Tag: John Cena

WWE Superstar John Cena recently was interviewed on his Facebook page, where he talked about his WWE return and revealed that he is not currently associated with any brand in the company.

Cena said that he was busy recently with filming in China and promoting his film Bumblebee all around the world from Berlin to Hong Kong. WWE is cool with him being involved with other projects and not being able to give time to the company due to his busy schedule.

“I’m very fortunate to be able to shoot my next project in Vancouver on January 20th and they said, ‘Well, you’ve been working hard. Why don’t you just take a month to breathe and then do this movie and show up after the movie’s done?’ I said, ‘I could do that or I could come back to WWE.’ So, starting December 26th at Madison Square Garden, I was able to return to a WWE ring…” John Cena said in the interview.

Cena also said that he has no brand allegiance and that he has made a promise to the WWE Universe that he will not leave the WWE:

“I have no brand allegiance…it’s gonna be RAW and the week after that it will be RAW and as soon as RAW is done I’ll head to Canada and hopefully start something else, but I made a promise to the WWE Universe that I would never leave. And I know it’s really difficult to understand because I’m not there every week and it truly breaks my heart, but there are some wonderful opportunities and with those opportunities come more acceptance from the world of what we do here in WWE and if you listen to anything I say to anyone, first and foremost is what I do here because what I do here is what I love and I’m so very proud that WWE.”

John Cena was one of the three names announced for the first Raw of 2019. It is not known what kind of role Cena will have in the WWE in the future and how frequently he will appear given that he is busy with filming. However, WWE had announced which dates Cena will be working in the next month.

Check out the full John Cena interview here.

h/t to WrestleZone for the transcription.

John Cena Seen Wearing NWO Shirt (Photo)

John Cena returned to in-ring action under the WWE banner earlier this week and has been working live events since then. He’ll continue his WWE schedule into the early part of January.

Two photos of Cena wearing an NWO t-shirt with fans have surfaced online that were taken on Friday night at the WWE live event in Baltimore, Maryland. You can see the former WWE Champion sporting the look that was made famous by Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash in WCW with fans here:

Photos of @JohnCena with fans backstage at the @RoFoArena in Baltimore reppin #NWO ??
(?: tyrer.jpg, outofbounds193)#WWEBaltimore pic.twitter.com/LPCh4TPLQE

— JohnCenaCrews™ (@JohnCenaCrews) December 29, 2018

WWE Ranks Top 10 Mic Moments Of 2018

The official website of WWE has released their list of the top 10 microphone moments of 2018 as the new year approaches. You can see the full list here:

10. “Fight for your dreams, and your dreams will fight for you” (SmackDown LIVE, March 20)

9. “Night-Night AJ” (SmackDown LIVE, Sept. 11)

8. “Is that why you don’t respect me?” (SmackDown LIVE, July 24)

7. “Time to see if you’re still alive” (Raw, March 12)

6. “Out of the last little bit of respect that I have left for you, Deadman, I will put you down” (Raw, Sept. 10)

5. “You are relics of the past, waiting to be eviscerated” (Raw, Oct. 15)

4. “It’s easy to be there during the good times, but where the hell were you during the hard times?” (Raw, Aug. 13)

3. “The show must go on, and so it does” (Raw, Oct. 22)

2. “You’re not the baddest b—- on the planet; you’re the luckiest” (SmackDown LIVE, Nov. 13)

1. “The ‘Yes!’ Movement is dead” (SmackDown LIVE, Nov. 20)

While promoting the new “Bumblebee” Transformers spin-off movie, John Cena opened up on working with WWE Films and the learning curve that came from the experience.

This was before he was a household name in the WWE and getting into acting full-time. While working with the movie division of the WWE, he starred in The Marine and 12 Rounds.

The former WWE Champion recently spoke with Gorilla Position to talk about various topics and how he had to make some changes to the way he goes about his acting career.

He recalled doing movies with WWE Films, he never looks back on his experiences with regret but rather looks back on them to try to learn from them and how he could make the process go faster because that’s the environment he was familiar with. Cena stated during the time of 2004-2009 was his prime years when things were catching fire, and the place he wanted to be which was in the ring due to it being the place he was most comfortable.

“And I was still trying to learn and define who I was. Went through a character shift from the ruthless aggression guy, to the rap guy, to the non-rap guy, to the superman guy.”

He brought up how that period was such a thriving environment because of the instant gratification. Once he was put on a set and waiting 8 hours for a giant stunt, it makes you understand that the reason he’s in the stunt business and just want to fall down but that’s not the way it works.

WWE held a post-Christmas live event on Wednesday night in New York, NY at the Madison Square Garden. These are always special shows as it’s considered a bigger house show due to the history of the arena and the decades that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has called it home.

This show featured some big matches including WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey retaining the title over Nia Jax in the main event, WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose defeating Seth Rollins in a steel cage, and appearances by McMahon and John Cena. For a full recap of Cena’s return, click here.

Here’s a clip of McMahon’s entrance:

@VinceMcMahon surprised the entire @WWEUniverse last night at #WWEMSG pic.twitter.com/2DbbVjKCKw

— WWE (@WWE) December 27, 2018

WWE MSG Results

• John Cena defeated Baron Corbin
• Apollo Crews defeated Curt Hawkins, Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, Konnor, No Way Jose, Rhyno, Titus O’Neil, Viktor, and Zack Ryder – WWE Intercontinental Title #1 Contendership Battle Royal
• Bayley & Sasha Banks defeated Alicia Fox & Dana Brooke
• Aleister Black, Matt Riddle, Pete Dunne, Ricochet & The Velveteen Dream defeated Johnny Gargano, The Undisputed ERA(Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) & Tommaso Ciampa (w/Bobby Fish) – Ten Man Tag Team Match
• Elias defeated Bobby Lashley (w/Lio Rush) – Guitar On A Pole Match
• Ember Moon & Natalya defeated The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Ruby Riott)
• Finn Balor defeated Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre – Triple Threat Match
• WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode & Chad Gable defeated AOP (Akam & Rezar) (w/Drake Maverick) and The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) – Triple Threat Match
• WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose defeated Seth Rollins – Steel Cage Match
• WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey defeated Nia Jax (w/Tamina)

We knew that it was going to happen and it was only a Live Event appearance. However due to the caliber of the star he is, John Cena’s return to the WWE ring at the Madison Square Garden show, still left the wrestling world buzzing for the night.

Cena was advertised for the show in advance, but the company hadn’t revealed what he will be doing at the event. Turns out they actually had a small but great storyline planned to celebrate the Cenation Leader’s return to the ring.

Baron Corbin was expected to face Braun Strowman at the mega live event, but he was declared the winner of the match when Strowman failed to show up for the bout. That was until Mr. McMahon showed up.

The Boss not only reverted the decision but he also introduced the former General Manager Elect to his new opponent for the night- a man who has more MSG moments than Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, and Stone Cold combined:

Vince McMahon then introduces Baron Corbin’s opponent: a man with more Madison Square Garden moments than Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, and Stone Cold combined… #WWEMSG #brunoisturningoverinhisgrave pic.twitter.com/wOs5Zoafa8

— Justin Barrasso (@JustinBarrasso) December 27, 2018

https://www.instagram.com/p/Br4Dh3tFzxy/

And adding another moment to his collection, the 16 Time World Champion got back up after taking a lot of offense from Corbin, and while the Lone Wolf was trash talking the local crowd, John Cena took over the control and pinned him with his lightning fist maneuver:

John Cena gives the crowd what they came to see #WWEMSG pic.twitter.com/kgVNItqJAt

— Justin Barrasso (@JustinBarrasso) December 27, 2018

https://twitter.com/henrytcasey/status/1078133430486028288

Cena then went on to thank the crowd for letting him be part of the night and left the ring. Now it’d be interesting to see what the company has in store for him when he returns to WWE TV next week.

It looks like John Cena might miss this year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV). The 16-time World Champion has been keeping busy outside of the WWE ring as of late. He was recently living in China for several months to work on his “Project X” film alongside Jackie Chan. Now, Cena is making the media rounds to promote his new “Bumblebee” film.

According to a report from Cageside Seats’ “Rumor Roundup,” it’s being rumored that “The Leader Of The Cenation” could miss this year’s Royal Rumble PPV due to his busy film schedule. The 2019 Royal Rumble goes down from Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on January 27, 2019.

Cena has won the Royal Rumble match twice before, first in 2008 and later in 2013, which also took place in Phoenix.

Earlier this week, WWE announced that Cena would be appearing on SmackDown Live’s New Years Day edition of the program next week. It will be interesting to see what WWE has in store for him when he returns to the ring for WWE’s annual Holiday live events tour.

John Cena’s Upcoming WWE Schedule

• 12/26: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• 12/27: Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, NY
• 12/28: Royals Farms Arena, Baltimore, MD
• 12/29: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
• 12/30: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
• 1/4: Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, GA
• 1/5: Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, FL
• 1/6: Hertz Arena, Ft. Myers, FL
• 1/7: Amway Center, Orlando, FL (WWE RAW)
• 1/11: Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, WV
• 1/12: Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, TN
• 1/13: Von Braun Civic Center, Huntsville, AL
• 1/14: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

What do you think about Cena missing this year’s Royal Rumble PPV?

It turns out that former WWE Champion John Cena will be appearing on WWE television after all during his limited return.

The original belief was that Cena would only be working live events and although he was advertised for episodes of Monday Night RAW, he would only compete in the dark matches for these TV events.

Those TV events including RAW shows on January 7th & 14th in Orlando, FL at the Amway Center and in Memphis. WWE aired a video package on the Christmas Eve edition of RAW with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon revealing that Cena would be returning on their red and blue branded shows.

Then on Christmas night, WWE announced that the former WWE Champion would appear on next Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, which will be the New Year’s Day edition. WWE is slated to tape this show this coming Saturday night from Pittsburgh, PA at the PPG Paints Arena.

In WWE’s announcement, the company hyped the impact of his return as they wrote, “As Team Blue gets ready to kick off 2019, how will the presence of one of the greatest Superstars in WWE history effect things?”

John Cena’s Upcoming WWE Schedule

• 12/26: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• 12/27: Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, NY
• 12/28: Royals Farms Arena, Baltimore, MD
• 12/29: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
• 12/30: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
• 1/4: Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, GA
• 1/5: Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, FL
• 1/6: Hertz Arena, Ft. Myers, FL
• 1/7: Amway Center, Orlando, FL (WWE RAW)
• 1/11: Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, WV
• 1/12: Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, TN
• 1/13: Von Braun Civic Center, Huntsville, AL
• 1/14: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

John Cena has been called out by an interesting name for a match. That star is EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory, who made the challenge during a recent video that was released by Austin Theory when he was talking about his future with the company. “Until the day I walk into TakeOver. John Cena, I heard you’re trying to pass the torch. Well, you know how to get in contact with me.”

EVOLVE

The company is set to hold two of their events next month. EVOLVE 119 on Friday, January 18th in Brooklyn, N.Y. and then EVOLVE 120 on Saturday, January 19th in Woodside, N.Y.

It’s already been announced that Theory would take on WWE NXT star Johnny Gargano at EVOLVE 119. As of this writing, his opponent at EVOLVE 120 has yet to be revealed.

Other stars that are slated to work these shows include Fabian Aichner, EVOLVE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits. Additionally, WWN Champion JD Drake, Anthony Henry, Darby Allin, AR Fox with Ayla & The Skulk, Eddie Kingston, Josh Briggs, Joe Gacy, BSHP KNG, Curt Stallion and Priscilla Kelly.

Theory became champion once he beat Aichner at EVOLVE 117 during a Triple Threat Match that also featured Roderick Strong.

While promoting the new “Bumblebee” Transformers spin-off movie, John Cena opened up on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers about the problem with the desire of WWE fans to see him portray a heel while on television.

It all came about when the topic of negative reactions to his new hairstyle was mentioned which is something that came up once Cena told Jimmy Kimmel that he will not be getting a haircut before he returns to in-ring action under the WWE banner next week for several WWE live events.

When comes to his character in the new Bumblebee movie, he’s playing a villain which is a nice change for him and led to the discussion about a potential heel turn in WWE.

“It’s weird with me because I am supposed to be the hero, but I’m actually the heel.” This is when he stated that fans tell him that he should turn heel to be cool again but Cena thinks that it would make him a good guy. He does enjoy going into the “war zone” with fans about this topic. “They think I’m supposed to be a bad guy to be a good guy, but aren’t I already being a bad guy? Just wait until the debut of The CFO.”

Cena also talked about a wide range of topics in this interview including the new Bumblebee movie, his childhood in the late 1980s, his first car, and more. You can check out the two clips here:

WWE has changed a lot with time and gone through different eras where we got to see a top superstar reigning over the company for a period of time. Legends like Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena were the best of the best in the company during their prime. However, today, even though we have a lot of great talented stars on the roster, there really is no one on Cena’s or Rock’s magnitude.

WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray Dudley talked about why he thinks WWE will never let any other superstar in the future get as big as John Cena. Appearing on the Jim Ross Report, Bully Ray explained how when a superstar gets too popular, the company and Vince McMahon loses control over them. Such stars can decline to work a certain match or event, and the company will have to abide by their decisions. This is why, according to Bully Ray, WWE doesn’t want to make stars as significant and iconic as John Cena.

“Okay, so those three guys in their own way do what they wanted to do without Vince’s approval. Listen, Steve was able to walk out and still come back and have a job. [Ross] helped out a lot, but not a lot of people walk out and come back in the next day,” said Dudley. “Rocky was able to walk away and become the biggest star in Hollywood. And John, my God! He just won the Muhammad Ali Award. He [has] granted more wishes than anybody on the planet. I mean, he walks on water when it comes to the WWE. And he was able to tell Vince, ‘I’m not [going to Saudi Arabia].’ I don’t think they’re ever going to let anybody get to that level again where they have control or say.”

Cena has the ability to decline, without any consequences, an appearance for an event that was important for the company. WWE doesn’t want stars that can have this amount of leverage on the company. But Dudley says that McMahon prefers if the talent uses their leverage when they have the chance.

“I learned a very important lesson from Vince McMahon one day, JR, that he taught me one-on-one,” hee said. “I don’t remember the arena we were in, but we were in a hallway and he said, ‘Bubba, it’s very rare that the boys have leverage on me, but when they do have leverage on me and they don’t use it, shame on them.’ What a lesson to learn from Vince McMahon and I apply that lesson to what’s going on in the WWE today. They’re creating their stars, they’re letting their stars get as big as they possibly want them to be, but then there’s a ceiling. And I think Roman [Reigns] is at the top of that ceiling. I think Ronda [Rousey] is at the top of that ceiling. I think Charlotte is at the top of that ceiling. I’m not sure who will ever get passed that.”

H/T to WrestlingINC for transcript.

John Cena will be returning to in-ring action under the WWE banner starting on December 26th at a live event at Madison Square Garden. As of this writing, he’s advertised from this event through January 14th for several WWE events. Some of his opponents at these shows have been revealed.

First up is Cena is slated to work the dark main events at the RAW TV event on January 7th & 14th in Orlando, FL at the Amway Center and in Memphis where he’ll take part in a six-man match with Elias and Finn Balor against Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre.

Moving along, he’s set to do matches and segments at SmackDown events including MizTV with The Miz in Long Island, NY as well as facing Miz The Miz in Baltimore, MD and Tampa, FL.

Other shows including the December 29 live event in Pittsburgh where he will team with Rey Mysterio to face Randy Orton and WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.

John Cena’s Upcoming WWE Schedule

• 12/26: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• 12/27: Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, NY
• 12/28: Royals Farms Arena, Baltimore, MD
• 12/29: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
• 12/30: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
• 1/4: Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, GA
• 1/5: Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, FL
• 1/6: Hertz Arena, Ft. Myers, FL
• 1/7: Amway Center, Orlando, FL (WWE RAW)
• 1/11: Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, WV
• 1/12: Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, TN
• 1/13: Von Braun Civic Center, Huntsville, AL
• 1/14: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

John Cena, who was most recently active under the WWE banner when he wrestled a match at WWE Super Show-Down pay-per-view event a few months ago, claims to not be appearing on WWE television when returns to the company.

The former WWE Champion is making the media rounds in order to promote his next film. Bumblebee is set to be released to the public on December 21, 2018. While doing an interview with Toronto Sun, he claimed that when he makes his next WWE return later this month, he wouldn’t be working television events but rather just live events. This is despite the fact that WWE is advertising him for the RAW TV event in Orlando, FL on January 7th.

“I do apologize for being away for so long, but I have these wonderful opportunities to try and be a part of another storytelling universe that I truly enjoy,” said Cena. “The WWE is the place that for the past 15 years I’ve had the absolute most fun. I very much look forward to getting back there.”

“None of these shows are televised,” Cena said. “I’m literally just doing it because I want to get back to a place I feel most comfortable and to working with people I can call my family. And I want to have some fun.”

Former WWE Champion John Cena recently did an interview with Sports Illustrated after receiving the 2018 SI Muhammad Ali Legacy Award on Tuesday night in Los Angeles at SI’s Sportsperson of the Year event for being a leader as a philanthropist.

During the interview, he was asked about being in the “definite twilight” of his WWE in-ring career. This is where he stated, “It’s a giant relay race, and I’m in the phase where I’m handing the stick off. My time is up,” he adds, riffing on the lyrics to his WWE entrance theme. “Someone else’s time is now.”

Cena also talked about participating in the “We Are America” Ad Council video back in 2016, which is a celebration of diversity.

He was quoted by stating, “As soon as I heard about it, I said yes. There were people saying, are you sure? I said, Yeah, I’m absolutely sure, because this is something that I believe in…. Every once in a while we need to be reminded everyone is welcome here.”

Cena was recently active in the WWE when he wrestled a tag team match at WWE Super Show-Down event. However, he’s slated to work several WWE shows that you can see here.

John Cena has accepted Sports Illustrated’s Muhammad Ali legacy Award on Tuesday at the Sportsperson of the Year ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Los Angeles, California.

Cena said he accepted the award on behalf of his fellow superstars at WWE, and that it was a wonderful night for the company to receive such a honor.

”I’ve just been given the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award here at the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Awards. It’s truly moving to see some of those moments back and get to relive some of those moments.

“To be mentioned in the same sentence as Ali, let alone a respectable comparison, comparable legacy is simply incredible. I just wanted to say that I accepted this award tonight on behalf of all the WWE Superstars, because I believe if put in my shoes, they would all make the exact same choice.”

“Tonight is a wonderful night for WWE, because here I am, a sports entertainer, being awarded a tremendous honor among athletes. It’s not something that probably would have happened a few years ago, but it’s amazing to see culture change, and people have open minds about what we do, and accept us for just being damn good at what we do.” (ht: WrestlingInc)

John Cena also said that he is sending the award to Connecticut to be displayed at the WWE Headquarters.

Tonight was for “us.” The privilege we have to entertain fans young and old has opened to the possibilities of what can be accomplished in and out of the ring. Thank you @SINow for this amazing honor and @TheRealLailaAli @ikebarinholtz for presenting tonight. Now…back to work! https://t.co/JvCa5DMOOa

— John Cena (@JohnCena) December 12, 2018

 

“From his unparalleled work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to his support for a wide range of causes ranging from activism for military families to cancer research, John has made personal outreach and generosity of time and spirit his calling cards,” Sports Illustrated executive editor Stephen Cannella said. “He might just be the most charitable person in sports, and his dedication to philanthropy richly reflects the spirit of the Ali Legacy Award.”

The Legacy Award, which was created in 2008, has been awarded to names such as Colin Kaepernick, Bill Russell, Jack Nicklaud, Jim Brown and Earvin “Magic” Johnson. John Cena became the first WWE Superstar win the award.

The Leader of Cenation has been busy with promoting his new film Bumblebee and has not been seen in the ring since his last match in Australia at the WWE Super Show-Down event on October 6 where he teamed up with Bobby Lashley to win against Kevin Owens and Elias. Cena is set to return to the ring 26 December at the Madison Square Garden shows.

Read more:

• John Cena Explains Why He Can’t Wrestle While Being Part Of A Movie Project
• John Cena Reveals How He Came Up With “You Can’t See Me” Catchphrase
• John Cena Opens Up On Why He Won’t Turn Heel