John Cena has heard for years that he has held back WWE superstars. Now, he’s addressing the reputation he has received over the years while appearing on Jimmy Traina’s SI Media Podcast.

Cena came right out and stated that he doesn’t care about the reputation that he has but rather cares about the performance that he gives. He believes that the easiest way to just silence that problem is to take him out the of the equation. Cena thinks the crazy thing is all the people that have chastised him for staying around too long. Now, he thinks people can’t do that anymore because he’s not full-time.

The former WWE Champion stated that he understands that you will never be able to please these people because they always need something to be cynical about and guesses that’s the reason they are called critics.

He brought up how happy he is right now because it reminds him of 2002 when he was starting out as just like back then, today the company is dealing with a bunch of stars leaving/retiring while also bringing in new talent. He added that he’s very excited for all the Superstars now.

“My days as a full-timer are certainly numbered, and that has nothing to do with extracurricular activities,” Cena said. He added that he thinks the only guy that may fall into that category of not taking a break was Ric Flair back in 2002. He brought up Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, and others top stars being done as a full-time star in 2002. “So people are like, ‘Where are you going man?’ I’m 41!”

Cena already has his next WWE appearance booked as he will compete in the World Cup Tournament that takes place at the WWE Crown Jewel pay-per-view event takes place on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium.