John Cena Apologizes for Criticizing Dwayne Johnson's Pivot to Acting: 'Deep down, I Was a Fan'

In a press conference for WWE Fastlane, Cena admitted he would have done anything to get Johnson to return to the WWE

John Cena admits that he's also been a longtime fan of his WWE competitor,  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

At the recent WWE press conference for WWE Fastlane, the wrestler-turned-Hollywood-actor was asked about his former feud with Johnson, including how he criticized the Jumanji actor both on and off-screen.

At the end of Cena’s portion of the conference, he was asked to acknowledge whether or not his earlier criticisms of Johnson now mirror his similar career moves.

In 2011, Cena, 46, began publicly shunning Johnson, 51, for his pivot to acting versus wrestling and questioned whether Johnson cared for the business.

During Cena’s response, he confessed that the initial feud was fueled by his frustration and disappointment that Johnson abandoned WWE in order to pursue acting. Ultimately, Cena would take this exact career trajectory. Cena admitted to the press that he “100% see[s] and understand[s]” how people could believe he’s a hypocrite for taking that stance and then following Johnson’s trajectory.

Related: Dwayne Johnson Shares What He Learned from His Battles with Depression: 'It Can't Be Fixed If You Keep That Pain Inside'

“I went about it the wrong way. I violated his trust and I made allegations about his perspective that I knew nothing about,” confessed Cena. “And deep down, I was a fan. I wanted The Rock back [in WWE]. I wanted to do anything to get The Rock back, but I did it the wrong way.”

Cena explained in his response, that on both public and private fronts, he apologized to the Black Adam star, noting how at the time he believed he was “trying to do what’s best for business.”

The Peacemaker actor admitted that his earlier behaviors weren’t conducted in a “respectful way.”

“So I had to eat a little bit of crow. I had to say ‘I’m sorry and I was wrong,’ because I am sorry and I was wrong, and that’s a very humbling experience. Dwayne is a hell of a guy.” Cena added. “I became who I despised. I see that perspective and I understand it. It was a great learning experience from my mistake with feuding with The Rock.”

He revealed that the two were able to have conversations with one another, which ultimately led to Johnson returning to the ring, making their feud reach a “true full circle moment.”

“It's very difficult for people who are all into the WWE universe to see anything else that goes on, but here. We all have our own struggle. We all live our own lives,” concluded Cena.

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Related: John Cena Was Living in His Car and Surviving on Free Pizza Before Breaking into WWE

Cena’s return to the WWE follows the pause of his acting career due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. However, Cena revealed when the strike concludes, he plans to return to Hollywood.

“I made it perfectly clear you can’t do both because of the liability insurance,” shared Cena. “If I were trying to juggle both that’s very selfish because I’d put a whole lot of people in the movie business out of work if something happened to me.”

He revealed that he stopped the project during the middle of production due to the strike. “As soon as we get back to work, we go back to work. I don’t control any of that. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping we can find a resolve that everyone is happy with."

"For right now, I think this is the best way I can help is to come back home to my family," he concluded.

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