John Cena may have spent years as the face of WWE, but he says that never meant he saw himself as the locker-room leader. In fact, the 17-time world champion says he was never comfortable with that label in the first place.
Speaking on The Sam Roberts Show, Cena was asked whether he’s become a leader in his acting career, with the conversation naturally shifting to the role many people believed he held during his WWE run. Cena appreciated that others viewed him that way, but admitted he never looked at himself as the person leading the locker room.
“I never considered myself a locker room leader in WWE at all. People said that about me, which I’m very grateful for, but I don’t want to be a leader. I want to continue to create, and I want to work with people who are great, and I want to work with people who are passionate. I just want to go to work, dude.”
Cena went on to explain that the phrase “locker-room leader” has never really sat right with him because he believes wrestlers aren’t there to impress or work for each other—they’re there for the fans.
“Locker room leader is a tough thing to say to me because we don’t work for the locker room. We work for the audience.”
He wasn’t dismissing leadership altogether, though. Instead, Cena said he doesn’t care who gets the credit as long as everyone is working toward the same goal of putting on the best show possible.
“Leadership is important, but I don’t care who’s pulling the sled. Let’s just do the best we can for the audience.”
While plenty of fans and wrestlers have viewed Cena as the standard-bearer of an entire generation, it’s clear he never saw himself in that role. As far as he’s concerned, the only people WWE performers are really trying to lead are the fans watching the show.
Do you agree with John Cena’s view on leadership in WWE? Let us know in the comments below.
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.
