John Cena has spent decades getting thrown through tables, slammed onto wrestling mats and taking punishment inside a WWE ring, but hanging from a helicopter might be where he draws the line. Cena admitted he’s genuinely afraid of heights and isn’t even sure he’d ever agree to pull off that kind of stunt again.
During his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, footage was shown of Cena hanging from a helicopter while filming Matchbox. Cena joked that his wife still gets nervous whenever she sees the scene, but Fallon quickly pointed out something that makes the stunt even crazier — Cena is afraid of heights. Cena didn’t try to hide it.
“I am. I had to change my pants, like, five times. Why is there a brown stream going?”
Fallon remembered Cena showing the same fear during an old Tonight Show stunt involving being suspended above a pool. Cena jokingly reminded Fallon how little sympathy he received that time around.
“I was. And thank you for encouraging me to do that game. I appreciate you being empathetic to my feelings.”
Fallon then asked whether Cena knew when signing onto Matchbox that director Sam Hargrave planned to have him hanging from an actual helicopter. Cena said there was no surprise waiting for him once filming started.
“I absolutely do. And I got to tell you, Sam Hargrave is an aspirational human being, and I forged a great friendship with him. Months before we shot, he sent me a syllab of things I expect from John Cena. Wish lists. I expect from John Cena. Hail Marys. I expect from John Cena.”
Cena explained that Hargrave wasn’t just throwing insane ideas at him. The director also walked him through how those stunts would be performed safely, something that allowed Cena to build enough trust to actually go through with them.
“He was very particular in not only what he expects, but how he expects to execute it in a safe way to build and keep my trust.”
That trust clearly went a long way, because Cena was willing to face one of his biggest fears for the movie. That doesn’t mean he’s eager to do it again.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever do this again, but if I do, it’ll be for Sam Hargrave.”
Cena has done plenty of dangerous-looking things during his WWE and Hollywood careers, but his comments make it clear that the Matchbox helicopter sequence pushed him into uncomfortable territory. Hargrave may have gotten Cena to conquer his fear this time, but it sounds like another director would have a very hard time convincing him to repeat it.
Would you want to see John Cena keep doing his own extreme stunts after hearing how much he hates heights, or should he leave the helicopter work to somebody else? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
