Summary
Overview
John Cena joins Joe Rogan and Tony Hinchcliffe for an expansive conversation covering his 23-year WWE career, his journey from sleeping in his car to becoming a 17-time champion, his transition to acting, learning Mandarin Chinese, and his upcoming retirement from wrestling. Cena shares profound insights on gratitude, embracing failure, getting out of your own way, and living a purposeful life. The discussion touches on the entertainment business, pro wrestling as an art form, content creation, and the importance of capitalizing on opportunities.
Learning Mandarin and the Taiwan Controversy
Cena recounts his decade-long journey learning Mandarin Chinese to help WWE break into the Chinese market. He shares the story of accidentally calling Taiwan a country during a movie promotion, which sparked major controversy on both sides. The experience taught him that knowing a language doesn't mean understanding the culture, leading to a tense moment where he felt he might lose his job on Peacemaker.
- Cena studied Mandarin for a decade but never achieved conversational fluency despite living in China for 6-7 months while filming with Jackie Chan
- WWE offered free second language programs to talent in 2011-2012, which motivated Cena to learn Chinese to help the company expand into China
- During a press tour, Cena accidentally read a prompter that described Taiwan as a country, causing massive controversy in China and backlash at home when he apologized
- The incident taught him that cultural fluency is just as important as linguistic fluency
" Just because you know a language doesn't mean you know the culture. That was a fantastic experience. "
" I might have been the only guy almost to get canceled for doing his homework. "
Origins in Pro Wrestling and the Rap Gimmick
Cena details how he got into pro wrestling through friends at Gold's Gym Venice and nearly got fired before being saved by an impromptu freestyle rap session on a tour bus. Stephanie McMahon overheard him and asked if he'd do it on TV, leading to the creation of his iconic hip-hop persona that would define his early career despite initial resistance from WWE leadership.
- Cena moved to California in 1999-2000 to work in the fitness industry, ended up at Gold's Gym Venice, and was introduced to wrestling training by friends Chris and Mark Bell
- He was about to be fired for not connecting with audiences when he freestyled on a tour bus and Stephanie McMahon gave him a chance
- Vince McMahon initially hated the hip-hop character but allowed Cena to run with it, which eventually became his breakthrough
- The 'You Can't See Me' gesture came from a dare by his brother to do a dance on TV, which he did on a low-rated show
" I was going to go down and join the Marines. That's lifelong employment. I'm really good with structure. I dig uniform. Give me what to do and a code of conduct to live by. "
" I was about to get fired anyway. The alternative was lose my job. So I was like, fuck it, I'm going down swinging. "
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