The Undertaker recently ruffled some feathers when he appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience and referred to today’s pro wrestlers as “soft” compared to his generation. During a recent interview with Forbes, John Cena weighed in on the controversy.
John Cena’s WWE career spanned nearly two decades, so he also saw the industry change dramatically during that time. Cena tells Alfred Konuwa that today’s product isn’t soft, but it’s certainly different than previous eras. “I may have a bit of disagreement with Undertaker’s word choice because I don’t think it’s soft, I think it’s different.”
Cena came up during the Ruthless Aggression era. This era was toned down from the Attitude Era, but far edgier than what we see today. He recalls “Stone Cold” Steve Austin making an appearance after WWE went PG and having a difficult time adapting.
“I remember one of the first time Steve Austin came back during the height of the PG era, and he was just befuddled,” said Cena. “Because Steve Austin goes out there and runs it. And if he gets stuck, he can curse, he can throw up some middle fingers, he can ask for a beer…but we took away three of the biggest clubs that he can hit with and told him to go out there and be himself. And he came back shaking his head and said ‘I don’t know how you do this!’ But if he had enough time, he’s a great performer, he could get used to it.”
Ever the company, man, Cena gave a glowing review of today’s WWE product. “What do I think of the WWE product right now? I love it!” Cena continued. “I think it’s bold, it’s forcing people to take chances.”
John Cena On WWE’s Current Marquee Stars
Cena would continue to talk about how Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns, and Drew McIntyre are 3 marquee names in the company right now.
“Now you have Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks can be in that conversation, but it’s not what I said it was in 2020. It’s not a scattered fragment of Super Friends. WWE has just refocused, re-shifted and now is consolidating on marquee stars. They have their marquee stars, and going forward they will have their big names. As far as those names being larger than life, the enormity of their impact is up to the individuals themselves.”
John Cena has two inspirational books coming out in April. You can pre-order them both on Amazon:
