John Cena Reflects on Nearly Being Fired by WWE Before His Rapper Gimmick, Explains His Belief in Being a Collaborator

Former WWE Champion John Cena was the guest on No-Contest Wrestling this week, and he discussed his transition from his early days in WWE and transitioning into Word Life rapper gimmick. Cena explained how he expected to get fired from WWE on the way back from an overseas tour, when Stephanie McMahon noticed him performing freestyle raps with the other wrestlers, and then requested that he do them on TV. Below are some highlights:

John Cena on Why He Expected To Be Fired Before He Started His Rapper Gimmick

“Because I wasn’t connecting with the audience and to say that to say that I wasn’t booked correctly is a copout. I had matches on Velocity. I had opening dark matches. If there’s a live audience, they want to be entertained just like everybody else. Yeah. And a lot of times, the dark matches and velocity matches, or like Speed or Main Event, whatever we call it now, those are the first matches out of the gate. Yeah. That’s the best spot to be in. They haven’t seen anything. High energy. Oh my god. People are there to be like, I want to release all I want to light in my backpack. That’s the home run spot. You know what I’m saying? By the time you get to a three-hour broadcast of Raw with a test match and main event, you’re the live audience, sometimes there for four hours. Try to — or some of those long WrestleManias. It’s like, man. Yo, you’re just exhausted. We only have so much to give. You know what I’m saying? So, like, I never viewed that as a copout. I was just always like, ‘Oh, my stuff isn’t resonating.’ And I had a nice way of existing in OVW. Um, but it was more, it was way more character-based. It was way more promo-based. And I dropped the ball. Like, it’s on me. I was neither ruthless nor aggressive from Jump Street. I go at Kurt Angle. I slap him in the face. I come this close to winning. And then I see the Undertaker backstage and I’m a ****ing fan, and I shake his hand. If I was ruthless, I would have kicked him in the nuts. If I was aggressive, I would have said, ‘Don’t stick your hand out. I’m coming for you next.’ I was neither ruthless nor aggressive. That’s why it failed. But I didn’t realize they gave me a chance. And I think that’s what a lot of performers don’t realize. If you walk out of the tunnel, you have a chance. I wasn’t given any direction. Cut your hair and be a babyface. That’s it. Admittedly, at my age and development, I needed more guidance, but I dropped the ball. My fault.”

On Seeing an Opportunity to Freestyle Rap During an Overseas Tour

“So then I knew I was going to get let go, and WWE put me on the overseas tour to work like mixed tag matches. It was like me and Dawn Marie versus Kidman, Torrie Wilson. So, just like the second match, just doing whatever. And the boys were freestyling in the back of the bus on the way to the airport after a TV because that’s the only time we all travel together. You want to talk about serendipity? The only time everybody’s gonna be in one place and creative is going to be in the front of the bus. And I wasn’t like creative’s in the front of the bus. I’m gonna show him something. I was like, I’m getting fired anyway. I will uh pause my Roller Coaster Tycoon, and I’m going to go back with the boys going. And then I just waited and waited, and I’m like, you have kept your mouth shut and ears open, and it has got you nowhere. This is something you do. Time to cook these mother****ers, and I just went in on everybody.”

Cena on His Philosophy of Being a Collaborator

“But I’ve always, and this is kind of a philosophy, and again it’s just my perspective. It’s not neither right or wrong. Sometimes the squeaky wheel is predatory, and you can be a collaborator, or you can be a predator. Especially in the wrestling business, that old swim with sharks and like stab everybody in the back, that carnival mentality of like they’re going to take your spot. I’ve always had success as a collaborator, and I’ve always shied away from being a predator. I just don’t believe in the atmosphere. It exists. I can’t be blind to it. Cut through, but it’s for me, it’s no,t never has been. I’m a collaborator, and the more we can bring out of people, the more I know CM Punk’s leaving. So, I want one last match with them. Let’s collaborate. Let’s try to do something good.”

On Stephanie McMahon Noticing His Freestyling and Asking Him To Do It on TV

“And I went back there with expecting nothing. Did my thing. I get off the bus. Stephanie is waiting for me as we’re getting on the jetway. She’s like, ‘How’d you remember all that?’ I’m like, ‘You don’t. You just It’s freestyle. You have, like, maybe a couple bars in your head, but you got to look and react.’ I can see the light bulbs going off. And she says, ‘You just make it up.’ Can you make something about me? And what a test of like, right, can you do this? And do you have the courage to be derogatory? Sure, you’re going to fire me anyway. No problem. So, I spent a few bars on Steph. She was like, ‘Would you like to do that on TV?’ I said, ‘Man, yes, I would.’ So, that it’s it was one of those things where it’s like, you never know when opportunity is going to come. If she hadn’t have been there, if we hadn’t been overseas, if I hadn’t had the ****ing attitude, like none of that stuff would have happened. I would have been fired. I would have got my like it, that’s it. But it’s all in what you do when you get it, too.”

On Going All In for His Rapper Gimmick

“Like I went all in, dog. Like wrestling gear gone. Shop in the hood in every city we’re at. Like go to the hood and tell them like, “Yo, I’m buying this. Come see me at the show.” buying $500 Michelin Nest jerseys and caps to match when I did not have that money. Be like, I’m throwing this out in the crowd tonight. Going to the fade shop in we land in Baltimore. I’m getting faded in Baltimore. And then the next night on a fresh fade in in wherever else in Delaware — I’m getting faded in Delaware and going and doing process over and over again, battling fans in the parking lot just so they know my **** isn’t written. Going on to Hot 97 and getting big times, and them bringing in Freddy Fox to like freestyle with me, which it was great he ended up collaborating on the album. Like you never know, you know, you just I just went making my own album and financing my own album and essentially becoming a record ANR, you know, cuz I that was still the the selling CDs era kind of like all that stuff was just like, yo, let’s let’s do it. Let’s just keep it moving. Keep it moving. You know what I’m saying? And trying stuff. Some stuff worked. Some I used to pump up my shoes before I give move. Some stuff worked, some stuff didn’t, some stuff stuck, some stuff was only good for like that period in the zeitgeist and then you move on to it. But just the ability to keep trying, to keep evolving, and I’ve never once rested on that serendipity and the serendipity keeps happening. Sure, there’s struggles, but recognizing luck and be like, ‘Okay, now’s when I need to work real hard, right?'”

Cena on the Importance of Rap Music in His Life

“Man, rap music of your dad [Ice-T] was extremely pivotal in that. The hat you always see me wear, the hustle, loyalty, respect, and the Raider script. That is a homage to your dad and his influence in my life. And there’s no way from uh a town in West Newbury of 900 people that I could ever understand the perspective of someone growing up in a system of racial injustice in South Central Los Angeles in the late 80s. No way. My perspective of the effect your father’s music had on me. It was so rebellious at a time when I needed my rebellion fueled. I was a young adult, 12, 13, 14, in that era where you are discovering who you are, and I needed a voice behind me to be like, ‘**** that.’ And that, as a young kid, wherever you are geographically, we all go through that sense of development where we find who we are. Your dad helped me do that. And rap music helped me do that. And it helped me sustain getting bullied. I used to dress in hammer pants and airbrush overalls. I used to love rap and hip-hop so much. And I was the only one. Cowboy boots and jeans. And not only that, like, dude, you’re not that, but I am that. No, I’m not a victim of what they’re going through. And I’m not boots on the ground there, but I am the rebellion. And I feel it in my heart. And that fashion is an expression of who we are. I like a uniform. Imagine that. So like, it’s just an expression of what makes us feel comfortable, and that made me feel comfortable, and asskicking after asskicking. I would wear turquoise polka dots one day and mustard colored polka dots the next day like you know like a Syracuse jersey one day and then like a Raiders jersey the mnext day like and it just and that that uh that group of artists from the commercialized ones to like the stuff you saw on your MTV raps to the more to the to movement like it. It resonated with me, and I never lost it.”

John Cena recently competed in his retirement match, losing to Gunther and tapping out to the Sleeper Hold. After the match, the entire WWE locker room came to the ringside area to show Cena their respect as he took his final bows and said goodbye to the fans.

If using any of the above quotes, please credit No-Contest Wrestling, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.