John Cena reveals he was cleared for last year’s Mania but still not given a match

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, 16-time World champion John Cena touched on his WrestleMania involvement this year and his feud with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Speaking on WrestleMania, Cena said that he has no say on who he faces at WrestleMania and he shows up to do the work no matter who the opponent is. Cena referenced last year’s WrestleMania, where he said that he was “healthy, and one-hundred percent activated by early March,” but still was told that he will have no match and his only involvement in the show will be assisting The Rock in his segment with the Wyatt Family.

“Quite honestly, if it weren’t for The Rock’s involvement in WrestleMania, I would have been told that I would have been sitting out WrestleMania,” Cena said.

Regarding The Rock and his feud with him, Cena said it was genuinely stupid from his part to trash talk The Rock several years ago. “We have our blinders on, sometimes, in these daily situations of life, and, to me, my thing was, ‘Hey man, as a fan, I loved you performing in this venue all the time, you left us high and dry, why aren’t you back here?’” Cena said.

Cena added that he was “foolish and ignorant” not to see what The Rock was doing for professional wrestling while he was out there conquering the box office and television shows.

“I’m very thankful to Dwayne Johnson. His success has gotten me a lot of opportunities that I’m extremely thankful for, and certainly wouldn’t have without him,” Cena concluded, adding that he has apologized to him in person and in public for the wrong approach he took. “It was one-sided and selfish, and I’m glad the way it worked out, but I apologize for not being able to see his side of the fence.”