- 5/30/2025
Category
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PeopleTranscript
00:00I've explored a lot of new places while making this show,
00:04but few have impacted sports entertainment like my destination today.
00:14Welcome to a place of accomplishment and integrity.
00:19Welcome to Hard Knocks Out.
00:21This is the gym of the one and only John Cena.
00:26John Cena is here!
00:28The gym!
00:30He is here!
00:33There is no longer a debate.
00:37John Cena is the GOAT.
00:40John Cena's life has been a series of twists and turns.
00:45From his humble beginnings as an outcast in West Newberry, Massachusetts,
00:49to a record-setting 17-time WWE World Champion and Hollywood star.
00:56Please welcome everybody's favorite.
00:59John Cena!
01:00You can't see me!
01:02I'm a delicate flower!
01:04John has truly done it all, with one constant throughout, an iron paradise to call home.
01:12This place has been a functioning part of my life for 20 years.
01:18Mm-hmm.
01:18It's evolved, just as I have through the 25 years of WWE, but as it evolves, it still is a very functional part of my life.
01:27An important part of my life is an important part of your life.
01:29Very much so.
01:30I'm Stephanie McMahon, and I love WWE.
01:35Stephanie McMahon!
01:37I'm on a quest to hear the stories behind the biggest superstars and legends in WWE history.
01:46Here we go.
01:48So come join me on the trip of a lifetime.
01:51You picked this location?
01:59Yeah.
01:59So tell me about where we are and why it means so much to you.
02:03So we are in the halls of Hard Knock South.
02:07We opened the doors here in 2008.
02:09What made you want to start this gym?
02:11Um, I would, believe it or not, I was just sick of working out at s*** places.
02:15This building came up and, uh, bought it.
02:18The name Hard Knock South is taken from the original location in Amesbury, Massachusetts, where John trained during his formative years.
02:28This is a very safe space for conversation to be kicked around, for you to have a bad day, but not stay in a bad day.
02:36Like, in here we ride the ship.
02:39I've never trained, even when I didn't want to, and ever said, man, I wish I didn't do that.
02:45No kidding, right?
02:46Hearing John talk about his gym, it's obvious how much he cares about it.
02:51And it's not just important to him, it's important to a particular part of WWE history.
02:57Before the creation of the WWE Performance Center in 2013, many up-and-coming WWE superstars trained right here as they looked to follow in John's footsteps.
03:11We had our golden years, so to speak, from, like, 2009 to, like, 2015.
03:17Right next to the huge American flag is the top ten of all-time list.
03:22These are all-time bests of the gym.
03:24It is E-Tour's world, and we're all just living in it.
03:28This is a 575 Raw bench that puts him in a very elite class with the world, actually.
03:33It's been really cool to see it evolve from the weightlifting competitions that we used to have in, like, the Camelot era of 2009 to 2015 to, like, it's kind of a place where the families all get together now.
03:59Here we are, sitting in the gym, one of us dressed for the occasion.
04:07You know, it's, like, a big thing to figure out what to wear, right?
04:11Especially as a woman, and so...
04:13We both should have communicated with him.
04:14And, you know, I thought about that.
04:15I'm like, I should have texted him last night and just...
04:18We should have planned this out.
04:20Well, I didn't know.
04:20I didn't know if you were going to try to make me do something, so I came ready.
04:24Now that I know I should have dressed more professionally, I was eager to learn more about John and how he first discovered WWE.
04:34Do you remember your first exposure to WWE?
04:38Yeah.
04:39You guys did something in conjunction with MTV to build up WrestleMania 1.
04:44I'm the incredible Hulk Hogan, the main man in your rock wrestling connection around MTV.
04:48MTV showed the entire match of Hulk Hogan Sheik, MSG, where Hulk Hogan won the championship.
04:56He's done it!
04:58We have a new champion!
05:01I'm seven to eight years old, and now I'm like, yo, this is the coolest thing ever.
05:07Oh, they're at it!
05:09It's underway!
05:10Look at this!
05:11Back and forth!
05:12Oh, right to the eyes of Roddy Roddy Piper!
05:14It was so larger than life, so incredible, especially to a young mind of like, man, superheroes are real.
05:23Do you believe this is happening?
05:24It was the rock wrestling connection, everything we stand for!
05:29I was around for the rock and wrestling connection, and I was a huge fan of MTV.
05:34That's all I ever watched.
05:35Of course.
05:35So for me to also see it, yeah, yeah, I'm a little older than you are.
05:41By like, a few months.
05:43I'm still older.
05:44Well, children of the same generation, because wrestling was on MTV, I got to watch MTV.
05:51I watched that in my next door neighbor, acres away, he had to go through a path in the woods
05:55to get to this kid's house.
05:57My parents wouldn't let us watch MTV.
05:59Okay.
05:59And we could always watch MTV at this other kid's house.
06:03Who was the first artist you fell in love with?
06:05I remember specifically all the stuff that I wasn't supposed to listen to.
06:11Two Live Crew from Miami, NWA from the West Coast, and because I was the one kid in an area
06:19who really connected with this as a rebellious way to say to my parents, I embraced everything.
06:26High top fade, the airbrush overalls, I was wearing my jerseys backwards.
06:33One strap.
06:34One strap.
06:35One strap.
06:36Yes, of course.
06:37Of course.
06:39Come on.
06:40Compounding interest, my brother Steve was a nerd, and he was in high school, and like,
06:44it's a small town, so like, the junior high is here, the high school is here, they line
06:48the buses up.
06:50My bus happened to be here, so I have to walk through all the high school kids.
06:53Boy, am I an easy target, there's a kid in turquoise polka dots with the high top fade.
06:57Kid.
06:59I was getting bullied.
07:00And how did you handle that?
07:02So I was like, man, I don't want to learn how to fight, but if I make myself stronger,
07:08maybe they'll leave me alone.
07:10And then my grandfather finally convinced my dad to get me a weight set for my 12th Christmas
07:16gift.
07:16My parents gave me, like, my own corner of the house.
07:20It was very small, but it was like a nice little space where I could go and be me, I
07:25could play my rap music, and no one would mess around with me, so that became a part of
07:29the routine.
07:31When we got to high school when I was a freshman, I'd already lifted weights for like two and
07:35a half years.
07:35And that helped me gain a little bit of fluency in football, which, oh man, you can help our
07:42team win.
07:42You're all right.
07:43You're pretty cool.
07:44You became a part.
07:45Yes.
07:46Part of the team.
07:47Yes.
07:48John succeeded on the gridiron, earning a spot on the Springfield College football team
07:53where he became an NCAA All-American.
07:58So I wasn't like, what did I want out of life?
08:00I just graduated with a degree in ex-fiz and kinesis.
08:03This was just after the year 2000.
08:06The base of health and fitness was certainly in Southern California.
08:10Kind of all roads led through Los Angeles.
08:14I landed with two duffel bags full of clothes and 500 bucks.
08:18You have quite a story, right?
08:20I mean, when you first started off, you were living out of your car.
08:25By choice, though.
08:26I don't want to paint that as like a, woe is me.
08:29But what's it like living out of your car?
08:30It was dope.
08:31Yeah?
08:32It was a 91 Lincoln Continental.
08:34I was 20 years old, so I felt bulletproof every day.
08:38I didn't know what joint pain felt like.
08:41I had a nice big back seat and then the front seat reclined.
08:45I mean, it was, those cars were big.
08:46And you had a radio.
08:47I had a radio.
08:48I had AC.
08:49No satellite at the time.
08:50No satellite at the time.
08:51But like, I got to sleep in the parking lot at Gold's, wake up, use the locker room to shower, clock in, get paid to be there, and then train after hours.
09:00So I did not know that you wanted to be a Marine before you got into WWE.
09:05So I chose, tried to apply my degree, and that's enough.
09:13Like, I get to train every day, it's cool, I'm well fed, I'm good.
09:17But I got to think more long-term, like, what's the next play?
09:21And I wanted to remain physical, I wanted to keep myself at a top level of performance.
09:28So I'm like, the Marines, they pretty much seem like they would do that.
09:32So I was just going to drive down and sign up.
09:34And like, literally the weekend I was going to go, my buddy was like, man, we're training over in Orange County, would you ever want to do that?
09:41I was like, I'll take a look at it.
09:42And I remember driving into LA Boxing, it's a one-story glass building, and I could see the ring through the glass.
09:48So I was like, I will deal with the suck Monday through Friday, because on the weekends I'll be a superhero.
09:56And that's how I approached it.
09:59John dove headfirst into the wrestling business and became known as the prototype.
10:05They're a protobomb!
10:07Wait a minute!
10:08Two, three!
10:09That's it, folks!
10:11Catching the attention of WWE.
10:14John Cena made his official WWE debut in 2002 against one of the biggest legends in the history of amateur and professional wrestling,
10:26Hall of Famer, Kurt Angle.
10:29What is the one quality that you possess that makes you think that you can walk out here and come into the ring
10:38and face the very best in the business?
10:41Ruthless aggression!
10:46Oh!
10:47Holy!
10:48Oh, man!
10:49See the kids?
10:50Take an angle down!
10:53I remember being fortunate enough to get my first contract, and then being like, I have made it in life.
11:00Because I have a chance to do this as a vocation, and I'm never going to have to wear a suit.
11:07I have beat the system.
11:10With John's initial impact waning, his excitement for the business soon turned sour.
11:16Frustration by John Cena.
11:17That's true.
11:18He needs to keep us cool a little bit, but John Cena's still a rookie.
11:21He got tons of skills, though, in that ring.
11:23He felt his on-screen character was too generic, and the audience wasn't connecting with him.
11:29This is another thing I love about sports entertainment.
11:32You know if you sucked right away.
11:34And there are many nights I have sucked.
11:36I wasn't stressed to be like, gotta be perfect.
11:42I was more stressed in the fact that I didn't know who I was.
11:47Oftentimes, when someone is looking to find themselves, all they need to do is focus on what they love.
11:54For John Cena, he realized there was a lifestyle and a soundtrack that had been with him all along.
12:01Inside is the jump off.
12:03Hip-hop.
12:04One day, John was freestyling on the WWE bus.
12:09I was blown away when he impromptu rapped for me about the tuna fish sandwich I was eating.
12:17I was part of the WWE creative team at the time and thought this talent could be exactly what he needed.
12:25You happen to overhear me, like, and then you being like, hey, you wanna do this on TV?
12:30Welcome to the SmackDown Halloween party.
12:34I learned from not standing out to stand out.
12:38I gotta go, it's been a blast.
12:40Came out the locker room, stole Rey Mysterio's mask.
12:42Tried to get Taker's cast, but it was plastered on too tight.
12:45Peace, I gotta go about the Hawwire's body.
12:52John had finally discovered his character.
12:55John Cena, the Doctor of Thuganomics.
12:59As the Doctor of Thuganomics,
13:02Cena's notoriety grew by going after superstars like The Undertaker.
13:07Fans won't even miss you.
13:09You ain't a dead man.
13:11You just a dead issue.
13:13And over the next few years, his career flourished.
13:17His character evolved.
13:19He became a multi-time world champion.
13:23And ultimately, a hero to fans all over the world.
13:28As John's stardom grew, he found even more ways to connect with the WWE Universe.
13:35John Cena!
13:36Oh, ow!
13:38You have my hands!
13:40What's up?
13:41You are the number one make-a-wish grantor of all time.
13:45One, two, three.
13:46You can't see me!
13:47You are strong.
13:48I like that one the best.
13:49It's a charity that I've come to know and love.
13:50I admire the fact that we can bring people into our world who are going through somewhat
13:51of a difficult time.
13:52Give them a day's worth of escape.
13:53Give them an experience that they'll never forget.
13:54I'll be your partner.
13:55If I get stuck, I may have to ask you.
13:56And then you get immediate suspension of disbelief.
13:57You get a true day off.
13:58Ladies and gentlemen, this is KJ, and the champ is here!
14:02Anytime it's like, oh, the make-a-wish wants you to do this, no problem.
14:05Let's do it.
14:06Those people who have setbacks and lose people and the hands of on.
14:09All back in the world, who are going through somewhat of a difficult time,
14:11give them a day's worth of escape or give them an experience that they'll never forget.
14:14Can I be your partner?
14:16If I get stuck, I may have to ask you.
14:17Any time it's like, oh, maybe we want you to do this.
14:19No problem.
14:20Let's do it.
14:22Let's do it.
14:25Any time, it's like, oh, maybe I want you to do this.
14:29No problem, let's do it.
14:30Those people who have setbacks and their one wish is to spend some time with you.
14:36I mean, that's it.
14:40Now, John Cena has granted over 600 wishes in his career.
14:45Miss X, say hi to everybody at home.
14:47Hi, Louis.
14:48We're at WrestleMania.
14:51It's not just about meeting the person, right?
14:54The Superstar, but then it's about the ultimate distraction.
14:59Perfect.
15:03That child doesn't have to think about being sick or what medications they're going to take.
15:09And those parents are watching their child be free of all of that and hopefully free of
15:18pain for a few moments.
15:20So, just thank you for making such a difference and providing so much hope to so many kids
15:27and their families throughout all these years.
15:31The cool thing about those moments is that I can tell because of our emotion that it's
15:36an absolute boomerang.
15:38Whatever you think you give to somebody, they give back to you exponentially.
15:41But I don't need a thank you because I was there.
15:45That's enough.
15:48John's natural charisma shined through, both in and out of the ring.
15:53And this time, it was Hollywood that took notice.
15:56Right now, we have the John Cena.
15:59Fun day.
16:00We're premiering Fast 10.
16:01It's a great movie.
16:02We've got a great crowd out there.
16:03As his star continued to rise, John began to split his time between WWE and the big screen.
16:12And his blossoming film career led him to the love of his life.
16:18Here's a big question.
16:20Yeah?
16:21How did you meet your wife, your bride?
16:23So, this goes in line with kind of my whole life by accident.
16:29It was Super Bowl about six years ago.
16:32Patriots are playing, and I didn't want to leave my apartment in Vancouver.
16:36I just got there and started to film a movie because I didn't want to jinx the team.
16:40A friend of mine convinced me to go out to a hole in the wall.
16:43I got to watch the game.
16:44In walks a group of four, and I can't take my eyes off of Shea.
16:50They're in the booth right across from us, so I'm watching their TV.
16:53They're watching mine, and I'm just doing this.
16:56And, like, my team is winning, and I don't give a f***.
17:01And I don't have the bravery to break the ice.
17:05And her friend comes up.
17:08She's like, hey, can I have a picture with you?
17:11I'm like, only if I can get a picture with her.
17:14And she's, well, to be honest, I didn't want a picture with you.
17:17I was asking for her anyway.
17:18I'm like, you're kidding me.
17:19And so we get together, and I'm like, hey, could I give you my phone number?
17:25Could I have yours?
17:26And she said, yes.
17:27I was ten steps out of that joint.
17:31When I stopped, went into a back alley in Vancouver, and was like, I need to spend more time with you.
17:37And she said, sure.
17:38It was a Wednesday.
17:39Cool.
17:39I said, I'll make it happen.
17:40Man, we met Matic at the same place.
17:43And we sat down at six, and they kicked us out at one in the morning.
17:47Just me and her.
17:48Man, she's, I met her by accident.
17:52I always just kind of, like, let life deal me the cards, and knowing that this could be something, and it's time to push some chips in.
17:59I was willing to, like, see the energy and be like, man, push in on this.
18:05See where it takes you.
18:07As John's personal life continued to flourish, he made a major decision about his in-ring career.
18:15Tonight, I officially announce my retirement from the WWE.
18:19WrestleMania will be my last WrestleMania, but hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, we're going straight through from January to December.
18:31And that'll be the end of my in-ring competition.
18:35How did you get there?
18:36By continuously coming here and being disappointed, and then asking myself the question of, this place usually makes me feel good.
18:44Why do I feel bad?
18:46And it was because I'm surrounded by pictures, by numbers.
18:51That's a 600-pound squat, or that's a cleaning jerk with 330 pounds, or that's a 300-pound snatch.
18:57I can't even do those lifts anymore because my body's so beat up.
19:02So as soon as I got through that jagged pill of, like, oh, man, I'm never going to overhead press 374 pounds ever again.
19:10But let's work to see what the best I can for today is.
19:14You know, it's a very similar course to WWE.
19:20My skills are on the regress.
19:23If I continue at a full-time physical capability or involvement, I'm not going to run right.
19:30My partner's not going to run right, and our relationship isn't going to run right.
19:33I'm sorry, kid.
19:36It's time to close this chapter.
19:39I wish I was 18.
19:41I wish I felt great because I don't feel more at home, besides in the arms of my wife, than I do on a canvas.
19:49I had to pitch this idea, a real wrestling farewell, and hoping that they would see the business in it.
19:58And they were like, yes, this is going to be good.
20:01As John embarked on his farewell tour, he wanted to change things up in a big way.
20:09After nearly 20 years of being the biggest hero in WWE, John Cena shocked the world by becoming a heinous villain.
20:19What the?
20:25Oh, my God, John, what the hell are you doing?
20:29I don't need to single out anyone here because you are all horrible people.
20:39We're not going to talk about it.
20:40Can I just say I love you as a heel, and I tried to get you to be a heel for a very long time, but, man, I love it.
20:45I love it.
20:45Can I just say I had some really good people to learn from, and you are in a very short list of names that that falls into.
20:53I flat out steal a lot from you.
20:58Wow.
20:59Well, that's, uh...
21:00So thanks for helping me through this.
21:04Get her out of here.
21:05She's pathetic.
21:08Loser!
21:08You use me as an excuse for your pathetic failure of a life.
21:16I think you give me way too much credit.
21:18Like, way too much credit.
21:20You never know how you affect people.
21:23While John didn't want to talk about what he's currently doing as a character,
21:28I wanted to delve into his mindset as a person while his WWE career nears its end.
21:35Now you're almost at the end, right?
21:39This is the last year.
21:422025.
21:44Yeah, I know.
21:45Right?
21:45How have you changed in your perspective, even of John Cena in the business,
21:52from when you first started to now here you are at the end of your wrestling career,
22:00your farewell tour.
22:03What are your biggest lessons along that journey?
22:08That's a great question.
22:09It is an absolute fictitious dream job that I'm so lucky that it exists.
22:18It is something that I never knew how much I needed in my life,
22:25and still to this day is something that I can't live without.
22:32Also, it ends for everyone.
22:37If this is the most important thing in your life, if this is the tip of your spear,
22:40it's going to be all of your decisions are based off of that.
22:43And for a good 15 to 16 years, the tip of my spear was making the town.
22:49It's a little finesse, it's all.
22:52That's why 10 years ago, if you asked me,
22:54I would have said I'd been put on this earth to be a WWE superstar.
22:57And now at 48, I know I'm not.
22:59When people lean into concepts like immortality and like legacy,
23:03a lot of the retirement questions have been like,
23:07what do you want your legacy?
23:08I don't care.
23:10I don't.
23:11What I'm grateful for is I had a chance to be the man in the arena.
23:16That is beautiful.
23:19I think you are such a massive part of this company's evolution.
23:24And I know you will continue to leave your mark,
23:28even well beyond your in-ring years.
23:30And I know that's not your goal.
23:32It's not your goal to be a legacy persona, so to speak.
23:37But you can't help but be.
23:41I love the WWE.
23:43I'm always going to try to get people to experience and get invested in,
23:48because, man, it's made my life this crazy rollercoaster.
23:55Regardless of what hangs on the walls or lies on the floor,
23:58this has been a place of mental stability and growth for me
24:02over the past 20 years.
24:05And this conversation is absolutely what this place is about.
24:10You've been very important and instrumental in my life.
24:13And I meant what I said.
24:14In the moments that I needed you there,
24:16without you even knowing,
24:18you were a guiding light that was unbelievably effective.
24:24And I know that's not over, so thanks for that.
24:28I'm always here.
24:30I know. I know.
24:32All right, we hug it out.
24:33Yep.
24:34Ooh, I knew I was going to tease you about the mic,
24:36and I was, like, looking at it,
24:38hoping you didn't hit your head, and then I did.
24:42Hard Knocks South was the perfect place
24:45to reflect on John's career.
24:47So much can be learned from his journey
24:50and his perspective on a life
24:52that was fueled between these walls.
24:55And I can't wait to see
24:57what the future holds for John Cena.
25:00Have you worked with this crew?
25:05Uh, we were, uh, we did some work
25:08when I was in elementary school together.
25:09We've come up together.
25:10Oh, yeah?
25:10Yeah, these are all Florida guys.
25:12Um, little Timmy over there,
25:14big Jake, and, uh, Lazy Mitch.
25:17He's on camera A.
25:18It's one of those reverse nicknames.
25:19He's a hard worker.
25:20No, I've never...
25:21I'm like, I know you didn't grow up in Florida.
25:25I don't know.
25:26I don't know.
25:33Omaha!
25:34Oh!
25:35Oh!
25:35Oh!
25:35Oh!
25:36Oh!
25:36Oh!
25:36Oh!
25:37Oh!
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26:00Oh!
26:00Oh!
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