John Cena On Being a Part-Timer For WWE, Initially ‘Failing Big’ In Hollywood

John Cena knows that he’s in full part-time attraction mode for WWE, and he explained why it makes sense for the company in a new interview. Cena spoke with USA Today promoting the release of The Suicide Squad and you can check out some highlights below:

On his history of being heckled by WWE fans: “There’s two ways you can go when you’re told you suck every day. You can wallow in that shame and believe that opinion, or you can look yourself in the mirror and realize you are enough. That allows me to do things that are a little bit obscure in some sense, most of the time wearing very little clothing.”

On being a part-timer in WWE: “Man, I wish there was some sort of fountain of youth where I could be a full-time contributor. The longer they continue to bet on an aging prospect, that makes (WWE’s) future a little bit less stable.”

On his initial falterings in Hollywood in the 2000s: “I used to chastise people for not working as efficiently as the WWE. And as a young man, I failed big. I was judgmental and I was apprehensive and I wanted to be back in the ring because I loved that immediate gratification … I’m very grateful that I was at least self-aware enough to know that I was really effing up big time.”

On taking time to work on his own mental health: “There’s a lot of shame involved with openly saying, ‘I need time for me.’ People view that as selfish, but if you’re running correctly, then you’re just easier to deal with and everybody around you is going to feed off that energy. I just love what I do so much. I want to make the most of it.”