Meeting John Cena
Without a doubt one of my favorite celebrity encounters. I’m as avid a wrestling fan as I am a movie fan.
When multiple time WWE champ John Cena was in D.C. in 2010 to promote his new film, Legendary, I jumped at the chance to talk with this generation’s Hulk Hogan and The Rock/Stone Cold Steve Austin and in one of those rare times, a star was actually even nicer and cooler than you could hope. In the interview before me, he helped set up the light stands for the guys interviewing him. Can you imagine many celebrities doing that, letting alone sitting patiently while the lighting is adjusted?
I was a big fan of Cena’s before, but as he politely answered questions he must have heard thousands of times before, he really came across as a guy who sincerely loves what he does.
I mentioned that I’d watched his early matches from his time in OVW, the WWE’s former farm system promotion, when he was The Prototype, he laughed and apologized for me having to watch that.
He mentioned he was a big fan of Hulk Hogan, the Von Erichs and talked about how he’d love to face The Rock one day so it was pretty cool seeing that actually happen at this year’s Wrestlemania even if he didn’t get that big win that he wanted.
So it may not be the cool thing for WWE adult male fans 18 and over, but I’ll continue to be a proud member of the Cenation.