John Cena Quotes
Wrestler, Actor
I admire the military. I guess in a world of villains and heroes, they're my heroes. Their dedication, their commitment, their discipline, their code of ethics.
Be loyal to those who are loyal to you. And respect everyone, even your enemies and competition.
When people show loyalty to you, you take care of those who are with you. It's how it goes with everything. If you have a small circle of friends, and one of those friends doesn't stay loyal to you, they don't stay your friend for very long.
I don't have any elaborate uniforms; I come to the ring in a T-shirt, a pair of sneakers and some shorts.
If you don't learn from your mistakes, then they become regrets.
Whether you like me or you don't, I still dig showing up for work.
I don't doll myself up for TV because I want people to accept me for who I am.
I don't play a character. It's totally just an extension of myself.
My dad is the reason I actually started watching wrestling. My dad was never big into sports; we were all big into sports as kids, and he'd go to our Little League games or whatever and not really know what was going on, because he didn't know about sports, but he knew about wrestling.
Paul Bearer was very influential in the early stages of my career. He constantly hounded me and I just think he realized the potential that was there. He convinced me that I was in the right place and doing the right thing.
I'm the one person who wears the words 'hustle, loyalty, respect' on my T-shirts and merchandise. My audience is children. It's very flattering to see a kid wear your T-shirt; it's even more flattering to have a dad come up to you and say, 'I watch you with my kid. Keep doing what you're doing. You're a role model for my son.'
What I do for Make-A-Wish is I make children and families that are up against some pretty tough circumstances, I let them come into our WWE universe, and I do my best to make them feel good. I've seen a lot of kids and a lot of families happy, and I think people are going to watch 'American Grit' and have emotional moments.
Undertaker certainly is a cornerstone of WWE, and just as I say to myself that I really would have liked to been able to get to know and certainly get in the ring with Andre the Giant, just because of all the respect and folklore that went around with Andre, I think The Undertaker has that same sort of respect and folklore around him.
Mark Wahlberg's, like, 150 pounds! I'm 250 lean. I look like Mark Wahlberg ate Mark Wahlberg.
Being able to swing in and host the 'Today' show when they call me, it certainly is a new experience that I have a lot of fun with, and it's different than being in the middle of the ring in 'Monday Night Raw.'
The 'Sisters' phenomenon was a byproduct of the 'Trainwreck' deal. I had to do the normal auditioning process for 'Trainwreck'. I was extremely nervous for it, because you plan for this one event, and you get the opportunity.
If you watch wrestling, you now know the hip-hop culture is being represented with wrestling. For the longest time, the cultures have almost been parallel.
My favorite anime movie is 'Fist of the North Star'.
Nothing gets my blood pumping like a little Animotion.
As a kid, what brought me in the gym, what got me in there every day was a chance to break your personal best, a chance to be strong; I just really, really dig that.
I think the Invictus Games is something the world needs to know more about. What it does for the competitors and what it does for the families and what it does for the wounded warriors and their support system is nothing short of phenomenal. More people need to know about it.
Seriously, I grew up a fan of Hulk Hogan, and I think I bring some of his best values to the ring... the values of a superhero. Always do your best. Never give up... I think kids want to believe in that, and they should believe in that.
Your job as a superstar is to manipulate the audience and try to tell your story. I like the dynamic of the audience.
My life is with WWE.
I'm not trying to brainwash my critics. If they're critics, they're critics, and that's their job to be critical, but I certainly enjoy the involvement I have with my fans. I enjoy the time I get to spend with them, and I don't waste time with someone stubborn who is not going to come around.
Being a pro wrestler can be kind of difficult sometimes. We have a perception about what we do - and I totally understand the perception, because we're a weekly episodic program, and we're having fun all the time, so people think that's kind of the most talented thing I could do.
When I was first starting to achieve success in the WWE, I got to be surrounded by the last class of true greats, and they all had little tips and secrets. You learn a lot from watching somebody work.
I opened the script to the 'The Wall,' and 15 minutes later I was done with it, and I loved the movie and wanted to be part of it.
I have a Chevy Impala that I roll around in and a '89 Jeep Wrangler, which is the first car I ever bought. It has 180,000 miles on it, and that is my daily whip. I take that everywhere. Don't forget where you came from, that's why I'll never get rid of that Jeep.
I've worked my entire career to try to broaden the perception of the WWE. A lot of folks think because we're so entertaining and oftentimes have such wild and well-defined characters that it's all we are. It has kind of been my life's work to tell the public that's not true.
I think the greatest hip-hop artist of all time is Jay-Z, without a doubt. He just keeps amazing me with his performance, and since '96, that guy has been producing at least one hit every summer and every winter. That's a pretty good resume.
Hip-hop certainly is in sync with the youth, and every day that passes, I grow less youthful, as much as I have tried to hold onto it.
My home is at the WWE. I truly do love performing. The atmosphere here isn't like anything else. It's truly where I belong.
I think you can check out 'Monday Night Raw' and watch any 'U.S. Open Challenge,' and my actions speak for themselves.
I really, really want the WWE to be able to perform on a regular basis in China. I think we should be able go to India on a regular basis.
Oftentimes, WWE lives in its own bubble because it is forever moving. Oftentimes, a motion picture will live in its own bubble because they have a certain amount of time to get everything done. It's just, when you connect the two and get everything straightened out, truly, it may take a little elbow grease.
WWE has a very strong affiliation with Make-A-Wish, and we can provide a great experience. It's extremely flattering that for one wish, a family would like to hang out with you. There's nothing more flattering than that.
I guess my mission statement is now to let the world know on a global scale that WWE certainly is a wonderful form of entertainment, but its superstars are more than just superstars inside the ring. They do so much more outside the ring and have so much more to offer.
With comedies, it's been very gratifying to be able to clock in, laugh all day, and then clock out.
But I've been freestyling and messing around with rhyming since I was 13. That's when I really started listening to hip-hop music.
I've got my eye on Big Cass and Enzo Amore. I think they ooze everything that it takes to be a WWE superstar. They have so much energy. Those guys and the Vaudevillains are the guys I've been tipping my cap to on the viewership side.
A lot of the stuff that I say doesn't even make TV because it gets cut out. So if you're at the live events you get to hear what I have to say, but if you're watching on TV, you're only getting about 50% of it.
Most parents were, like, Little League coaches and all that. My dad was a wrestling fan. Instead of going out and playing home run derby with my old man, we just watched wrestling together.
I'm fine with being beat-up and pushed around, but I'm really scared of heights and scared of ledges.
Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant. I remember watching WrestleMania with my family and friends on TV... 93,000 people in the Silverdome. When Hogan picked up Andre, I got goosebumps.
I bring a lot of energy and passion to what I do. Plus, I've had some weird feats of superhuman strength!
I'm the guy who'll drive 250 miles tonight and be at the gym tomorrow at 10 A.M., when people are still sleeping in. I'm the guy who'll fly to Australia and find a gym. Fly back and first thing I do off the plane is work out before I shower or eat.
I have certain things that I stand for, certain things that I believe in, and if you don't like it and you tell me to go to hell, I think that's your God-given right as a fan. It's one of those deals where I'm that one guy who is outside of that realm of good guy, bad guy. I'm just me, and it elicits a response both positive and negative.
The ESPYS are about appreciating moments in sports and not looking down on it because it's maybe not your favorite athlete or your favorite team.
You often hear when you talk to guys in our industry, that this is my personality, I just turn the volume up, but over the years, I've really become me. No volume turned up, no nothing. I've been able to go out there and just be myself. It's through solid performance after solid performance that people just take you for who you are.
I graduated from college with a degree in ex-phys and kinesiology, because it was learning to work out, and I already knew how to work out. So, I just wanted an easy degree. I'm sorry but that's just the way it was.
I really, really, really love my job, so it's not like I'm trying to quit wrestling to do movies. They just all seemed like cool things to do. I mean, I'd love to be the bad guy in an action movie because then people would get to see another side of me they don't get to see.
Amazingly enough, athletic achievement is one of those things that seems larger than life at points. I think we all look to sport for inspirations.
A relationship is based on communication.
Ric Flair is one of the most entertaining guys to sit down with and by entertaining I don't mean he has catchy phrases, but that he's been through so much and his experiences are so genuine I could listen to him talk all day.
I think the way WWE Studios is going now - they're going away from action, doing more drama, more comedy - it will open a lot of people's eyes. Because a lot of people see big guy, big frame: action superstar. We've proven, especially with 'Legendary,' that that is not always the case.
When you see me on TV, that's about as close to my real personality as you can get.
I've always been a fan of Derek Jeter. Guys that consistently, throughout a long-term career, that not only have success but are very aware of their situation - I really dig that.
Winning the Royal Rumble is as big an accomplishment as anything.
What I really like about 'Grit' - especially being the guy who goes on TV every week and says 'Never Give Up' and who truly tries to live his life to that credo - we recruited 16 people who said, 'I will never give up.' And the only way they can leave the contest is by doing the one thing they said they never would.
Being so doopity! It's awesome. And I think it's just one of the reasons that people should get hitched on with the WWE Network. It's more than just these network specials like 'WrestleMania' and like 'SummerSlam'. It's programming geared for the WWE universe.
As a company, the best that we can do is not only penalize but rehabilitate. Speaking for myself, I've always been strong. I don't need that club to put in my bag. This is a choice of the athlete, not the sanctioning body. We do substance abuse testing, impact testing, cardiac testing, so we try to sniff out these problems before they even start.
You learn to laugh at yourself, and you also lean on comedy as a crutch to kind of take the edge off because comedians often are self-deprecating, and they cross lines that they shouldn't. Stuff like that brings a smile to my face every once in a while when needed.
I had reconstructive pectoral surgery, I had a cervical neck fusion and a scope, and the scope was the toughest.
My most string-beanish, I guess, is when I was 15 years old. From 15 to 16, I went from 155 pounds to 215. By the time I graduated from high school, I was between 235-250.
I hang out with a lot of the people I did when I was in high school, when I was in college, and I have a strong unit of people around me, whether it be friends or family, and if my head gets too big, they will definitely check me immediately.
If you broke down my technique, it wouldn't really take a rocket scientist to do so.
I want to see someone like Bobby 'The Brain' jumping around in his weasel suit with the rhinestones. Guys who are animated like that make the best translation to TV and to videogames.
I love traveling the world, meeting new people, and letting WWE fans know that the champ is out doing his thing and trying to spread the good word of WWE. I love the feeling of being the ambassador for the company.
I think that the potential of Total Divas and female athletes is that the sky is the limit. People want to know about these women, and in the WWE, we call it the Divas Revolution - it's a movement for women's empowerment.
To say Roman Reigns isn't connecting with an audience means you're not listening. I've watched a lot of Roman Reigns, and every single time I see him, I hear noise. He connects very well with our audience.
I take pride in the fact that a lot of little kids dig what I do.
When you look back at your body of work, no matter what your career path, by the time you hang 'em up, if you can say, 'This place is in better shape than when I started,' then you did good.
I'm big into the PlayStation 2. From what I've heard, the Xbox is the better system, but I can't get used to that controller.
I watch just as much WWE as almost anyone, but I love to. It's something I enjoy doing. I don't force myself to watch. I get excited for Mondays. I get excited to see the show.
'Tropic Thunder' is one of my favorite movies of all time. 'Blazing Saddles.' Anything that will get me to smile.
The coolest thing to me, and especially now that our program is PG-friendly, and we advertise that to the hilt, but fathers and mothers come up to me and tell me to keep doing what I'm doing because I'm a good role model for their kids.
My favorite city is anything close to home. Anytime I can sleep in my own bed, that's a good one.
I used to like to see The Millionaires versus The Hulkamaniacs. That team versus team atmosphere where you have 10 guys or 8 guys, and it comes down to 3-on-1 - that got exciting for me.
I can't tell you how many times I would call and text my boss, Vince McMahon, on the set of 'Sisters' and 'Trainwreck' and anything else like this to thank him for over-preparing me for this.
When I hear people boo, that just makes me want to go out there and work harder.
Every member of the U.S. Armed Forces knows what they signed up for, and they know what their job is, and they are proud of their job.
Believe it or not, I like the 'Rumble.' It's extremely unpredictable and over-the-top. Everyone in the WWE universe looks forward to it. It becomes that one event each year where people center around.
A role like I had on 'Parks and Rec,' to me, is very easy to understand, and that's something that I can do with my eyes closed.
Entertainment is often a medium in which you can put yourself front and center.
I play golf once in awhile. I certainly love to train. I'm also a big fan of NASCAR and Japanimation.
I know my way around the WWE. I know at least a little bit about everything and our business model, and I feel comfortable there, although I still learn every day.
There is only one Dwayne Johnson. What Dwayne has done is absolutely fantastic. He had a vision when he was here at WWE. He promotes like a mad man. We'll see how I do with John Cena before I can be mentioned in the company of Dwayne Johnson.
Pretty much my feel toward MCs is, if you really got heart, you got passion, let's get on and do something. I like doing stuff with people that's real.
There is no 'off' being John Cena: it's always on. In a way, I think that has helped me, because over the years I have been able to be humble. I have been able to be humiliated in front of the WWE universe in a good way.
For me, to get any match is fine. For me to be thrown right into the mix and be named No. 1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship is a blessing.
My favorite thing about 'Saturday Night's Main Event,' it was that one time where I could stay up late with my dad and four brothers, and we would all beat the tar out of each other while the show was on, and it was all okay because my dad was a wrestling fan.
There is a director for a reason, because a director knows what's best for the movie. You just give your director as much as you can to work with, and hopefully, the decisions they make are going to be great.
I'm a small-time white kid trying to represent hip-hop. If a hip-hop artist comes up and beats me in a battle, who did they beat? A small-town white kid who ain't never been an MC, who ain't never done nothing. Now if an MC comes to battle and they get beat by a small-town white boy, that's MC suicide.
People can say whatever they want about the sport of bodybuilding, but to get prepared to do a contest or even think about doing a contest, or even to get into decent shape, it requires a certain amount of discipline, and it comes from taking a new year's resolution to a lifestyle.
By the time I was 15 and I stepped in the high school gym, I was just stronger than everybody.
I've been actively trying to extend my reach beyond WWE. I wanted to do some non-action related projects, stuff that will resonate with different audiences who might not know who I am.
First thing you have to understand is that freestyling is much different than making hip-hop music: there's another whole element to being a hip-hop MC.
I'm a cigar aficionado.
I'm going to be wrestling for as long as I can. It's something I'm very passionate about and something that I love.