During a recent interview with Esquire, John Cena commented on which match he’s most looking forward to at WrestleMania 38, the importance of keeping mystery behind the characters shown in the “WWE Evil” series, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On the importance of keeping mystery behind the characters shown in the series: “I love WWE, and I love sports entertainment. I have such a passion for it. I guess in sports entertainment, you can’t have a virtuous character without an evil character. And this idea was hatched a while ago. We started talking about the idea and I said, essentially, the context of your question, I’m like, “This is a great idea that they’ll never make it because we’re giving away too much.” When WWE got it, they were really excited about it and Peacock was really excited about it, but I wanted to give away too much. So they saved me from me. And I’m very glad they did because I know that the WWE universe who admires these performers for whatever they do, virtuous or non-virtuous, I think they were happy that we didn’t pull back all the way.”
On what drew him toward being involved in the show: “It’s the psychology of WWE and I think that’s something that is tremendously undervalued and often overlooked in what we do. I loved the conversation. I would engage with people—[they] would ask me, “When are you going to turn heel?” And I tell them, “I get booed in every building that I’m in.” And they said, “Yeah, but when are you going to turn heel?” I say, “One could argue that I’m in this right now.”
“I was thinking, there’s certain buildings and arenas that are like the “heel towns,” “the heal arenas.” The crowd the day after WrestleMania is so wise and so smart. That’s like one of the most coveted tickets a fan can get is the RAW after WrestleMania. Because they’re loud and they’re proud and they’ll go against the storylines, and they’ll cheer for the bad storylines. So does that make that audience “evil?” Is John Cena going to be on Season Two of Evil to discuss how virtue is not a desirable trait anymore? All of those questions are really why I wanted to produce and be involved.”
On what WrestleMania 38 match he’s most looking forward to: “I don’t think there’s a performance bigger in my mind and memory that’s bigger than Brock and Roman. I really think these are two of the best performers that we’ll be talking about for years to come and as long as WWE exists, those two names will have to be in the conversation. I think a few years ago, I don’t think I would believe the same hype that I do now, which is a testament to how Roman has evolved. It’s so good to see Brock Lesnar—you want to talk about not being able to show sides of your personality? Brock is really what you see right now, and it’s really good to see him having a blast. And I think it gives a whole new dynamic and a whole new interest to fans. As a performer, I think Brock Lesnar… And here’s your quote—I think he’s the greatest performer of all time.”
