John Cena and The Rock‘s differing ideologies on their participation in the wrestling business caused their on-screen animosity for WrestleMania 28 and 29 to extend into real life, leaving them far from cordial in the aftermath.
Since then, things have changed. Both men have walked nearly identical paths, jumping from the wrestling ring to Hollywood and other opportunities that turned them into media superstars. Earlier this year, Cena told EW that he had failed to understand someone else’s perspective about loving the wrestling business while balancing other activities, calling himself a hypocrite for “selfish” views.
On Wednesday, Cena reflected on The Bump about his old interactions with The Rock, reiterating how he mistakenly handled things. He also mentioned that their interaction on the Sept. 15 episode of SmackDown was their first since he had publicly apologized for the past (h/t Fightful for transcription).
In between the times we’ve spent with one another, I’ve openly come to a realization that the first foray into us competing against each other probably was a professional mistake on my part. I’ve been very apologetic and open with my apology, the way I conducted business was in the realm of trying to do good business. We did great business, and it was really nice to see a friend. He’s actually very generous with his time, we actually conversed a little bit. That was the first time we’ve seen each other since publicly apologizing for that, and I just want to make sure he heard it from me face to face as well. It was really nice to see a friend.
The Rock and Cena have clearly moved past their differences and become friends. Animosity that lingered for years seems to have disappeared, and it made for a nice moment on SmackDown that might not have happened without the actors’ strike.