John Cena just got real about the one thing fans never let him forget—the “You can’t wrestle” chants. Instead of brushing them off, he admits those three words followed him through his career and forced him to evolve inside the ring.
In a sit-down with Tom Rinaldi, Cena opened up about how that fan criticism stuck with him, especially during a time when he was dominating WWE with a simple formula.
“Yeah man, the audience. Their feedback—and the cool thing is, you don’t have to fish around to pull this out of me. The ‘You can’t wrestle’ chants, because I would do the same five moves every night and win all the time.”
Cena said he understood where the crowd was coming from. While other performers were putting on great matches, he was booked to win consistently, using his Five Moves of Doom.
“What I hear from the audience is, ‘I’m seeing other performers doing these fantastic things, and then at the end of the night, I see you doing five moves and winning,’ because I’m in the throughline of a story, setting up a dynasty. So if it ain’t your guy, dynasties are tough.”
The criticism didn’t go in one ear and out the other. Instead, Cena took action—by going back to wrestling school halfway through his career.
“I went back to wrestling school halfway through my career. Went to newer performers and I was like, ‘What do you think I’ll be good at? Can you teach me some stuff?’”
Despite being on top of the company, Cena turned to the incoming generation for help. He credited wrestlers like Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and AJ Styles for being the ones who helped him break out of his routine and try new things.
“When I was at the top, I did this. ‘Teach me some stuff. What can I do better? How can I make you look great?’ That’s always my lead. ‘And what can you teach me?’”
Rather than fire back at fans, John Cena stayed focused on improving—and kept it humble. He wanted to be better and become his authentic self.
“I know the audience will continue to lean in until they get you—but it didn’t get me. Like, I didn’t come back and be like, ‘What do they know? I can wrestle!’ No—I’ll try to be better, and not make it be a hard reset. I’ll try to be better and be my authentic self.”
John Cena didn’t deny the criticism. He lived it, heard it loud, and responded by grinding even harder. At a time when most top stars would just ride the wave, he hit reset mid-career to get better—for himself and for the fans. That’s not just hustle, loyalty, and respect—that’s growth.
Did the “You can’t wrestle” chants ever reflect your opinion of John Cena? And does knowing he went back to training change how you see him now? Drop a comment and let us know—we want to hear your take.
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