John Cena Reflects On WWE Without Vince McMahon, Says Vince Taught Him ‘No One Is Irreplaceable’

WWE has been moving forward without Vince McMahon for almost two years now, and John Cena reflected on the matter in a new interview where he noted “no one is irreplaceable.” McMahon resigned from TKO in late January of 2024. The exit came after he was sued by Janel Grant over allegations of sexual abuse, assault and trafficking. That lawsuit in turn came after a whirlwind period in which McMahon resigned over sexual misconduct allegations in 2022, forced his way back on the board in 2023, and then oversaw the sale of the company.

Cena has long been close with McMahon, and he was asked in an appearance on Bill Simmons’ podcast about WWE post-McMahon. During the conversation, Cena was asked if he ever thought WWE could thrive without McMahon. Cena did not touch on the allegations and focused on a lesson McMahon taught him, that no one is irreplaceable in WWE. You can see highlights below:

John Cena on WWE Without McMahon:

“So of all the things he did and of all the things he taught me, one piece that was very important is that no one is irreplaceable. And that’s the truth. The one thing that needs to stand firm is the consumer’s belief in what we do.

“And Vince has so much knowledge. I think what’s happened is unfortunate because you have this individual with so much depth of field, who can who can still offer things. And we no longer can pull from that well. But it doesn’t mean we don’t have able-bodied folks who can’t put on creative programming.”

On Learning That Lesson From McMahon:

“So yeah, I never wanted Vince to go, because I love him. And I know how much he loves the business. But he taught me like, we’re all going to go. All of us. And he taught me that not only through saying, [but] through his actions. I was there the day he fired Stone Cold. ‘You missed a date. Gotta go.’ His biggest attraction. ‘I got to let people know this isn’t okay.’

“So things happen. We got to let people know this isn’t okay. It’s time for you to go. Everybody goes, man. Everybody goes. So because of his words, yeah. Yeah.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the Bill Simmons Podcast with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.