In the 2023 episode of the A&E documentary, WWE Rivals, John Cena recalled how he had called out The Rock for writing his promo notes on his wrist. It was an act that Cena regretted later. However, even WWE stars believed that it was a ballsy move on Cena’s part to betray the trust of Dwayne Johnson. According to reports, it caused some real tension between the two stars.
Nevertheless, fans always found the rivalry between the two as one of the best WWE storylines of all time. The setup eventually led to both of them competing in WrestleMania 28 and 29, which went down in history as two of the best editions of the event.
WWE Stars Couldn’t Believe How John Cena Betrayed Dwayne Johnson’s Trust
Fans got to witness the biggest rivalry between WWE’s returning star from the Attitude Era, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and their then-poster boy John Cena. The war of words between the two became quite popular back then and fans would be surprised to know that all of it were not part of their script.
Things took a personal turn when Cena called out The Rock publicly for writing promo notes on his wrist. Cena opened up about the incident during an appearance on A&E’s WWE Rivals, where the rivalry between The Rock and Cena was covered in Season 2 Episode 3.
John Cena talking about the time he cooked The Rock for writing a promo on his wrist.
The storytelling here was absolutely INSANE bro 😭 pic.twitter.com/uCxWLSubBP
— tribal chief ☝🏻🩸 | Fan Account (@luireigns) October 15, 2024
The Peacemaker star recalled that he was about to go out to the ring in 90 seconds when an unnamed star backstage told him about something on Johnson’s wrist. Cena shared that everyone was shocked to see it as it was against the company’s promotion rules. He shared in the documentary (via X):
Rock doing his thing with me going out to interrupt him. And 90 seconds before my music hit, someone to not be named said, ‘yo, do you see that?’ I said, ‘see what?’ [the other person said] ‘I think Rock has something written on his wrist. Everyone was like, ‘Yooo!’ because that’s just not allowed.
However, he decided to use it to his advantage and called The Rock out publicly when he went into the ring for his promo. Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz called it a “ballsy decision”, adding that Cena was “basically violating the trust of [his] dance partner.” Gewirtz felt that it created a “disconnect” between the two stars which lasted for a long time.
In the next promo a few weeks later, The Rock angrily tells Cena, “At his core, The Rock is 6’4” 260lbs of man that will rip your throat out”, calling him “The Rock’s b*tch.” Cena pulled off another stunt by pulling down his wrist and writing what The Rock said. After the promo, Big Show told Cena backstage, “Hey. Big set of balls on you, buddy.” Other WWE stars were also impressed with Cena’s move.
John Cena Later Admitted That Calling Out The Rock Was A Stupid Move
When John Cena appeared on Logan Paul‘s Impaulsive podcast, he shared that it was an unnecessary move and was “f**king stupid”. He shared that he was angry over Dwayne Johnson distancing himself from the company after his Hollywood career. Cena himself understood the hectic schedule of acting once he became a part-time wrestler and actor. He shared:
It was one of those things that happened at the last minute, and looking back at it, it was f**king stupid. The guy was probably going a million different directions, had just flown in from god-knows where and just wanted to do the best he can. I don’t blame him for that, I blame myself for taking advantage of that.
However, Paul shared that it provided great entertainment. The beef set the tone of the ‘Once in a Lifetime’ showdown between the two stars at WrestleMania 28. The Rock won the final match that year, but Cena managed to reclaim his throne in the next WrestleMania.
WWE Rivals is now available for streaming on Hulu.
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