When he was coming up in WWE, there was no bigger influence on John Cena than Vince McMahon.
Cena — who is now just over a week away from retirement — spoke about his WWE career on a new episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast and was asked to name who his biggest mentor was when he was starting out. Cena named McMahon, saying McMahon seemed like the only person who truly had good explanations for why things in the wrestling business worked the way they did.
“Vince, without a doubt,” Cena responded. “He was just really kind with his time. He would explain things. Here is a person making a lot of, if not all, the choices. I am always in search for a good explanation — and he would always give one. And in giving the good explanation, you would get a nugget. And because Vince had such fluency in every avenue of the business, a lot of performers are worried about the stunts. I think one of the benefits of doing 220 shows a year is pace. And if you obsess over the physical aspect of the business, you might get exhausted. You might burn out. I love the technical aspect, but then I also became obsessed with the theatrical aspect.
“And then I also became obsessed… I became interested in the business. And not my business, [not] like, ‘How can I take from this place to make as much as I can?’ The business. How do we get more people in the arena? And the only person it seemed like that had a good explanation for a lot of those questions was Vince. And that allowed just a wealth of information to be dumped on me.
“I had full faith and trust in him. I think he had full faith and trust in me. He wasn’t afraid to try, which is another thing I learned from him. Like, do not be afraid to swing big. And do not be afraid to fail. Be accountable for your failures.”
McMahon resigned from WWE in January 2024 after the lawsuit Janel Grant filed against him and the company. The lawsuit, which remains ongoing, accuses McMahon of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault, and sex trafficking. In the wake of the lawsuit, Cena has spoken about still loving McMahon and valuing their friendship while saying he does not downplay the allegations McMahon is facing.
Simmons asked Cena if he thought WWE could ever survive and thrive without McMahon.
“Of all the things he did and of all the things he taught me, one piece that was very important is that no one is irreplaceable,” Cena said. “And thatâ€s the truth. The one thing that needs to stand firm is the consumer’s belief in what we do. And Vince has so much knowledge.
“I think whatâ€s happened is unfortunate because you have this individual with so much depth of field who can still offer things, and we no longer can pull from that well, but it doesnâ€t mean we donâ€t have able-bodied folks who canâ€t put on creative programming.
“I never wanted Vince to go, because I love him and I know how much he loves the business. But he taught me, like, ‘Weâ€re all going to go.’ All of us. And he taught me that not only through saying, through his actions. I was there the day he fired ‘Stone Cold.’ Missed a date, got to go. His biggest attraction. ‘I got to let people know this isnâ€t okay.†So, things happen. ‘We got to let people know this isn’t okay. It’s time for you to go.’ Everybody goes, man. Everybody goes. So, because of his words — yeah. Yeah.”
Cena described WWE as a place where the key backstage figures are more accessible now. Not because McMahon was not accessible himself, but because McMahon’s roles have been split up among different people.
Our Bryan Alvarez reported this week that it is looking “increasingly unlikely” that McMahon will be in attendance for John Cena’s final match on WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C. on December 13. Cena’s opponent for his retirement match will either be Gunther or LA Knight.
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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated’s wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.
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