John Cena broke his silence about his years-long feud with Dwayne Johnson by admitting he was wrong during the October 7 episode of “WWE Fastlane.”
The bitter battle between Cena and Johnson began in 2011 when Johnson moved away from the WWE in pursuit of a career as an actor – a move that Cena had no tolerance for. Years later, Cena also shifted his focus to acting and was called out for his hypocrisy by a fan during the WWE Fastlane conference.
“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,” Cena said.
He went on to address his behavior toward Johnson.
“I violated his trust and I made allegations about his perspective that I knew nothing about,” Cena said.
He continued to speak candidly about his error and took ownership of his treatment of the fellow wrestler-turned-actor.
“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.”
Cena went on to explain that he has since apologized to Johnson and smoothed things over.
“I didn’t do it the respectful way, so I had to eat a little bit of crow. I had to say ‘I’m sorry and I was wrong,’ because I am sorry and I was wrong, and that’s a very humbling experience,” Cena said. (RELATED: ‘I Could Have Done Better’: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Addresses Maui Fundraiser Backlash)
“Dwayne is a hell of a guy…,” Cena added.
Cena acknowledged his misstep once more.
“I became who I despised. I see that perspective and I understand it. It was a great learning experience from my mistake with feuding with The Rock.”