IGN: John Cena Interview

IGN: John Cena Interview

First time I saw the Marine trailer, all I could think is one thing: WWE is crazy.

After building up The Rock and sending him to Hollywood, The People's Champ took his $5 mil a picture and bounced.

Now with John Cena as the E's biggest moneymaker, they are going to risk him becoming the same type of cross-over star?

But in talking to Cena, the champ says fans shouldn't be concerned.

"WWE is confident that the talent won't leave. I'm going to be with WWE for quite some time, and I think the people they pick for these roles will be under a lot of scrutiny for how much passion they have for the company. The people who are picked for these roles will not only be the most talented WWE superstars, but also the most loyal."

Here's what else the man who has somehow simultaneously become the most popular and hated man in WWE had to say about The Marine, Survivor Series, and the STFU.

IGN Sports: When I sit in the crowd to watch The Marine, should I expect half the crowd to cheer and half of them to boo?

John Cena: No, no, not at all. [laughs] I think everybody's at the point where they know this is an extension of the 20x20 ring. They're going to see John Triton. If they don't like the movie, they're more than welcome to boo, but it has nothing to do with John Cena the good guy or John Cena the bad guy.

IGN Sports: As someone who grew up watching wrestling, did you ever hear anyone with the mixed reactions you receive on a nightly basis?

John Cena: That's what makes WWE unique and fantastic. We've been around for so long, and Jon, I know you've been a fan for a while, I've been a fan for a while, and I've never seen anything like this, but here we are, in the midst of the fans pretty much causing their own revolution. It really makes things a lot more exciting.

IGN Sports: What was life on the movie set like compared to the constant travels of WWE?

John Cena: I kept traveling back and forth from Australia to do TV. I was on Smackdown then, and it was a long flight, 14 hours each way. I traveled back and forth about eight times. It was long. You work all day, fly somewhere, work all day, and fly back. Repeat. Flying was actually the only time I ever got to sleep. At first I was dreading those 14 hours, but after a while, I was wishing it was 18.

IGN Sports: Did you do your own stunts in the movie?

John Cena: Absolutely. This is not usually something that you would do, mostly because of insurance risks, and I totally understand protecting the investment of the movie. There's nothing wrong with being gung-ho, but there's also nothing wrong with being a smart business person. You want the movie to do well, you want the brand to do well, but I'll never get another chance to do my first film, to say I did all of the stunts for my first film, so I was really proactive about doing everything.

IGN Sports: What's your favorite stunt in the film?

John Cena: Diving off of a small fishing shack in a river, and the fishing shack just disintegrates in an explosion behind me. It was something everyone was worried about. They had to cover me in this fire retardant goop - it looked like I got slimed in Ghostbusters. Everyone was really on edge, but it turned out awesome.

IGN Sports: Do you prefer doing stunts in movies where you can get a second take or going out and doing stunts in the ring where you have to nail it the first time?

John Cena: I'd rather be in the ring, 10 times out of 10. Stunt work in the movies, you do have another chance, but at the same time, when you're filming a fight scene for a movie, you're talking 12 hour days, 16 hour days, maybe even multiple days at a time. So instead of having a half hour match here, a half hour match there, you're fighting for 12 hours and that really kicks your ass.

IGN Sports: You've been competing with Edge for most of this year and the feud is probably one of the best WWE fans have seen since the old Rock/Stone Cold days.

John Cena: I appreciate that very much. I think Edge has completely put himself on the map as a bona fide WWE superstar. As much as I don't agree with the way he thinks, I think fans should expect big things from him in the future.

IGN Sports: What makes the chemistry between the two of you so good?

John Cena: It's because we're completely contrasting in our beliefs. I have a certain set of beliefs I lean very strongly towards, he has a certain set of beliefs he feels very strongly towards, and they come out in the ring. It's just little stuff like that that enables fans to see past…our fans are so fickle, it's amazing. We are World Wrestling Entertainment, but they so much enjoy the aura of believability. It sounds corny, but our fans are really fighting and screaming for what they think is right.

IGN Sports: What made you add the STFU to your repertoire?

John Cena: There was a lot of scrutiny, not only about my technical abilities in wrestling, but just the fact that I'm kind of a one-armed man. Believe it or not, I was forced to find a submission hold because I got put in a submission match without a submission hold finish. I had actually been working on two, a cobra clutch and the STFU, so when the opportunity presented itself, I slapped on the STFU, won the match, and away we go.

IGN Sports: Survivor Series is coming up, do you have a favorite SS moment?

John Cena: I used to just enjoy the aura of team versus team. In past Survivor Series, they got away from that, but I hope with the brand extension, we get back to that. I used to like to see The Millionaires versus The Hulkamaniacs. That team versus team atmosphere where you have 10 guys or 8 guys and it comes down to 3-on-1, that got exciting for me. I think this year, it can be much more exciting if someone wasn't just fighting for their team, but fighting for Monday Night Raw or Smackdown or ECW.

IGN Sports: If you're the Raw captain, who do you roll with into Survivor Series?

John Cena: If I had to put a team together, four guys on each team, it's myself, Triple H, HBK, and Umaga.

IGN Sports: I saw a video on YouTube with Umaga slapping the crap out of the Spirit Squad in a hotel as some kind of initiation.

John Cena: [laughs] Yeah, that was something special. That was just us having a little fun, and someone having a little fun with us showing the world what we do. That was a good time and Umaga is a good guy. He's seriously one of the toughest sons of bitches I've ever met. He'd be a hell of a member of a team.

IGN Sports: Watching the old Survivor Series tapes shows how much depth WWE used to have in the tag team division. Why isn't that a focus of the show like it once was in the heyday of The Hart Foundation and British Bulldogs?

John Cena: There are a bunch of theories on this. Mine is that WWE is in a position where they need to identify itself with new stars. We're doing fantastic business right now, but we're still not back to the level before Rock left, before Stone Cold left. I just think we need to add to that handful of names we have right now to make people really bump it up to that upper echelon and do things like Edge has done, like Carlito has done, that Bobby Lashley is doing right now, and that's breaking that frame and becoming larger than life. That's why the focus is more on singles wrestling.

IGN Sports: Looking ahead to Wrestlemania down the line, do you have a dream opponent?

John Cena: I wouldn't necessarily call it a dream opponent, but it's every wrestler's dream to be in that main event match for either the World Championship or the WWE Championship. If I can say that on that day I will walk that aisle in either one of those matches, that would be a huge feather in my cap.

IGN Sports: Do you see your feud with Edge playing out all the way to Mania with the main event being the culmination of that feud?

John Cena; I don't know. I know I beat him in TLC. I beat him in the steel cage for the rematch clause. But if I know him as well as I do, and he's been a pain in my ass for about 10 months, he doesn't seem to go away. He's the type of guy where if he gets put to the bottom and needs to sneak his way up to the top, he'll find a way to do it. And I'm the same with him. I wouldn't leave him a lone. He's very focused. He's as focused as I am for keeping that WWE title, we just have different reasons for it.

IGN Sports: Marine hits theaters on Friday. I was just wondering, who gets the hotter groupies, movie stars or wrestlers?

John Cena: Well, seeing that the movie is out today, I'll tell you after the weekend. [laughs] It could be a great weekend.

Source: IGN.com