What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes John Cena’s first interview after retiring
Dec 18, 2025
John Cena, legendary wrestler and actor known for his long WWE reigns, reflects on retirement and his career. He shares stories about touring with Cody, his approach to mastery and storytelling in the ring, and how he mentors younger talent. They riff on live shows, locker-room life, memorable reconciliations, and what comes next after stepping away from wrestling.
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Teach By Showing What You Love
- Do focus your teaching on what you love and make lessons repeatable so performers can internalize them in the ring.
- Cena uses concrete examples (flat white description, in-ring cues) to make feedback actionable and memorable.
Wrestling Is A Conversation Not A Monologue
- John Cena views wrestling as a conversation, not a monologue, and the power comes from pausing to let the crowd respond.
- He teaches performers to slow down, invite audience input, and structure matches to allow emotional beats to breathe.
Retirement Tour As A Life Chronicle
- Cena framed his retirement tour as the cycle of life, using the year to chronicle decline, regret, reconciliation, and peaceful departure.
- He describes his final match as going peacefully, connecting with loved ones in the front rows before taking his last breath metaphorically.