While Dwayne Johnson is often considered the best on the mic, whose promos could be pure theatrical, it was John Cena who came on top during their exchange of words. Considered one of the top feuds the WWE has to offer, there was some real-life beef between the company’s two stars prior to WrestleMania 28, which was marketed as once-in-a-lifetime event.
Even though that wasn’t the case, and the two again faced off the following year, the battle of words between Cena and Johnson heading into WM 28 remains iconic, which saw Cena crossing the line.
John Cena’s Off-Script Work on the Mic Left Dwayne Johnson Visibly Upset
It’s not undisclosed that John Cena is arguably one of the most gifted talkers in WWE history, and his verbal war with Dwayne Johnson is one of the major reasons why. While, unlike heels, babyfaces don’t have a lot of freedom to work on the mic, this didn’t stop Cena from decimating the returning Johnson, stating he is an “egotistical, see-through son of a b-tch”. But one of the most infamous moments from their verbal battle occurred after the Peacemaker Star went off-script to call out Johnson for writing notes on his wrist, which legitimately upset the Black Adam Star.
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The Rock was fuuuuuming
— HOTEP 悪いバナー (@HotepBadBanner) February 7, 2024
Cena owned The Rock every time during their promo battles.
— P (@ForeverBlue_07) February 6, 2024
Y'all were too blind to see it back then because of your hate boner for Cena. This exact feud is when Cena became my lifelong GOAT. It's this rivalry that made me realize how insane Cena was for carrying WWE through that boring micromanaged PG era because he always made Vince's…
— 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗠𝗚☝🏻 🇫🇷⁷ (@TopMGSzn) February 6, 2024
CENA CAN COOK ANYBODY ON THE MIC
— Mr Garzo (@Mr_Garzo) February 6, 2024
He was mad about that wrist line 😂😂😂😂
— tacomeat (@bigman6468) February 6, 2024
Later reflecting on going off-script, Cena explained that prior to his promo, one guy backstage noted that The Rock was seemingly using some kind of notes on his wrist, which was against the rules. This led to The Suicide Squad Star using it to his advantage, which made for some good TV at the time.
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John Cena Isn’t Proud Stepping Over the Line for Entertainment
But despite attaining what was best for the business, John Cena regretted going over the line during his feud with Dwayne Johnson, stressing that he violated Johnson’s trust. Considering Cena also called out The Rock for fleeing to Hollywood at the time, and a decade later, Cena too is now enjoying Hollywood success, Cena publicly apologized to The Rock, stating he was wrong. He said (via Variety),
SUGGESTED“If you’ve been following what I’ve tried to do, especially as of late, publicly and personally to Dwayne Johnson, I’ve stated that although I thought I was trying to do what’s best for business. I went about it the wrong way. I violated his trust, and I made allegations about his perspective that I knew nothing about. And deep down, I was a fan. I wanted The Rock back [in WWE]. I wanted to do anything to get The Rock back, but I did it the wrong way.”
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While John Cena might not enjoy looking back at this moment, his mic work against The Rock stands as a testament to his skills, as not many have gotten the better of the Great One on the mic.
