at that point, I’m supposed to be the good guy? That’s not how a good guy is so I use the opportunity of the platform of the Marine because the movie did reach a bunch of people, to genuinely, subtly, begin to change my character into more of a P.G. environment because those are the tools I’m dealt.

I can do a butt chug scene if you put an ‘R’ on the movie but when you put a P.G. T.V. and you’re out there doing stuff that makes your audience feel uncomfortable, your career longevity is going to be nothing. So a lot of these guys today also want to do all the things we’re not supposed to do. That’s not being a good mechanic. You take the tools that you have to fix the problems in front and everybody’s like, hey, would you bring back the rap guy? It would bomb right now. It would bomb. One, because all those punch lines are appropriate. Especially, for now, they’re not P.G. so if I were to still come out in the outfit, I did, I managed to sneak one in against the Rock. Man, was it difficult to write those lines and I even had to say before I cut the promo, okay, sometimes you have to fight fire with fire so I’m sorry that I have to do this but it’s got to be done. I had to preface it with like earmuffs, kids, because it’s about to get pretty raw and even still meandering through all that I had a double entendre my way through something that I could possibly only do for one night, or it would not work right now. Neither would the attitude era.

SR: I agree with that.

John Cena: So I mean, people who glorify that and say they want to back, I’m a forty-year-old dude, fun ride but it’s not fun for the six-year-old kid and their family that shows up, that I’ve worked for fifteen years to try to get them in the building, you know, they finally feel comfortable sitting there and entertained, and now I got to tell them go home and now they have to walk out of the event going we shouldn’t have showed up.

SR: Absolutely. I’ve never heard that answer before but once you put it into perspective like that…

John Cena: My job is to be a good guy on a P.G. show so when you look at it like that and here’s the wonderful thing about WWE, I firmly believe there will never be another unanimous good guy. There may be spurts of unanimous good guy-ism. I know Daniel Bryan was I did your brother’s it’s cleared to go back inside of the ring. Everyone will be excited. He’ll get a king’s welcome. It will be fantastic but I always wanted to see the story with Daniel play out because he’s this unbelievable underdog. What happens when the underdog becomes the overlord?

SR: Oh, I think it’s a great point.

John Cena: And then our audience now has this way of noticing that like, you’ve achieved everything and then becoming resentful and it happens to everybody. Absolutely everyone. Even C.M. Punk. The turn hadn’t… a lot of guys have trouble with it.

SR: Well,  I mean, think about Roman Reigns sometimes because that guy’s another hard worker.  It’s the fans when the Shield came in and like WE cheered Roman Reigns. We were the one that built Roman Reigns.

John Cena: It’s the perception of this is the company’s product that you’re forcing me to cheer for so when you get that deep into the psychology it’s not a six-year-old saying that. That’s not a families saying that. That is a smart fan like yourself that knows what a company pushes and refuses to be beaten around and that’s why I think there will never be 100%, white knight, good guy because we’re so diverse and when you play, if I know I’m hitting 18-35-year-old male audience, I know Steve Austin is always going to cheer me up because he’s perfect for that.

MORE: Watch The Blockers Trailer