August 21, 2024 • 41 mins
John Cena enters the ring with Shannon Sharpe at Club Shay Shay for an in-depth discussion about his journey from a small-town athlete to becoming one of the biggest names in professional wrestling and entertainment of all time. John opens up about his sports background, including playing Division 3 football as an offensive lineman, and how his initial foray into working out was driven by a desire to avoid bullying, a decision that ultimately changed his life.
John shares stories from his early life, including working odd jobs as a limo driver, assistant greenskeeper, and summer camp counselor, all while pursuing his passion for wrestling. He recalls his move to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a bodybuilder, only to realize that his true calling was in professional wrestling just a week before joining the Marines. He explains how his journey wasn’t easy—he experienced homelessness and struggled financially even after signing a modest contract with WWF, but a lucky break on TV changed everything.
John also delves into his personal life, discussing his relationship with his father, the trauma they’re working to overcome, and how he refuses to let his past define him. Despite his success, John remains grounded, admitting that he fears complacency and continues to work hard on self-improvement. The conversation touches on his unexpected success as a platinum-selling rapper, driven by his love for hip-hop and rebellious nature, which resonated with WWE fans. John also shares his top athlete-rappers and rappers of all time, revealing his deep connection to music. As this first part of the episode winds down, John reflects on his final year in the ring, his desire for a meaningful last match, and his thoughts on the greatest wrestlers of all time.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I remember when I started making money. My worst purchase
because I didn't want to spring for Lamborghini, right, so
I about a fake one.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
They tried to stiff me out of the car. I
had to ask some friends who knew how to find things,
to go and find things. The car finally shows up
after two years from me of waiting. It doesn't go
into gear, nothing runs. The car is not roadworthy, so
I sent it to a shop. This is two thousand
and five. I just got the keys to that car
a week ago.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
What all my life, grunning, all my light sacrifice, hustle
bed Bryson, want a slice?
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Got the Brons all my life?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I be grinning all my life, all my life, running
all my light sacrifice. Hustle bed to Bryson one slice,
Doctor Bronin Geys swap all my life.
Speaker 5 (00:47):
IOP be grinning all my life. Hello, Welcome to another
episode of Club Shasha. I am your host, Shannon Sharp.
I'm also the propriud of Club Sha. Shay the guy
that's stopping by conversation on a drink today. It's one
of the greatest and most popular wrestlers of all time.
He's been a WWE megastar for over twenty years. He's
(01:08):
currently tied with Rick Flair for the most championships in
professional wrestling history at sixteen. He's a platinum selling rapper
or international superstar, New York Times bestselling author, multi faceted entertainer,
one of Hollywood's biggest stars, a living legend, pop icon,
idle to millions, A dedicated philanthropist. He holds the Guinness
World Record for the number of wish is granted to
(01:29):
make a wish children, a national treasure, a fan favorite,
a household name. I think he's here, but maybe he isn't.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
John Cena, Oh, are you're the top that just saying, oh,
thank you so much for the introduction.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Man, thanks for having me.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
You know, I have my own kanyac bro, and what
you've been able to do, and we're gonna talk a
little bit about it. I like to toash your career.
I don't know if you drink or not, but this
is my Kanyac. It's called shay by Laportier. It's a vsop.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Very nice.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Well, I will toast with you. Time is our most
valuable asset. Thank you for yours today. Thank you, Bro,
appreciate you and enjoying. I'm gonna make the most out
of this. I'm gonna keep this.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
We're gonna give you your own bottle. So I appreciate
your stopping.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Bay. Let's get right into it, bro sports.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
I mean, obviously, to be able to be a professional wrestler,
you have to be athletic to do all those moves.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Were you a sports Were you athletic? Were you into
sports when you grew up?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I played baseball as a young kid. I transitioned to
football at about age fifteen. I played at a Division
III school in college, and I was an offensive lineman.
And you can see why I played only Division three.
You've been to the mountaintop. Offensive linemen are a little
bit different, a little bigger. I loved the game, but
I also had great perspective of the type of athlete
(02:49):
that needs to be a professional.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
So I had fun in college.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I'm very thankful for my time in teammates, but it
was a chapter that needed to be close.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Did you wrestle in high school? Never? Nope, I was.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I always grew up a fan of professional wrestling, okay,
and I think that helped because amateur and wwere sports entertainment,
two very different totally different. Yeah, and just because you're
because you're a good professional. He doesn't mean you're a
good amateur. Just because you're a good amateur, do now,
I mean you're a good professional.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Right.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Well, we see Brock Lisner, Yeah, he was in the WFB.
We also saw him go to the UFC and he
tried you know, NFL football.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Did you ever think.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
About trying out for NFL football or you just realized, like,
you know what?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So?
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I think in Brock's case, Brock is one of the
most gifted, hardest working, perseverant, stubborn sons of bitches I
ever met. But I honestly think physically he could do
whatever he puts his mind to.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
It's also because he's six ' four three hundred plus, right,
so it was a natural transition. He's also an NCAA
national champion multiple times. He knew body awareness to put
him in the trenches. That's a natural transition. Okay, I
am six feet two hundred and thirty pounds. If you
were to put me in the trenches, I would get
my fucking app What about running back? So you also
(04:10):
have to be a good running back just because of
your frame. It's like, oh, your height and weight matchup.
Let's time you're forty still going huh?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You know?
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So it's it's a lot of things have to line up.
And I think Rock is a physical anomaly. And I'm
glad he found his home with the WWE because he's fantastic.
But I think he could put do whatever he really
wanted to.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Is it true that you were bullied as a kid
and you started working out? Did like get away from it?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I am that comic strip or the comic in the
back of the in the comic. Yes, so scrawny kid, yeah,
who eventually found physical fitness as a way of getting
people not to bother you. It wasn't get big so
I could fight these people. It was get big so
I could give the vibe of like, oh I don't
want to mess with that guy, kind of my own
alarm system. And it worked. But it also introduced me
(05:01):
to sport. I found physical training at around age twelve
and then saw the games at about age fifteen, right
when coaches were like, hey kid, you want to try football? Sure, okay,
And none of my peers. It wasn't like it is today.
Strength training in like the nineties. It was almost like hey,
don't lift weights. You don't want to mess up your
(05:22):
baseball swing or your basketball sure, like it was almost
a taboo, But I found a home in football, and
I found team sports to be very gratifying being a
member of a team. Finally, you know, I grew up
with five five brothers, so it was kind of like
I had that family vibe around me. I was able
to make social connections. And you know what it's like
to be on a winning team. It feels great, and
you also knows what it likes to be on a
(05:43):
losing team. You know, you carry the burden with each other.
So I was I was very grateful that something that
started out as a way to defend myself, it's been
such a gateway to so many opportunities in life.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
Proud of you working out. I read you were like
a sprawny kid. You're weighed like one hundred and fifty
five pounds, and you started working out and you go
to two. So we're proud of you working out. Did
anyone ask you to participate in sports? Did you want
to participate in sports before you started working out?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
I grew up in a small town where your first
chance to play football started at fifteen.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
We didn't have any youth football.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Oh, there wasn't much popularity of soccer or real football
as the Europeans call it. There was pretty much a
little league baseball. So I played the little league baseball.
I started late. Most kids would play at like six.
I started at ten, and I just liked the team
aspect of it. So I wasn't good at all, but
I was enthusiastic, okay, and football was something that my
(06:37):
skill matched my enthusiasm.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
So did you think about playing baseball? Did you play
baseball in high school? Or did you just gave it?
Speaker 1 (06:43):
I did, and I remember vividly the day I stopped
playing baseball. I worked out before practice, and I was,
to the coach's credit, I was two minutes late to practice,
but it was because I had a last period of class,
got to work out in and then ran my ass
to practice and the coach.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I remember it.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
I was a sophomore, and the coach said, you're gonna
have to choose between playing baseball or working out, and
I gave him my hat in my uniform. I said,
it's been it's been fun, So you chose working out?
Speaker 5 (07:11):
She was working out, so what, so what did you,
what did you want to do when you're in high school?
You grew up in this small town. You used to like, okay,
we can only play we start playing football. At fifteen,
you just giving up baseball because you wanted to work out.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So what did you want to do?
Speaker 1 (07:26):
You know, I just wanted to do things I enjoyed,
and I like, I think the north star of my
life is like not having a plan. Okay, what do
you enjoy doing in your time off?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Nothing? Not donna get much time.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Off though, Okay, but I also bet that's by choice, Yeah,
because you like to keep yourself busy, and hopefully it's
the things you're passionate about.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
But a lot of times, John, the things that we
like to do don't pay a whole lot of money.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
So neither but neither did working out. And as a
fifteen year old, I really wasn't trying to find an
angle to make working out make make money.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I just knew I liked work. You just enjoyed it.
Speaker 5 (08:02):
Yeah right, yeah, but I did read you you had
some very odd jobs. Yeah, growing up, you would like
a memo driver.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I was.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I was an assistant greenskeeper at a golf course. I
was a counselor at a summer camp. I've been security
for bars. I've worked student security at Springfield College. I
got to wear a neon jacket and have people ridicule
me around campus and working parking lots.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
I've done my fair share of odd jobs.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
When did you develop this knack to be so great
at public speaking?
Speaker 1 (08:34):
I think, as with anything, you learn fluency through failure,
And I think it was me always probably trying to
stand out with my brothers and getting made fun a
lot for it, and then trying to find my social
circle in life as a young man and getting made
fun of for it. So I think it's the courage
to be brash and be embarrassed.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
Right, So I read you moved, you come to lay
Venice Beach and you wanted to be a bodybuilder? Correct, Yes,
so Arnold's clearly so Arnoldood. You probably saw what was
the movie?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
He was there?
Speaker 5 (09:07):
Of course you wanted you saw that. He's like, you
know what, I think I can do that. I think
Arnold's about six foot tall, probably way the same I
get the pump.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Hey, maybe a time my forty over there. Now you
don't have to run on stage reposing trunks and I
did some local shows in New England and placed quite well.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
And just like playing football at Springfield College, the first
day I stepped down the field at Springfield, I knew like,
oh I I will have a career here and that's
where it will end.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
I was doing well in New England. I'm like, yeah,
I'll give it a try. The first day I stepped
into golds Venice and did one of these like, oh,
this is gonna be a hobby. Okay, that's it. This
is gonna be a hobby. So there are guys that
are my weight but they're five foot four. Okay, that's yeah,
this is gonna be a hobby. Right, yeah, because you're real.
Speaker 5 (09:54):
And the thing that I tell people all everybody looks
good when they're by themselves, but when you go stand
next to somebody else did do this, and it's just
as serious, if not more serious than you, you realize.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
You come to the realization like you know what.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Well, Also you know that that's a great perspective and
you can be you can be so dedicated in something
in life and give your absolute best. But when something
has a window of popularity and a lot of people
know about it, the one percent. The people who identify
early on their talent strengths and gifts maybe have genetics
(10:29):
for it, and then those talent strengths and gifts and
their gene pool are nurtured in a ten thousand hours
of practice, those are going to be the people who
make money off it. Do yes, Yes, It doesn't mean
that I don't work as hard as the next guy,
doesn't mean we're not squatting the same or whatever. It
just comes down to, like, there's a reason you played
(10:50):
in the NFL. I could practice the exact same amount
of minutes. I just I'm just not made for it, right,
you know what I'm saying. Right, So that's that when
you can when you take take a hobby or a
passion or a pastime and make it a vocation, there
has to be a little bit of luck. There has
to be a lot of hard work, a little bit
of magic dust in there as well.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
But one thing that bodybuilding will teach you is discipline.
Because if you're not disciplined with your eating, you're not
disciplined with your training, sure you can't be successful. And
it's hard to be successful at anything if you're not disciplined.
I don't care how much talent a person has. Yeah,
discipline is the overriding key to success.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
I agree with you one hundred percent on that, and
I'm what I'm very grateful for in my journey is
the individual discipline I had with bodybuilding physical fitness, mixed
with the team building discipline of show up for practice
on time, don't let your teammates down. So I got
to learn how to take care of myself. Hey, if
you don't time your food, or if you don't get
enough rest, if you don't train, you're gonna suck. Mixed
(11:50):
with you got to work well with others. Bodybuilding is
an individual sport and sometimes a very egocentric sport, and
sometimes you can get really talented bodybuilders or people interested
in physical fitness that don't have the ability to work
with others.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I'm very grateful.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
In my life to have both the experience of team
building exercise and team building discipline and individuals.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
So, now, okay, bodybuilding is not the answer. Clearly you
know football is not going to be the answer. You
had been given up on baseball. So now what you
take some odd job? You limo driver, you're a janitor,
you do all these your voice actors So when did
you decide to say, you know what, maybe pro wrestling,
maybe acting? When did you come to that conclusion this
(12:35):
was going to be John Cena's path. So the wrestling
thing happened by accident.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
And I think as we just as we get thank
you very much for all these questions as I discuss
what do I want to do with my life? Okay,
I think the most important message I could tell people
out there is that you don't have to figure it
out right away. I graduated from college and tried to
apply my degree, my physical attributes, and what I was
passionate about to make money. So when all this stuff
(13:02):
started to fail, I began to be like, Okay, I'm disciplined.
I can show up to work on time. Don't mind
wearing a uniform, don't mind be part of a team.
I'll take the California Highway Patrol exam. I'll be a cop.
Failed that son of a bitch. So that's and as
a young man, I'm like, man, I don't have many
options that I think the work would be passionate about
(13:22):
every day. I may be the military. I say that
in the utmost respect, I was a morning person. I'd
love to push my body beyond its capabilities. Yes, I
love when the team wins. I want to be in
a pool of people that I'm not the smartest person
in the room. Love a uniform, get to travel the world,
don't ever have to worry about pay. Like, there's so
many pluses to the military, And those were as a
(13:45):
young man. Those are people I grew up idolizing. So
I was like, man, I'll go join the Marines. And
the weekend I was going to go from Los Angeles
to San Diego to go join, my buddy was like, hey, man,
you know we're training to be wrestlers down in Orange County.
You want to try it out before you go. You
can do wrestling, Like I didn't know there was a school.
(14:07):
I didn't know about it. It's a very secret. And
when we went down to see it, that's when it
was like, Oh, this is going to be my new hobby.
I would work those odd jobs so I could do
bodybuilding shows. I would work those odd jobs so I
could run speed camps to play football. Now I had
a reason to work my odd jobs to do this
hobby on the weekends. It's like many people have a
(14:29):
job and they can't wait for weekends on the boat.
My brother is the one I always used loves to
work his job so he can spend weekends on the boat.
The job is a way to do the thing that
he loves. So it wasn't necessarily. I didn't do it
to be like this is how I'm going to make money.
It was like, yo, I love this. I'm going to
make money doing the shitty work so I could have
fun dressing up doing whe for here on the weekends.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, I almost the same thing happened to me.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
I almost joined the military also, and then my brother
came and talked me out of I was going to
join the Air Force and then I was going to
take the exam. He came home from college said, look,
go to Savannah State. And if you don't like it,
say I went to school for a year. You didn't
like it. It went for me, go to you know, hey,
I went to Savannah State for a year. And we
know how that turned. We know how it turned that
for me. Yeah, but I think something, you know, like
(15:16):
like you said, when something is for you, when God
has a plan.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
For you, you.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
Might take a lot of different paths past, but eventually
you're going to get on the right track and it's
gonna find you.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
And I also that I agree with that, And I
also want to say that sometimes you have to be
brave enough to recognize when, yes, when life puts an
opportunity in front of you, even though I had a
plan and was like, Yo, this is the safest way forward,
an opportunity was put in front of me. Yeah, I'm
gonna try that.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Yes, you know.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
So, I think a lot of people sometimes aren't aware
of when life will give you a life, a crack
that door open, just one bit, you know. And I
think if you can be aware of that and just
give your your wholehearted best to the situation, you don't
know what can happen.
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Speaker 2 (17:17):
Since you were.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Limbo driver, let's just say, for the sake of argument,
there were lifts, There were uber and lyfts back then.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
What type of driver woul John c will be the
fucking worst.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
So this was pre navigation, but not even the stick
on the windshield Magellan unit pre navigation.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
The meat is nineties.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
So yes, cell phones with mostly car phones and the
fees for a call or like twenty five bucks a call.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
You absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
I have a Randall McNally map in my shotgun seat
along with tuna, rice and chicken. And I'm in a
town car, not a limo. That's how emails all Oh
my god, and I'm the byproduct of eating all that.
So combine everything. Yeah, the story tells itself. I'm from
West Newbery, which is not Boston. It is a small
town way outside of Boston. In my childhood life, I've
(18:06):
only been on one highway, Route ninety five, So in
my mind all roads lead to Route ninety five.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Right.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
I would pick people up for their flights like three
hours late what because I didn't know where the fuck
I was going. And now, as a traveler, if I
booked a car, and I'm always you know, if I
got to go at ten, I'm going to book it
to be there at seven, right, because I want to
make sure it's there early. But man, I feel for
those traveling. I got called every name in the book.
(18:33):
I could barely get to the airport. I didn't know
how to get people home. And the last thing you
want to do after a long trip, you know, I'm
finally going to keep my front door. And then you
get in a car with a driver from hell. Where
the car stinks. It's probably things like farts and tunea.
He doesn't know where he's going. It's this huge, hulking
guy in a town gar right.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
I think we're going the right way. I was the worst.
I didn't last too long in that job.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
I read it. You're also homeless. So what was your
what was your lowest moment before you finally did had
some success?
Speaker 1 (19:01):
What was your lowest moment? John, So, I also want
to put some contacts. Okay, but I was homeless by choice. Okay,
A lot of a lot of people are struggling with
the inability to choose. My dad is fantastic and always
has been great to all of his sons, and he's
always been like, hey, you always got a roof over
your head. You can always come home. But he also
(19:22):
told me as I left for California from the mean
street of West Newbury. You'll never make it. You'll be
back in two weeks. So I don't know if he's
a genius or he's just an asshole, right, but it worked.
I didn't want to come home. He put pressure on you.
So when all of my plans failed and all my
resources were dwindling again, I had a choice do I stay?
And if I stay, this is going to be the
(19:44):
roof over my head for a while. But I loved it.
Like my parked my car in the parking lot of
gold gym, slept in the back, worked at the gym,
so the gym was open at four, I'd go shower,
use the locker room, clock into work. On my break,
I'd work out the protein bar. Places where I worked,
I get a discount in all my supplements every once
in a while, a five figure a discount. Thank you
Nutrition Club stores. I was well fed, I got enough rest,
(20:08):
and I was happy. And it was it was by choice,
and it's this is a very fortunate story of being
without a physical mailbox by choice. So I don't regret
those days. And again it was something that I think
the struggle is a lot more entertaining when you want
to do it, you know, a tough practice is more
(20:29):
rewarding when you know you're it's this is the work
I got to do to get the goal. And it
was just one of those cases you had. So with
that situation you had, you have very limited overhead.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I did, I did.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I was the company was operating at a loss and
we were paying some heavy interest to the credit cardhold
was at that point.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, so when when did you When did your break come?
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (20:51):
When when the w w E called It was then
the w w F and said we would like it
to give you a contract. And that was when I
went from working on the weekends or working during the
week to dressing up on the weekends to being a professional.
It was a break. But my contract was for twe
five hundred dollars a year what and my rent was
(21:13):
for twelve thousand dollars of nos it was for my
rent was twelve hundred dollars a month. So I quit
my job immediately to become a professional. I was already
operating at a loss. But the good thing about credit
cards is they'll mail you more opportunities to get more
credit cards. So I was just like, yeah, I'll just
take more of the plastic pieces that get me free
food and all that this is gonna be great. So
(21:34):
I bet on myself, and I knew that I couldn't
juggle things. If I was going to do this, I
was going to do it fully focused and wholeheartedly, and
if I lost, I would fall. It would be by
my own choices. So I quit my job. I was
upside down on a lot of bills and upside down
on rent and stuff. But I got to go to
every practice. I got to gain fluency really quick because
(21:57):
I mashed in my ten thousand hours me a small break,
but a break nonetheless. And then about nine months after that,
they moved me to Middle America and I started wrestling
in Kentuckyana for Ohio Valley Wrestling. And then about a
year later, by accident, I got on TV.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
You got called up to the big time? Yeah, what
was that moment?
Speaker 5 (22:16):
I mean, you mentioned a situation John that your dad
like he was very proud of his five boys. You
guys had done a lot. I'm sure he was proud
of you, but he said that when you decided that
you were gonna move to California, He's like, you're not
gonna make it when you had made it did you
call him and say, Dad, I made it?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
You know what? No?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
And I still I'm really working hard, and thank you
very much for asking. I'm really working hard on building
a great relationship with my dad. He just turned eighty
and I love him and we're starting to like dive
into those moments. I can't wait to find out the
answer to that question because I'm so happy with where
we are. I think for so long I wanted him
to call me like, Yo, you made it. But I
(23:02):
still don't know if he was withholding his at a boy,
so I kept going for some reason to maybe one
get it at the last moment, I don't know. The
point is I've been able to work on self and
let go of the need for his approval, which has
been awesome because now we can just live as men
and as peers and talk about our own life. I
(23:23):
cannot wait to hear my dad's answer to that question.
But I don't ever I don't ever believe in making it.
I don't ever believe someone has made it. I believe
you can close chapters in your life, and I believe
that there are instances where it's time to move on.
But in my perspective, It's like I try never to
use the word deserve. I prefer earned, because what what
(23:47):
the hell do I deserve?
Speaker 2 (23:49):
You know?
Speaker 1 (23:50):
I wake up every day, that's fantastic. And I try
to earn the right to wake up every day. So
I don't know. I think I'm worried that if I
ever say to myself I've made it, I will become
complacent in life. And I don't mean like not make
a paycheck, right, I mean like not be curious about life.
I even coming into this place, like Wow, this place
(24:11):
is so great, and I'm curious about the wallpaper and
the fire and what this podcast is going to be.
I don't ever want to lose that. You know, when
you these are dude, this is great.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
When you when you left home and you said, okay,
you and your dad have the relationship. You're not trying
to recapture what was lost. You're just trying to move
on from this point and move forward.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Man. That's a crazy thing about time. You can't you
can't fix for what has happened. Yeah, And I think
when you can get to a point to be like
in let's say, in forgiving my dad first, I got
to forgive myself, Yes, and I gotta be okay with myself.
And I think when you get to that point and
you're like, oh man, you more than likely although through
(24:54):
my eyes it looked like this was bad for me,
more than likely you were. I I know you, I've
known you for forty seven years. You more than likely
were trying to do the best you could as a parent.
I can't fault you for that, Bud. So what do
we do now. Let's have a drink, Let's have a cigar,
and hey, what was your college life? Like, what's the
craziest thing you've ever done? What's the worst thing I've
(25:16):
ever done to you? Stuff like that's going on now.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
Most of the time, John, people parent as that they
were parented, And so maybe that's how his day gave
him tough Your grandfather gave your dad tough love. But
you say something very interesting. My grandma used to always
tell me all the time. She say, son, that could
never be freedom.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
What I forgive this.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
I'm a strong advocate of that, and that's the first
time I've heard it. I think once you get to
the ability where you can genuinely forgive, that doesn't mean
you need to forget. No, when you can forgive you
literally free yourself of whatever the burden is that's on
your shoulders. That's very profound. I'm a believer.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
Forgiveness is not for the person that you feel. And
I don't know if you feel this, and I'm just
saying for context here. Forgiveness is not for the person
that you feel that have wronged you. Forgiveness is for you, yes,
because you're the one your feelings, your emotions are being
held hostage. They're living their life. They might not even
know that you're.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
They might not even know.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Like again, I can't wait to have this conversation with
my dad. Do you know what I've been looking for
a good job for like thirty years.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I never knew. Dude.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
It's one of those things where because we are at
times uncomfortable talking about our feelings, we don't talk about stuff.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
So how can someone know? You know, they're probably just
trying to do the best I can. You are a rapper.
Speaker 5 (26:34):
You sold one hundred and forty thousand copies, your first
week debuted at number fifteen on the Billboard two hundred.
But that album is going platinum one point three million
copies to this day. Did you think? Come on, did
you think that was possible.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
There's nothing about the current state of being. Yeah, you
extract me as m and el No, but this is
what I will say, super passionate about hip hop.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Hip hop. That was why I was bullied. As a
callback to the story, because in white, small town West Newbery,
you wore jeans, shit kicking boots, you drove a pickup truck,
and you listen to country music or rock music. Okay,
I had a high top fade. I wore rayon, Polka dots,
wingtips or Adidas. I had airbrush overalls. I wore that
(27:24):
shit backwards. Like, rap music found me, and it was
rapped and it wasn't hip hop, and it evolved to
hip hop. But rap music found me because it was rebellious.
To keep in mind, I was one of five boys
and I didn't like like I had a lot of
angst with how the household was being runt. I was
a rebel. That music found me at the right time.
(27:45):
So even though a song like fuck the Police might
have been an anthem for the state of the social
well being in south central Los Angeles to a thirteen
year old kid, the police were my parents, and it
was like it was me Fuck that and it grab
a hold, like it really spoke to me just the
(28:06):
way the music was, and in the rebelliousness, I also
caught all other rap music, Like I would listen to
Kwame and I would listen to rock Him and Nas
and the Beastie Boys and my first CDs with the
Beastie Boys and the Fat Boys and like Cool Mode,
and the list goes on and on, like it was
a part of me. And when I got to showcase
(28:29):
that on television, it resonated with the audience. So again
this was life putting an opportunity in my laugh. I'm like, hey, great,
I'm connecting with the audience. I can keep my job
that I love, and maybe I can make better music
than the stock rap music that they're making for me
in Connecticut because at the time WW is a rock
and roll company, they didn't have any depth of field
(28:51):
or hip hop. And I listened to my own music
being like, I could do better than this. It wasn't
how do I measure up against eminem I think if
it was the case, I never would have an album, right,
But it was like, yo, I can do better than this.
Called up a friend who knew a friend who had
a studio, we got some beats.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
And we made an album.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Wow, and that was it. That was it, And it
never once was it like, how is this going to
measure up? It was simply the current product that I have.
I can do better than that, right, So as far
as that I measure up better than that, you did
better than that.
Speaker 5 (29:21):
So let's just see where it goes. So when it
comes at. So now you're an athlete, you're a rapper,
give me your top three athlete rappers. You get Shock Time,
which is Dion Sanders, Roy Jones Jr. Dame Lillard, Master
p Kobe. You only get.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Three Master, Pea, Kobe, and Shock. Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Yeah, Shack's got skills. Man, I think Carporol karaoke with him.
Oh you can flow, he can still flow?
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Oh yeah for sure. Yeah Yeah he's good. Yeah, he
got a get hit. So I he's got doctorate. He's smart.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
So give me your Mott Rushmore, your all, your favorite,
your greatest, who you think the greatest four rappers are
in the history.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
So for me, Jay z eminem Nas and Rock Him
Wow and uh Man, Rock Kim's voice and I like,
like I'm I'm Everyone has their bias and I know
that list is obviously going to incite riots. We all
have our bias, we all have our favorites. That's what
makes music spec that's what makes creativity.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
I was brought up.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
In like the East Coast boom bab I love I
love wordplay, I love poetry. That's what I based my
character on. So I think all that's super clever and
those are That's that's my list.
Speaker 5 (30:36):
So when when John and my driving around his car,
who are you listening to today?
Speaker 1 (30:41):
I have come a long way, you know, I'm not.
I'm no longer a bodybuilder. I just want to preface that. Okay,
sometimes chapters can close. I'm gonna retire this year from wrestling.
That chapter is gonna close. I listen to nothing.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Really.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
I am a huge car guy, so when I get
to drive, it's kind of my chance to meet it.
I always try to drive something manual with a stick shift,
and I always just listened to.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
The car man. Really.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Yeah, and that could be like I had one rare
day off and you mentioned that there's a rare I
think we work in the same dimension. Yes, I drove
around the state of Florida just for shits and giggles.
I did eight hundred and eighty miles. I left my
house in Tampa, went to Orlando, went around the thumb,
went back up, went back down, And as soon as
(31:26):
I pulled in my garage, I'm like, WHOA, eight hund
eighty miles.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Not too bad.
Speaker 5 (31:31):
So you just got in a car one day and
I was like, you know what, Hey, I'm gonna do this.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
I haven't driven in a while, I haven't taken a
trip in a while. I want to be And not
once did I turn on the radio. I left at
four thirty in the morning. I pulled in my garage
at ten thirty at night. Stopped for like three or
four cars. I love little coffee shops right, stopped for
like three or four coffees on the way. Did you
talk to anybody? Did you turn the phone out at
the coffee shops? Talk to people in the car? Not
one phone call, not one text phones in the backseat,
power off, and it was it's like my way to meditate,
(31:58):
So what.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Do I listen to the car.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
There was a big rap battle going on this summer. Yes,
Kendrick Lamar yes, and Drake Yes?
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Who won?
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I know nothing about this. You don't know anything. All
I know is the headlines. I'm the one person, the
one breathing human being who did not hear.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Bar one of this. I haven't heard any music and
he tracks nothing, So this is all new to me.
Who won? Who won? And why? Man? They you started
it out. I was like, man, I love this guy, but.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
Just just on pure, just play Drake. They play it
all the time. If there's not gonna be a game,
a football game, a basketball game, or anything that you
go to where the home team is winning, where you're
not going to hear it.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
They're not like us.
Speaker 5 (32:47):
I mean, excuse me, Kendred Lamar, Yes, kendreck one, Okay,
so because just I mean, it's the most is the
most played this in history already. I think it's done.
It's the biggest song this summer.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
I need to check this. I've been living in under
a rock. I need to check this out. Yeah, all right,
Kendrick Lamar, right of.
Speaker 5 (33:07):
Your current rappers go on the list. You know you've
got Kendrick Lamar, you got Drake. I mean you got
these young you know, so, I five babies.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
I kind of a little big I kind of drifted
away from hip hop right around Drake and I think
I always thought Drake was extremely talented. Again, I love wordplay.
I think he's his stuff is very well thought out.
I think he's very poetic. I like the way he
adds music into the songs, like I don't. I don't
have enough depth of field to evaluate anybody current. He
was like the last one where it becomes fade to
(33:37):
fade to nothingness.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Right.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
Well, you mentioned it earlier. This is your final year
in w W. Is that twenty twenty five? Yeah, And
so when you look at farewell, I mean Kobe got
a farewell, Kareem got a farewell. I mean everybody was
waiting for Lebron to get his farewell. I think the
thing is Tom Brady didn't get that because we didn't
really know Tom was going to retire. He just like, okay,
(33:59):
I'm done. Now what do you hope? What do you
want your farewell? What do you want the lasting memories
of your last year in the WWE?
Speaker 2 (34:07):
What do you want that to be?
Speaker 1 (34:10):
That's a great question. Personally, I would like to just
want it to be worth it. And I don't mean
that I won't get value from it. I'll enjoy every second.
I just want to justify it like I hope. I
hope it is good for WWE business. I hope it
continues to build the future of the brand and company.
(34:33):
I hope that the events are satisfying for the audiences.
From an audience perspective, I hope everyone can come to
these events and either relive memories they might have had
over the past twenty three years or make new memories.
Because there's a whole new generation of superstars out there.
So if a young kid who is all he's seen
(34:54):
in programming is maybe Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, if
his dad brings them in and be like, hey, son,
you know ten years ago this was the guy right
and look at him like he can still go like
this is my guy, and the son's like, no, this
is my guy. I've heard so many stories from families
about like, hey, one time my dad took me to wrestling.
We watched you. Now I'm a grown man, and I
(35:17):
realized that that was my way of my dad bonding
with me.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
So like, if the tour can do that, that's awesome.
And I don't see you have a zero percent chance
of doing that if you just say I'm done. We're
not pure sport. The benefit of what we do is
we're sports entertainment. So I can be like, ah, you
know that the body doesn't feel I have a choice.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
I could.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
I could hang around for another ten years and do
like a match a year and maybe progressively get worse
with my skill set, or take an honest look at
myself and be like I can do like thirty forty
dates this year. Make it a thing, Tell everybody this
is it which it is, be able to close the
chapter in my life, move on to things that I'm
curious and enthusiastic about, and hopefully create some moments and
(36:06):
let people take away from it whatever they want. I
just I want it to be worth it. What would
it mean for you?
Speaker 5 (36:11):
You're tied currently Rick Blair, sixteen time world champel to
get number seventeen. Who would you like to fight the Rock?
Randy Orton, Logan, Paul c Hm, Pump, Cody ro Roman Reigns.
Who would you like to fight that match? To win
the title?
Speaker 1 (36:25):
So I think it's a that's a thing because of
the legacy that Rick Flair has and certainly I've been
fortunate enough to win.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
It has to be down Rick Flair are you.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
I personally know Rick, and he is a good chance
of winning that fight. I don't know if that's going
to happen. I think what's interesting about the tour is
there are some jackpot long shot scenarios where it can happen.
But to win a number one contender ship in the
story driven purpose, you have to earn it, right. I
(36:59):
had my chances. I've been a part timer now since
like twenty eighteen, that's six years. I've had my chances
of coming back and being like I want you in
a match. I haven't won a match since twenty eighteen. Wow,
that's a slump.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
That's a lot of ale. Step one. I need to
bust the slump.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
So with all of those things into play, I don't
want it, like I said, I want it to be
worth it to the audience. So if I come back
and push the champion and be like you and me
in a match, the audience will immediately see through that
as he just bumped his way to the front of
the line, and the guy I watch every week who's
earned that spot, he just took it away from That's stupid.
If I win the Royal Rumble, I get an automatic chance.
(37:38):
There have been stakes put on the elimination champe or
if I win that, I might get an automatic chance
at a championship. The money in the bank suitcase is
a suitcase for a championship match anytime, anywhere. So that's
what's cool about doing it over a year. There are
these lottery chances where I'd be like, yo, he may
break the record if it's.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Even an option.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
I got to start winning in January and I might
earn a shot by this And at that point I
don't give who is as long as I can just
get a chance. But I also, having been in that
champion I respect the process and I don't ever want
to take somebody's spot. Man, I don't ever want to
take somebody's spot.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
You know.
Speaker 5 (38:17):
Triple Lake said, you're the goal. I had Rick Flair
on here. He said, Sean Michaels is the goal. Who's
John Seena Goat of ww gosh.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
That's a good question, you know, I and I think
that's what's interesting. I can name my top for hip
hop artists because I have no skin in the game.
This is a tough one to answer because I have
so much professional respect for so many names like I
(38:49):
have so much respect for Rick, like an ungodly amount
of respect for Rick, and.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
My age close to my age, he's it.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
And then if you are my age and you one
are able to compete with him and perform with him,
and two when you're around Rick and you listen to
what those matches were, his travel schedule, the sacrifices he made,
the investment, he had, his passion. That's like whoa man
you are, and all about this. But as I'm also
(39:23):
enamored by the business side, Yes, and I don't think
there's a better breathing example of what's the best the
business has ever been than Roman Reigns. And it's amazing
that I'm saying a still active talent with years in
front of him is the greatest of all time. Wow,
But he's been in it since twenty twelve. I had
(39:45):
to work my way up. I started on the bench
and then got onto the Saturday program and then just
lost every match. He came in with the shield in
a really high level spot and never waiver even when
the fans didn't like him. He was still in a
main event spot. He's been in a main event lens
for over a decade now and he's brought through his
(40:05):
clock and you could say whatever force has helped it.
But in twenty twelve we were the stock was traded
at eleven bucks WW or t KO stocks now at
one seventeen. Wow, that's on his shoulders. There isn't a
better indication of And I know it's a team effort.
Nobody does it alone. But like when you say, hey,
(40:26):
that to that to me is like, that's some serious shit.
And for me, I got to give her respect is due.
And Joe's smart, passionate about the business, multi generational athlete,
has respect for his family, has respect for the locker room,
has respect for the business.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
He's not.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
He's just he's a very very smart performer in somebody
I respect. He would be my greatest of all time.
You follow the pay up, you get the rock yep. Yeah,
Rock would be second because Rock did the same thing
in the nineties. But this is the one time I
can say this because Rock's numbers are always number one.
Roman's numbers have been better than Duayne's. But I mean, gosh,
(41:07):
that's a that's like, this is bigg enough.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (41:11):
This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two
is also posted and you can access it to whichever
podcast platform you just listen to Part one on. Just
simply go back to Club Shashay profile and I'll see
you there
I remember when I started making money. My worst purchase
because I didn't want to spring for Lamborghini, right, so
I about a fake one.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
They tried to stiff me out of the car. I
had to ask some friends who knew how to find things,
to go and find things. The car finally shows up
after two years from me of waiting. It doesn't go
into gear, nothing runs. The car is not roadworthy, so
I sent it to a shop. This is two thousand
and five. I just got the keys to that car
a week ago.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
What all my life, grunning, all my light sacrifice, hustle
bed Bryson, want a slice?
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Got the Brons all my life?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I be grinning all my life, all my life, running
all my light sacrifice. Hustle bed to Bryson one slice,
Doctor Bronin Geys swap all my life.
Speaker 5 (00:47):
IOP be grinning all my life. Hello, Welcome to another
episode of Club Shasha. I am your host, Shannon Sharp.
I'm also the propriud of Club Sha. Shay the guy
that's stopping by conversation on a drink today. It's one
of the greatest and most popular wrestlers of all time.
He's been a WWE megastar for over twenty years. He's
(01:08):
currently tied with Rick Flair for the most championships in
professional wrestling history at sixteen. He's a platinum selling rapper
or international superstar, New York Times bestselling author, multi faceted entertainer,
one of Hollywood's biggest stars, a living legend, pop icon,
idle to millions, A dedicated philanthropist. He holds the Guinness
World Record for the number of wish is granted to
(01:29):
make a wish children, a national treasure, a fan favorite,
a household name. I think he's here, but maybe he isn't.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
John Cena, Oh, are you're the top that just saying, oh,
thank you so much for the introduction.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Man, thanks for having me.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
You know, I have my own kanyac bro, and what
you've been able to do, and we're gonna talk a
little bit about it. I like to toash your career.
I don't know if you drink or not, but this
is my Kanyac. It's called shay by Laportier. It's a vsop.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Very nice.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Well, I will toast with you. Time is our most
valuable asset. Thank you for yours today. Thank you, Bro,
appreciate you and enjoying. I'm gonna make the most out
of this. I'm gonna keep this.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
We're gonna give you your own bottle. So I appreciate
your stopping.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Bay. Let's get right into it, bro sports.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
I mean, obviously, to be able to be a professional wrestler,
you have to be athletic to do all those moves.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Were you a sports Were you athletic? Were you into
sports when you grew up?
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I played baseball as a young kid. I transitioned to
football at about age fifteen. I played at a Division
III school in college, and I was an offensive lineman.
And you can see why I played only Division three.
You've been to the mountaintop. Offensive linemen are a little
bit different, a little bigger. I loved the game, but
I also had great perspective of the type of athlete
(02:49):
that needs to be a professional.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
So I had fun in college.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I'm very thankful for my time in teammates, but it
was a chapter that needed to be close.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Did you wrestle in high school? Never? Nope, I was.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I always grew up a fan of professional wrestling, okay,
and I think that helped because amateur and wwere sports entertainment,
two very different totally different. Yeah, and just because you're
because you're a good professional. He doesn't mean you're a
good amateur. Just because you're a good amateur, do now,
I mean you're a good professional.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Right.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Well, we see Brock Lisner, Yeah, he was in the WFB.
We also saw him go to the UFC and he
tried you know, NFL football.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Did you ever think.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
About trying out for NFL football or you just realized, like,
you know what?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So?
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I think in Brock's case, Brock is one of the
most gifted, hardest working, perseverant, stubborn sons of bitches I
ever met. But I honestly think physically he could do
whatever he puts his mind to.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
It's also because he's six ' four three hundred plus, right,
so it was a natural transition. He's also an NCAA
national champion multiple times. He knew body awareness to put
him in the trenches. That's a natural transition. Okay, I
am six feet two hundred and thirty pounds. If you
were to put me in the trenches, I would get
my fucking app What about running back? So you also
(04:10):
have to be a good running back just because of
your frame. It's like, oh, your height and weight matchup.
Let's time you're forty still going huh?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You know?
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So it's it's a lot of things have to line up.
And I think Rock is a physical anomaly. And I'm
glad he found his home with the WWE because he's fantastic.
But I think he could put do whatever he really
wanted to.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Is it true that you were bullied as a kid
and you started working out? Did like get away from it?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I am that comic strip or the comic in the
back of the in the comic. Yes, so scrawny kid, yeah,
who eventually found physical fitness as a way of getting
people not to bother you. It wasn't get big so
I could fight these people. It was get big so
I could give the vibe of like, oh I don't
want to mess with that guy, kind of my own
alarm system. And it worked. But it also introduced me
(05:01):
to sport. I found physical training at around age twelve
and then saw the games at about age fifteen, right
when coaches were like, hey kid, you want to try football? Sure, okay,
And none of my peers. It wasn't like it is today.
Strength training in like the nineties. It was almost like hey,
don't lift weights. You don't want to mess up your
(05:22):
baseball swing or your basketball sure, like it was almost
a taboo, But I found a home in football, and
I found team sports to be very gratifying being a
member of a team. Finally, you know, I grew up
with five five brothers, so it was kind of like
I had that family vibe around me. I was able
to make social connections. And you know what it's like
to be on a winning team. It feels great, and
you also knows what it likes to be on a
(05:43):
losing team. You know, you carry the burden with each other.
So I was I was very grateful that something that
started out as a way to defend myself, it's been
such a gateway to so many opportunities in life.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
Proud of you working out. I read you were like
a sprawny kid. You're weighed like one hundred and fifty
five pounds, and you started working out and you go
to two. So we're proud of you working out. Did
anyone ask you to participate in sports? Did you want
to participate in sports before you started working out?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
I grew up in a small town where your first
chance to play football started at fifteen.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
We didn't have any youth football.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Oh, there wasn't much popularity of soccer or real football
as the Europeans call it. There was pretty much a
little league baseball. So I played the little league baseball.
I started late. Most kids would play at like six.
I started at ten, and I just liked the team
aspect of it. So I wasn't good at all, but
I was enthusiastic, okay, and football was something that my
(06:37):
skill matched my enthusiasm.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
So did you think about playing baseball? Did you play
baseball in high school? Or did you just gave it?
Speaker 1 (06:43):
I did, and I remember vividly the day I stopped
playing baseball. I worked out before practice, and I was,
to the coach's credit, I was two minutes late to practice,
but it was because I had a last period of class,
got to work out in and then ran my ass
to practice and the coach.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I remember it.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
I was a sophomore, and the coach said, you're gonna
have to choose between playing baseball or working out, and
I gave him my hat in my uniform. I said,
it's been it's been fun, So you chose working out?
Speaker 5 (07:11):
She was working out, so what, so what did you,
what did you want to do when you're in high school?
You grew up in this small town. You used to like, okay,
we can only play we start playing football. At fifteen,
you just giving up baseball because you wanted to work out.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So what did you want to do?
Speaker 1 (07:26):
You know, I just wanted to do things I enjoyed,
and I like, I think the north star of my
life is like not having a plan. Okay, what do
you enjoy doing in your time off?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Nothing? Not donna get much time.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Off though, Okay, but I also bet that's by choice, Yeah,
because you like to keep yourself busy, and hopefully it's
the things you're passionate about.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
But a lot of times, John, the things that we
like to do don't pay a whole lot of money.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
So neither but neither did working out. And as a
fifteen year old, I really wasn't trying to find an
angle to make working out make make money.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I just knew I liked work. You just enjoyed it.
Speaker 5 (08:02):
Yeah right, yeah, but I did read you you had
some very odd jobs. Yeah, growing up, you would like
a memo driver.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I was.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I was an assistant greenskeeper at a golf course. I
was a counselor at a summer camp. I've been security
for bars. I've worked student security at Springfield College. I
got to wear a neon jacket and have people ridicule
me around campus and working parking lots.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
I've done my fair share of odd jobs.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
When did you develop this knack to be so great
at public speaking?
Speaker 1 (08:34):
I think, as with anything, you learn fluency through failure,
And I think it was me always probably trying to
stand out with my brothers and getting made fun a
lot for it, and then trying to find my social
circle in life as a young man and getting made
fun of for it. So I think it's the courage
to be brash and be embarrassed.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
Right, So I read you moved, you come to lay
Venice Beach and you wanted to be a bodybuilder? Correct, Yes,
so Arnold's clearly so Arnoldood. You probably saw what was
the movie?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
He was there?
Speaker 5 (09:07):
Of course you wanted you saw that. He's like, you
know what, I think I can do that. I think
Arnold's about six foot tall, probably way the same I
get the pump.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Hey, maybe a time my forty over there. Now you
don't have to run on stage reposing trunks and I
did some local shows in New England and placed quite well.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
And just like playing football at Springfield College, the first
day I stepped down the field at Springfield, I knew like,
oh I I will have a career here and that's
where it will end.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
I was doing well in New England. I'm like, yeah,
I'll give it a try. The first day I stepped
into golds Venice and did one of these like, oh,
this is gonna be a hobby. Okay, that's it. This
is gonna be a hobby. So there are guys that
are my weight but they're five foot four. Okay, that's yeah,
this is gonna be a hobby. Right, yeah, because you're real.
Speaker 5 (09:54):
And the thing that I tell people all everybody looks
good when they're by themselves, but when you go stand
next to somebody else did do this, and it's just
as serious, if not more serious than you, you realize.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
You come to the realization like you know what.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Well, Also you know that that's a great perspective and
you can be you can be so dedicated in something
in life and give your absolute best. But when something
has a window of popularity and a lot of people
know about it, the one percent. The people who identify
early on their talent strengths and gifts maybe have genetics
(10:29):
for it, and then those talent strengths and gifts and
their gene pool are nurtured in a ten thousand hours
of practice, those are going to be the people who
make money off it. Do yes, Yes, It doesn't mean
that I don't work as hard as the next guy,
doesn't mean we're not squatting the same or whatever. It
just comes down to, like, there's a reason you played
(10:50):
in the NFL. I could practice the exact same amount
of minutes. I just I'm just not made for it, right,
you know what I'm saying. Right, So that's that when
you can when you take take a hobby or a
passion or a pastime and make it a vocation, there
has to be a little bit of luck. There has
to be a lot of hard work, a little bit
of magic dust in there as well.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
But one thing that bodybuilding will teach you is discipline.
Because if you're not disciplined with your eating, you're not
disciplined with your training, sure you can't be successful. And
it's hard to be successful at anything if you're not disciplined.
I don't care how much talent a person has. Yeah,
discipline is the overriding key to success.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
I agree with you one hundred percent on that, and
I'm what I'm very grateful for in my journey is
the individual discipline I had with bodybuilding physical fitness, mixed
with the team building discipline of show up for practice
on time, don't let your teammates down. So I got
to learn how to take care of myself. Hey, if
you don't time your food, or if you don't get
enough rest, if you don't train, you're gonna suck. Mixed
(11:50):
with you got to work well with others. Bodybuilding is
an individual sport and sometimes a very egocentric sport, and
sometimes you can get really talented bodybuilders or people interested
in physical fitness that don't have the ability to work
with others.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I'm very grateful.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
In my life to have both the experience of team
building exercise and team building discipline and individuals.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
So, now, okay, bodybuilding is not the answer. Clearly you
know football is not going to be the answer. You
had been given up on baseball. So now what you
take some odd job? You limo driver, you're a janitor,
you do all these your voice actors So when did
you decide to say, you know what, maybe pro wrestling,
maybe acting? When did you come to that conclusion this
(12:35):
was going to be John Cena's path. So the wrestling
thing happened by accident.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
And I think as we just as we get thank
you very much for all these questions as I discuss
what do I want to do with my life? Okay,
I think the most important message I could tell people
out there is that you don't have to figure it
out right away. I graduated from college and tried to
apply my degree, my physical attributes, and what I was
passionate about to make money. So when all this stuff
(13:02):
started to fail, I began to be like, Okay, I'm disciplined.
I can show up to work on time. Don't mind
wearing a uniform, don't mind be part of a team.
I'll take the California Highway Patrol exam. I'll be a cop.
Failed that son of a bitch. So that's and as
a young man, I'm like, man, I don't have many
options that I think the work would be passionate about
(13:22):
every day. I may be the military. I say that
in the utmost respect, I was a morning person. I'd
love to push my body beyond its capabilities. Yes, I
love when the team wins. I want to be in
a pool of people that I'm not the smartest person
in the room. Love a uniform, get to travel the world,
don't ever have to worry about pay. Like, there's so
many pluses to the military, And those were as a
(13:45):
young man. Those are people I grew up idolizing. So
I was like, man, I'll go join the Marines. And
the weekend I was going to go from Los Angeles
to San Diego to go join, my buddy was like, hey, man,
you know we're training to be wrestlers down in Orange County.
You want to try it out before you go. You
can do wrestling, Like I didn't know there was a school.
(14:07):
I didn't know about it. It's a very secret. And
when we went down to see it, that's when it
was like, Oh, this is going to be my new hobby.
I would work those odd jobs so I could do
bodybuilding shows. I would work those odd jobs so I
could run speed camps to play football. Now I had
a reason to work my odd jobs to do this
hobby on the weekends. It's like many people have a
(14:29):
job and they can't wait for weekends on the boat.
My brother is the one I always used loves to
work his job so he can spend weekends on the boat.
The job is a way to do the thing that
he loves. So it wasn't necessarily. I didn't do it
to be like this is how I'm going to make money.
It was like, yo, I love this. I'm going to
make money doing the shitty work so I could have
fun dressing up doing whe for here on the weekends.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Yeah, I almost the same thing happened to me.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
I almost joined the military also, and then my brother
came and talked me out of I was going to
join the Air Force and then I was going to
take the exam. He came home from college said, look,
go to Savannah State. And if you don't like it,
say I went to school for a year. You didn't
like it. It went for me, go to you know, hey,
I went to Savannah State for a year. And we
know how that turned. We know how it turned that
for me. Yeah, but I think something, you know, like
(15:16):
like you said, when something is for you, when God
has a plan.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
For you, you.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
Might take a lot of different paths past, but eventually
you're going to get on the right track and it's
gonna find you.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
And I also that I agree with that, And I
also want to say that sometimes you have to be
brave enough to recognize when, yes, when life puts an
opportunity in front of you, even though I had a
plan and was like, Yo, this is the safest way forward,
an opportunity was put in front of me. Yeah, I'm
gonna try that.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Yes, you know.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
So, I think a lot of people sometimes aren't aware
of when life will give you a life, a crack
that door open, just one bit, you know. And I
think if you can be aware of that and just
give your your wholehearted best to the situation, you don't
know what can happen.
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Speaker 2 (17:17):
Since you were.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Limbo driver, let's just say, for the sake of argument,
there were lifts, There were uber and lyfts back then.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
What type of driver woul John c will be the
fucking worst.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
So this was pre navigation, but not even the stick
on the windshield Magellan unit pre navigation.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
The meat is nineties.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
So yes, cell phones with mostly car phones and the
fees for a call or like twenty five bucks a call.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
You absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
I have a Randall McNally map in my shotgun seat
along with tuna, rice and chicken. And I'm in a
town car, not a limo. That's how emails all Oh
my god, and I'm the byproduct of eating all that.
So combine everything. Yeah, the story tells itself. I'm from
West Newbery, which is not Boston. It is a small
town way outside of Boston. In my childhood life, I've
(18:06):
only been on one highway, Route ninety five, So in
my mind all roads lead to Route ninety five.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Right.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
I would pick people up for their flights like three
hours late what because I didn't know where the fuck
I was going. And now, as a traveler, if I
booked a car, and I'm always you know, if I
got to go at ten, I'm going to book it
to be there at seven, right, because I want to
make sure it's there early. But man, I feel for
those traveling. I got called every name in the book.
(18:33):
I could barely get to the airport. I didn't know
how to get people home. And the last thing you
want to do after a long trip, you know, I'm
finally going to keep my front door. And then you
get in a car with a driver from hell. Where
the car stinks. It's probably things like farts and tunea.
He doesn't know where he's going. It's this huge, hulking
guy in a town gar right.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
I think we're going the right way. I was the worst.
I didn't last too long in that job.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
I read it. You're also homeless. So what was your
what was your lowest moment before you finally did had
some success?
Speaker 1 (19:01):
What was your lowest moment? John, So, I also want
to put some contacts. Okay, but I was homeless by choice. Okay,
A lot of a lot of people are struggling with
the inability to choose. My dad is fantastic and always
has been great to all of his sons, and he's
always been like, hey, you always got a roof over
your head. You can always come home. But he also
(19:22):
told me as I left for California from the mean
street of West Newbury. You'll never make it. You'll be
back in two weeks. So I don't know if he's
a genius or he's just an asshole, right, but it worked.
I didn't want to come home. He put pressure on you.
So when all of my plans failed and all my
resources were dwindling again, I had a choice do I stay?
And if I stay, this is going to be the
(19:44):
roof over my head for a while. But I loved it.
Like my parked my car in the parking lot of
gold gym, slept in the back, worked at the gym,
so the gym was open at four, I'd go shower,
use the locker room, clock into work. On my break,
I'd work out the protein bar. Places where I worked,
I get a discount in all my supplements every once
in a while, a five figure a discount. Thank you
Nutrition Club stores. I was well fed, I got enough rest,
(20:08):
and I was happy. And it was it was by choice,
and it's this is a very fortunate story of being
without a physical mailbox by choice. So I don't regret
those days. And again it was something that I think
the struggle is a lot more entertaining when you want
to do it, you know, a tough practice is more
(20:29):
rewarding when you know you're it's this is the work
I got to do to get the goal. And it
was just one of those cases you had. So with
that situation you had, you have very limited overhead.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I did, I did.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I was the company was operating at a loss and
we were paying some heavy interest to the credit cardhold
was at that point.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, so when when did you When did your break come?
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (20:51):
When when the w w E called It was then
the w w F and said we would like it
to give you a contract. And that was when I
went from working on the weekends or working during the
week to dressing up on the weekends to being a professional.
It was a break. But my contract was for twe
five hundred dollars a year what and my rent was
(21:13):
for twelve thousand dollars of nos it was for my
rent was twelve hundred dollars a month. So I quit
my job immediately to become a professional. I was already
operating at a loss. But the good thing about credit
cards is they'll mail you more opportunities to get more
credit cards. So I was just like, yeah, I'll just
take more of the plastic pieces that get me free
food and all that this is gonna be great. So
(21:34):
I bet on myself, and I knew that I couldn't
juggle things. If I was going to do this, I
was going to do it fully focused and wholeheartedly, and
if I lost, I would fall. It would be by
my own choices. So I quit my job. I was
upside down on a lot of bills and upside down
on rent and stuff. But I got to go to
every practice. I got to gain fluency really quick because
(21:57):
I mashed in my ten thousand hours me a small break,
but a break nonetheless. And then about nine months after that,
they moved me to Middle America and I started wrestling
in Kentuckyana for Ohio Valley Wrestling. And then about a
year later, by accident, I got on TV.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
You got called up to the big time? Yeah, what
was that moment?
Speaker 5 (22:16):
I mean, you mentioned a situation John that your dad
like he was very proud of his five boys. You
guys had done a lot. I'm sure he was proud
of you, but he said that when you decided that
you were gonna move to California, He's like, you're not
gonna make it when you had made it did you
call him and say, Dad, I made it?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
You know what? No?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
And I still I'm really working hard, and thank you
very much for asking. I'm really working hard on building
a great relationship with my dad. He just turned eighty
and I love him and we're starting to like dive
into those moments. I can't wait to find out the
answer to that question because I'm so happy with where
we are. I think for so long I wanted him
to call me like, Yo, you made it. But I
(23:02):
still don't know if he was withholding his at a boy,
so I kept going for some reason to maybe one
get it at the last moment, I don't know. The
point is I've been able to work on self and
let go of the need for his approval, which has
been awesome because now we can just live as men
and as peers and talk about our own life. I
(23:23):
cannot wait to hear my dad's answer to that question.
But I don't ever I don't ever believe in making it.
I don't ever believe someone has made it. I believe
you can close chapters in your life, and I believe
that there are instances where it's time to move on.
But in my perspective, It's like I try never to
use the word deserve. I prefer earned, because what what
(23:47):
the hell do I deserve?
Speaker 2 (23:49):
You know?
Speaker 1 (23:50):
I wake up every day, that's fantastic. And I try
to earn the right to wake up every day. So
I don't know. I think I'm worried that if I
ever say to myself I've made it, I will become
complacent in life. And I don't mean like not make
a paycheck, right, I mean like not be curious about life.
I even coming into this place, like Wow, this place
(24:11):
is so great, and I'm curious about the wallpaper and
the fire and what this podcast is going to be.
I don't ever want to lose that. You know, when
you these are dude, this is great.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
When you when you left home and you said, okay,
you and your dad have the relationship. You're not trying
to recapture what was lost. You're just trying to move
on from this point and move forward.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Man. That's a crazy thing about time. You can't you
can't fix for what has happened. Yeah, And I think
when you can get to a point to be like
in let's say, in forgiving my dad first, I got
to forgive myself, Yes, and I gotta be okay with myself.
And I think when you get to that point and
you're like, oh man, you more than likely although through
(24:54):
my eyes it looked like this was bad for me,
more than likely you were. I I know you, I've
known you for forty seven years. You more than likely
were trying to do the best you could as a parent.
I can't fault you for that, Bud. So what do
we do now. Let's have a drink, Let's have a cigar,
and hey, what was your college life? Like, what's the
craziest thing you've ever done? What's the worst thing I've
(25:16):
ever done to you? Stuff like that's going on now.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
Most of the time, John, people parent as that they
were parented, And so maybe that's how his day gave
him tough Your grandfather gave your dad tough love. But
you say something very interesting. My grandma used to always
tell me all the time. She say, son, that could
never be freedom.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
What I forgive this.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
I'm a strong advocate of that, and that's the first
time I've heard it. I think once you get to
the ability where you can genuinely forgive, that doesn't mean
you need to forget. No, when you can forgive you
literally free yourself of whatever the burden is that's on
your shoulders. That's very profound. I'm a believer.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
Forgiveness is not for the person that you feel. And
I don't know if you feel this, and I'm just
saying for context here. Forgiveness is not for the person
that you feel that have wronged you. Forgiveness is for you, yes,
because you're the one your feelings, your emotions are being
held hostage. They're living their life. They might not even
know that you're.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
They might not even know.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
Like again, I can't wait to have this conversation with
my dad. Do you know what I've been looking for
a good job for like thirty years.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I never knew. Dude.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
It's one of those things where because we are at
times uncomfortable talking about our feelings, we don't talk about stuff.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
So how can someone know? You know, they're probably just
trying to do the best I can. You are a rapper.
Speaker 5 (26:34):
You sold one hundred and forty thousand copies, your first
week debuted at number fifteen on the Billboard two hundred.
But that album is going platinum one point three million
copies to this day. Did you think? Come on, did
you think that was possible.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
There's nothing about the current state of being. Yeah, you
extract me as m and el No, but this is
what I will say, super passionate about hip hop.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Hip hop. That was why I was bullied. As a
callback to the story, because in white, small town West Newbery,
you wore jeans, shit kicking boots, you drove a pickup truck,
and you listen to country music or rock music. Okay,
I had a high top fade. I wore rayon, Polka dots,
wingtips or Adidas. I had airbrush overalls. I wore that
(27:24):
shit backwards. Like, rap music found me, and it was
rapped and it wasn't hip hop, and it evolved to
hip hop. But rap music found me because it was rebellious.
To keep in mind, I was one of five boys
and I didn't like like I had a lot of
angst with how the household was being runt. I was
a rebel. That music found me at the right time.
(27:45):
So even though a song like fuck the Police might
have been an anthem for the state of the social
well being in south central Los Angeles to a thirteen
year old kid, the police were my parents, and it
was like it was me Fuck that and it grab
a hold, like it really spoke to me just the
(28:06):
way the music was, and in the rebelliousness, I also
caught all other rap music, Like I would listen to
Kwame and I would listen to rock Him and Nas
and the Beastie Boys and my first CDs with the
Beastie Boys and the Fat Boys and like Cool Mode,
and the list goes on and on, like it was
a part of me. And when I got to showcase
(28:29):
that on television, it resonated with the audience. So again
this was life putting an opportunity in my laugh. I'm like, hey, great,
I'm connecting with the audience. I can keep my job
that I love, and maybe I can make better music
than the stock rap music that they're making for me
in Connecticut because at the time WW is a rock
and roll company, they didn't have any depth of field
(28:51):
or hip hop. And I listened to my own music
being like, I could do better than this. It wasn't
how do I measure up against eminem I think if
it was the case, I never would have an album, right,
But it was like, yo, I can do better than this.
Called up a friend who knew a friend who had
a studio, we got some beats.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
And we made an album.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Wow, and that was it. That was it, And it
never once was it like, how is this going to
measure up? It was simply the current product that I have.
I can do better than that, right, So as far
as that I measure up better than that, you did
better than that.
Speaker 5 (29:21):
So let's just see where it goes. So when it
comes at. So now you're an athlete, you're a rapper,
give me your top three athlete rappers. You get Shock Time,
which is Dion Sanders, Roy Jones Jr. Dame Lillard, Master
p Kobe. You only get.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Three Master, Pea, Kobe, and Shock. Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Yeah, Shack's got skills. Man, I think Carporol karaoke with him.
Oh you can flow, he can still flow?
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Oh yeah for sure. Yeah Yeah he's good. Yeah, he
got a get hit. So I he's got doctorate. He's smart.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
So give me your Mott Rushmore, your all, your favorite,
your greatest, who you think the greatest four rappers are
in the history.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
So for me, Jay z eminem Nas and Rock Him
Wow and uh Man, Rock Kim's voice and I like,
like I'm I'm Everyone has their bias and I know
that list is obviously going to incite riots. We all
have our bias, we all have our favorites. That's what
makes music spec that's what makes creativity.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
I was brought up.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
In like the East Coast boom bab I love I
love wordplay, I love poetry. That's what I based my
character on. So I think all that's super clever and
those are That's that's my list.
Speaker 5 (30:36):
So when when John and my driving around his car,
who are you listening to today?
Speaker 1 (30:41):
I have come a long way, you know, I'm not.
I'm no longer a bodybuilder. I just want to preface that. Okay,
sometimes chapters can close. I'm gonna retire this year from wrestling.
That chapter is gonna close. I listen to nothing.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Really.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
I am a huge car guy, so when I get
to drive, it's kind of my chance to meet it.
I always try to drive something manual with a stick shift,
and I always just listened to.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
The car man. Really.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Yeah, and that could be like I had one rare
day off and you mentioned that there's a rare I
think we work in the same dimension. Yes, I drove
around the state of Florida just for shits and giggles.
I did eight hundred and eighty miles. I left my
house in Tampa, went to Orlando, went around the thumb,
went back up, went back down, And as soon as
(31:26):
I pulled in my garage, I'm like, WHOA, eight hund
eighty miles.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Not too bad.
Speaker 5 (31:31):
So you just got in a car one day and
I was like, you know what, Hey, I'm gonna do this.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
I haven't driven in a while, I haven't taken a
trip in a while. I want to be And not
once did I turn on the radio. I left at
four thirty in the morning. I pulled in my garage
at ten thirty at night. Stopped for like three or
four cars. I love little coffee shops right, stopped for
like three or four coffees on the way. Did you
talk to anybody? Did you turn the phone out at
the coffee shops? Talk to people in the car? Not
one phone call, not one text phones in the backseat,
power off, and it was it's like my way to meditate,
(31:58):
So what.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Do I listen to the car.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
There was a big rap battle going on this summer. Yes,
Kendrick Lamar yes, and Drake Yes?
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Who won?
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I know nothing about this. You don't know anything. All
I know is the headlines. I'm the one person, the
one breathing human being who did not hear.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Bar one of this. I haven't heard any music and
he tracks nothing, So this is all new to me.
Who won? Who won? And why? Man? They you started
it out. I was like, man, I love this guy, but.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
Just just on pure, just play Drake. They play it
all the time. If there's not gonna be a game,
a football game, a basketball game, or anything that you
go to where the home team is winning, where you're
not going to hear it.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
They're not like us.
Speaker 5 (32:47):
I mean, excuse me, Kendred Lamar, Yes, kendreck one, Okay,
so because just I mean, it's the most is the
most played this in history already. I think it's done.
It's the biggest song this summer.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
I need to check this. I've been living in under
a rock. I need to check this out. Yeah, all right,
Kendrick Lamar, right of.
Speaker 5 (33:07):
Your current rappers go on the list. You know you've
got Kendrick Lamar, you got Drake. I mean you got
these young you know, so, I five babies.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
I kind of a little big I kind of drifted
away from hip hop right around Drake and I think
I always thought Drake was extremely talented. Again, I love wordplay.
I think he's his stuff is very well thought out.
I think he's very poetic. I like the way he
adds music into the songs, like I don't. I don't
have enough depth of field to evaluate anybody current. He
was like the last one where it becomes fade to
(33:37):
fade to nothingness.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Right.
Speaker 5 (33:39):
Well, you mentioned it earlier. This is your final year
in w W. Is that twenty twenty five? Yeah, And
so when you look at farewell, I mean Kobe got
a farewell, Kareem got a farewell. I mean everybody was
waiting for Lebron to get his farewell. I think the
thing is Tom Brady didn't get that because we didn't
really know Tom was going to retire. He just like, okay,
(33:59):
I'm done. Now what do you hope? What do you
want your farewell? What do you want the lasting memories
of your last year in the WWE?
Speaker 2 (34:07):
What do you want that to be?
Speaker 1 (34:10):
That's a great question. Personally, I would like to just
want it to be worth it. And I don't mean
that I won't get value from it. I'll enjoy every second.
I just want to justify it like I hope. I
hope it is good for WWE business. I hope it
continues to build the future of the brand and company.
(34:33):
I hope that the events are satisfying for the audiences.
From an audience perspective, I hope everyone can come to
these events and either relive memories they might have had
over the past twenty three years or make new memories.
Because there's a whole new generation of superstars out there.
So if a young kid who is all he's seen
(34:54):
in programming is maybe Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, if
his dad brings them in and be like, hey, son,
you know ten years ago this was the guy right
and look at him like he can still go like
this is my guy, and the son's like, no, this
is my guy. I've heard so many stories from families
about like, hey, one time my dad took me to wrestling.
We watched you. Now I'm a grown man, and I
(35:17):
realized that that was my way of my dad bonding
with me.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
So like, if the tour can do that, that's awesome.
And I don't see you have a zero percent chance
of doing that if you just say I'm done. We're
not pure sport. The benefit of what we do is
we're sports entertainment. So I can be like, ah, you
know that the body doesn't feel I have a choice.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
I could.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
I could hang around for another ten years and do
like a match a year and maybe progressively get worse
with my skill set, or take an honest look at
myself and be like I can do like thirty forty
dates this year. Make it a thing, Tell everybody this
is it which it is, be able to close the
chapter in my life, move on to things that I'm
curious and enthusiastic about, and hopefully create some moments and
(36:06):
let people take away from it whatever they want. I
just I want it to be worth it. What would
it mean for you?
Speaker 5 (36:11):
You're tied currently Rick Blair, sixteen time world champel to
get number seventeen. Who would you like to fight the Rock?
Randy Orton, Logan, Paul c Hm, Pump, Cody ro Roman Reigns.
Who would you like to fight that match? To win
the title?
Speaker 1 (36:25):
So I think it's a that's a thing because of
the legacy that Rick Flair has and certainly I've been
fortunate enough to win.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
It has to be down Rick Flair are you.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
I personally know Rick, and he is a good chance
of winning that fight. I don't know if that's going
to happen. I think what's interesting about the tour is
there are some jackpot long shot scenarios where it can happen.
But to win a number one contender ship in the
story driven purpose, you have to earn it, right. I
(36:59):
had my chances. I've been a part timer now since
like twenty eighteen, that's six years. I've had my chances
of coming back and being like I want you in
a match. I haven't won a match since twenty eighteen. Wow,
that's a slump.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
That's a lot of ale. Step one. I need to
bust the slump.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
So with all of those things into play, I don't
want it, like I said, I want it to be
worth it to the audience. So if I come back
and push the champion and be like you and me
in a match, the audience will immediately see through that
as he just bumped his way to the front of
the line, and the guy I watch every week who's
earned that spot, he just took it away from That's stupid.
If I win the Royal Rumble, I get an automatic chance.
(37:38):
There have been stakes put on the elimination champe or
if I win that, I might get an automatic chance
at a championship. The money in the bank suitcase is
a suitcase for a championship match anytime, anywhere. So that's
what's cool about doing it over a year. There are
these lottery chances where I'd be like, yo, he may
break the record if it's.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Even an option.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
I got to start winning in January and I might
earn a shot by this And at that point I
don't give who is as long as I can just
get a chance. But I also, having been in that
champion I respect the process and I don't ever want
to take somebody's spot. Man, I don't ever want to
take somebody's spot.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
You know.
Speaker 5 (38:17):
Triple Lake said, you're the goal. I had Rick Flair
on here. He said, Sean Michaels is the goal. Who's
John Seena Goat of ww gosh.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
That's a good question, you know, I and I think
that's what's interesting. I can name my top for hip
hop artists because I have no skin in the game.
This is a tough one to answer because I have
so much professional respect for so many names like I
(38:49):
have so much respect for Rick, like an ungodly amount
of respect for Rick, and.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
My age close to my age, he's it.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
And then if you are my age and you one
are able to compete with him and perform with him,
and two when you're around Rick and you listen to
what those matches were, his travel schedule, the sacrifices he made,
the investment, he had, his passion. That's like whoa man
you are, and all about this. But as I'm also
(39:23):
enamored by the business side, Yes, and I don't think
there's a better breathing example of what's the best the
business has ever been than Roman Reigns. And it's amazing
that I'm saying a still active talent with years in
front of him is the greatest of all time. Wow,
But he's been in it since twenty twelve. I had
(39:45):
to work my way up. I started on the bench
and then got onto the Saturday program and then just
lost every match. He came in with the shield in
a really high level spot and never waiver even when
the fans didn't like him. He was still in a
main event spot. He's been in a main event lens
for over a decade now and he's brought through his
(40:05):
clock and you could say whatever force has helped it.
But in twenty twelve we were the stock was traded
at eleven bucks WW or t KO stocks now at
one seventeen. Wow, that's on his shoulders. There isn't a
better indication of And I know it's a team effort.
Nobody does it alone. But like when you say, hey,
(40:26):
that to that to me is like, that's some serious shit.
And for me, I got to give her respect is due.
And Joe's smart, passionate about the business, multi generational athlete,
has respect for his family, has respect for the locker room,
has respect for the business.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
He's not.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
He's just he's a very very smart performer in somebody
I respect. He would be my greatest of all time.
You follow the pay up, you get the rock yep. Yeah,
Rock would be second because Rock did the same thing
in the nineties. But this is the one time I
can say this because Rock's numbers are always number one.
Roman's numbers have been better than Duayne's. But I mean, gosh,
(41:07):
that's a that's like, this is bigg enough.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (41:11):
This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two
is also posted and you can access it to whichever
podcast platform you just listen to Part one on. Just
simply go back to Club Shashay profile and I'll see
you there
Host
Shannon Sharpe
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