What Do You Wanna Talk About? - John Cena’s first interview after retiring

33:39Arne Anderson, who's someone who you've had helping you throughout your career saying, try this tonight or do this. And we short time, but what about this? And I loved taking those swings. But I also, even though from a business standpoint, which you've always approached everything as such a businessman, which I want to talk about in a second, I still think there's a piece of fun and morale that actually leans into to the business side of it? I'm not disagreeing with you, right? I think the arduous travel is not a good thing nor a bad thing. It's a thing. It has pros and cons. Yeah. Everything you stated certainly weeds out folks who don't want to be there.

34:25That's right. You earn every cent. Yeah. Um, there's a, there's a lot that is different now about the business, but it, you're not wrong. Yeah. But who cares? That is, that's not what we do. No, no, it is not. So either I'm stuck in a place that I, I wish was, and it's no longer a thing. Yes. Uh, or we just, where are we at now? Yeah. And you say, oh man, the live events were fun because we take a big swing. Every time they turn the cameras on, it's a live event. True. I never treat any event other than a live event. And when I hear people say, oh, we used to do this at live events, my knee-jerk reaction is, well, what is tonight?

35:12Yeah, there's a live audience. It's a television audience. It's a live event. Yes. And if the audience is apathetic, I don't care how good you think your story is, it's not good. Yeah. You want the live event. And I, through having a ton of reps, so I, you know, my training is with a ton of time under tension in front of live audiences, but I treat everything like a live event. Sure. Here's a knock against live events. I would see performers like you and people in the middle go out and have fun on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And on Monday, they would lose everything they learned and just do a surgical, bland, storyless performance because they knew they were on television.

35:57Right. And they never took any of the wisdom or any of the fun they had and put it in here when the cameras were on. Yeah. What I was grateful enough to have was teachers and mentors who were like, Saturday is no different than Monday. Remember why the people got energized. It's because you did this goofy thing. And if you're not brave enough to put the goofy thing on TV, put the emotion you had doing the goofy thing on TV. And they'll believe. So we are where we are now. Yeah. And we need to somehow let everybody know that, like, hey, what you do is beautiful and athletic and strong and, like, unbelievable.

36:49Yeah. But the way they can attach to you is by knowing who you are. Yeah. You know, and we got to do that. It would be very difficult for me, especially looking at the business model and the success of the business, to go into Connecticut and petition for 220 live events a year. So that's not what we have. Hey, you have The Rock and Travis Scott. Awesome. We can plan all this stuff. Hey, you don't have those two guys anymore. yeah not once not once did you and i ever have not once the whole world has had this conversation about like what would it have been like if the two guys in it with their dick in the dirt not once had a conversation about man what would it have been like if we had those guys yeah no it was like okay what now what's next what do we do now yeah so when i hear you say like man i I do like this and I wish it was like this.

37:51If I could give you any more advice, it's not anymore. Hey. It's not. We have this. So you're in a position, though, where, like, people watch you because of this. You never know who's learning what from you. Sure. And if you go around back there romanticizing about days that don't exist anymore, that creates a culture that romanticizes about shit that doesn't exist. And that's bad. So they don't need to know about the Dirty 30? No, I think they can. They don't need to know about... I think they can. Because that's more my romance aside. I think they can, but the great thing about those stories is whenever you get a chance, if you have a layover after a double show in London, or you do Japan, or wherever, that's when you can have a moment a sunset of fraternity cool and then tell those stories about like this is why we do this yeah i i brought my first road cooler in yeah for 16 years i'll just back it because you're getting in this road cooler talk the dirty 30 was a case of beer as soon as we landed as soon as we landed on ice but then there was also a backup emergency yeah There was, at all times, three of us in a car pretty much.

39:17Obviously, nobody's drinking and driving here, so I was allowed one Labatt Blue Light earlier in the evening. Post-match. Post-match. And then the cooler was often consumed. That's why we had the emergency. And we still, one of the great things, I was actually talking about this on my bus last night, one of the great things about it was the party and the cool of the evening. It was all there. But then we were still up the next morning. Is today a work day? Are we working today? Then we'll be working out today. Owls, eagles, buddy. Yeah. You want to fly with the owls, you're sore with the eagles.

39:50Oh, my gosh. One more time. If you want to fly with the owls, you're sore with the eagles. That means you're up all night and first one up in the morning. I love it. And those were lessons that were taught to me. But again, the people before me lived their life a certain way. I live my life a certain way and you want to talk about always evolving, right? Yeah. So I put together my first road cooler in like 16 years. Okay, yes, the cooler, yep. The cooler is as many beers as you can, ice on top, let it sit for a day. That way the ice becomes water and the next level of ice, holy shit. Oh, man. Those beers taste like money in a can.

40:30I put 24 banquets and 12 fucking athletics. Coors OG? 24 golds golds 12 nas okay why what because what i love isn't the beers no what i love is the fraternity and the teachers who taught me were like if you don't drink you can't get into the fraternity yeah and if i had one way to change that i would say if you don't drink here's a non-alcoholic beer. Sure. Because what you'll learn around here, it may, it may be six hours of bullshit. You might have to weed through it, but it might be five seconds of wisdom. Yes. Yeah. And I'm grateful to my teachers for that. I just wish, I just wish it was accessible to everybody.

41:20Sure. You mentioned, you mentioned your teachers. Are there any in particular in the overall body of work, this legendary body of work that you've put up again? This is, you've just retired this is the first time you've spoken anybody here at the nightmare factory these teachers is there any that you think of now after retirement has anybody that you've talked to because i know of a few that were special to you but were there any that were in your head all perhaps that were in your head so the common through line through every piece of mentorship yeah from vince on down was listen to the audience.

42:02Yeah. So if everyone in a chicken soup business of like, I do it this way, I do it this way. If everyone's message boils down to the Shawn Michaels sentence, if it was, if it was, if they were really loud, it was really good. Yep. It's not wrong. So my, my biggest teacher is the audience. Yeah. The audience and the audience has taught me far more than just did I have a good performance? Yeah. The audience has taught me humility, failure, perseverance. That they're gonna eventually turn on you, that they're gonna welcome you, that they're gonna love you, that they're gonna hate you. Like it has taught me to stand through the fire.

42:49Yeah. You know, I was getting crushed by the live audience way before I got crushed on the screen. yeah you know so it's it's it makes it's it's actually set me in a great spot as people have been very critical about this year for me to be like have i given all i i have yes have i promoted as hard as i could yes then let them let them do whatever they want because i can't give an ounce more after that sure and and the audience has taught me the people who are criticizing me have taught me that lesson yeah of just give us all you got and then we're gonna cut you to shreds you know well once it's like you said it's art once it's out there once it's out there it's for everyone else and you gotta let that go you just do the best you can to be like this is the story i'm trying to tell the funhouse firefly funhouse there's like a million easter eggs in there that no one will ever get yeah but it's it's theirs now the last match our match our Our first match, our promos, there's so much attitude and emotion and inside stories there.

43:56Yeah. A lot of times we would get together in conversations and you would have stuff and I'd be like, I think that's too inside. Yeah. And I applaud you, again, very wise. Yes, that is what John would think. Hi, I'm Cody and this is what I think. Yeah. And this is what we're going to do. That really affected you. That's what a teachable moment. I don't even, I just, I thought very much that the character, John, the person, this is how you would approach it. And I thought, no, I would approach it differently. And I felt like I was glad it was said. It was a beautiful, teachable moment. Yeah. And I can't be an advocate for, like, find yourself, find your story, find your confidence, take big swings.

44:43And then essentially just, no, I know this is going to work. Do it like this. Yeah. You caught me in a loop, and it was like that sentence. What I heard was, be more fucking coachable. Be more coachable. You say you want us to go out there and do this. I'm trying to apply that. You're trying to stifle my growth. Okay. So you were just expressing yourself in a term of a fictional stance of like, the John Cena would say this. I'm the Cody. I would say this. far more than that oh man and and you can never stop learning and you were you were absolutely right and you know me i'm an advocate for best idea wins i don't care who comes up with it yeah you had the best idea yeah and you wanted to bet on yourself how can i say no yeah when i'm that's my calling card that's sting crack we never thought it would get over you didn't think that sting crack brought the fucking house down holy shit i was i was i was surprised at that one.

45:49Oh, by the way, because I shouted out the gold can and then the non-NAs, we've got to give a shout out to Wheatley. Yeah, you can't sip me. We've got to pick up the Wheatley folks. This is the You Can't Sip Me. Made with quality Wheatley spirits, so we've got to shout them out. Wheatley American Body Can. This has been the conversation oil for this fantastic conversation. So we've got to shout them out. I'm going to ask you a question, and I think, knowing you, I feel like you have the perfect answer. Everybody behind the camera is going, have the perfect answer. You know what? We can actually say this and we can leave it all in there, but Wheatley's a pretty unbelievable partner.

46:23They're pretty good with real life in general. As long as the vodka's Wheatley, they're pretty much good. A lot of wild things. They're just a good, good, solid partner. Thanks to Wheatley for being a good partner. I'm actually going to Louisville tomorrow. Big Wheatley meeting. Big Wheatley meeting. We don't even know. We're just there. See, this is great. We're doing it. You know, you think you pedal the bike really hard, right? Yeah. You try to put a flag in the dirt, and I always say, like, accomplishments are only there so they can be surpassed. Dude, I don't know how you do it. You just...

46:57I had a good teacher. Somehow you make 24 hours into 30. Yeah. And one of those days I'll ask you for how you split that time. It won't be today. I had a very good teacher who I watched sit in the passenger seat do the literal exact same thing. oh 6 a.m tickets are we're at a 60 utilization uh can you do this it wasn't even a conversation it wasn't now i know one of the great things i learned from you is you need a good explanation give me a good explanation why do we need this often there is a good explanation well thank you so much i'll be there 5 30 great and then you think well that was a good explanation You used to say this all the time.

47:40People would ask you all the time, what was your favorite match? And your answer? My next one. Your next one. Have you thought about? You son of a bitch. Yeah. Have you thought about? You have been listening. Yeah. How do you answer that question now? So I have thought a lot about this. Okay. Yeah. And there are many moments from like the rock cliffs of Afghanistan to the desert in Iraq to the first match, to the first championship, to the first world championship, to 16, to 17, to seeing all the phone lights in Perth, to actually the Funhaus match with Bray, to you and I in New Jersey, to DJ in Miami.

48:27The list goes on and on. I think what I really cherish most about this, it is a universal language. Yeah. And that's why we have such a global reach. You watch it with the volume off, you can see anger, and then you can see the match. And maybe it's just because it's fresh in my mind. Yeah. I can't get past... I can't get past Phil Brooks, CM Punk, Saudi Arabia. Yeah. I think that might be... I think that might be my favorite moment in wrestling. Wow. This is the match itself. No. The promo. The pre-show? Yeah. I was lucky enough to have a promo with him that night and a match. So I'm attaching myself to that moment.

49:20Okay. Because I think it is one of the best moments in wrestling. Please tell me why. There is no shortage of divide. Yeah. You know, we have a million different ways to gravitate towards like-minded groups and therefore, like, block everyone else out. You had someone who, in a moment of frustration and reaction, said some pretty hateful things. Yeah. And about a culture. Yeah. And then you have that culture being like, fuck you. Right. Come at us. Like, not in our house. And then you have a man who's brave enough to walk into the lion's den. And for young performers, old performers, please watch that pre-show.

50:15I think it fell under everybody's radar. I was bawling my eyes out, saying, like, this is the best thing ever. Yeah. Phil goes out there. I want to say Phil because it's his development as a man. Yeah. Front row. There is a dude to hold him accountable. And I'm huge on accountability. Yeah. And in the right moment, Phil was accountable for what he said. Yeah. He gave a good explanation for the why. And what can we do after that? Yeah. I'm sorry. And then you leave it. That's all you can do. Forgiveness takes time. Yeah. And when someone's ready to forgive, they'll mend that fence. That gentleman forgave him right there.

50:58and broke. The forgiveness was infectious. Yeah. So what I see is like, holy shit, wrestling just brought cultures together. Yeah. Wrestling just brought people with different ideologies together in an embrace and excitement. Yeah. Phil went on that pre-show at 5 p.m. We did a promo at like 8.30. Yeah. He went from being the most hated person to forgiving one, or saying sorry to one guy and being forgiven and then the whole pre-show forgiving him yeah and then went out in front of 31 000 people and they forgave him yeah there's not i don't know if there's a better moment than that like i don't know if there's a better moment of like what we can accomplish in here yeah of fucked up this is why i did yeah this is what was going through my mind boy was it the stupidest thing in the world yeah I'm so sorry I hope you can find it in your heart to move on and if it's not now okay yeah that's all I wanted to hear bud we have moved on yeah haven't we yes and like man I love growth I love accountability I'm an advocate for love and forgiveness and that hit me in every right place and that wasn't even a match that was a segment on a pre-show pre-show and then he came out after everybody was like we did the the thing in chicago the the pipe bomb 2.0 yeah and everybody's like well how is he gonna top that he did he came out as the doctor of punkonomics yeah and because he had been such such an accountable apologetic human being he was embraced and he fucking crushed it yeah and that's why I zone out when I get in there.

52:52Like, I very rarely... I feel everything, but things very rarely get to me. That pre-show moment struck me so hard that when he said, like, I miss you already out there, I got weird, bro. Like, I couldn't... My processors, like, fizzled for a second. Yeah. When usually you know me, I'm like, there's a guy on the third deck with a sign that says this. Yeah. I'll use it in the act. I got lost in it. That's how meaningful it was to me. Wow. I think that's the, for me, that's the best moment I've been a part of. Wow, it's not what anticipated. But at that day, it wasn't, I remember it wasn't unsung to me.

53:35It wasn't, I didn't underthink it. I knew he was walking out there and it was going to get a little contentious. And then I think the thing you said about language and the universal language is what we do. the fact that it translated over the next two days. In addition, it multiplied. It was infectious. And it's not just that it helped our match. Sure. It helped our programming do a good show. I saw a man with apology, empathy, and love in his heart try his best to mend cultural differences and do it. Yeah. Like wrestling mended cultural differences. I can't fucking top that. When people ask about going to Saudi Arabia all the time, I've really gotten less about answering in a way that's political and more in a sense that I'm there performing to do something that they love as much as we love.

54:35And their love has, sorry to add myself in the conversation. I went over there the first time when I was 18. Yeah. The couch is in the front row. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nobody's allowed to make noise. It's like you go there now, it is an incredible crowd. So they've done their work too. They've invested in us. It's a great way to put it. And far beyond a paper IOU. They've invested their heart in us. And you go over there now and it is raucous. Because over the course of less than a decade, they believe. That's also really special. Because you don't know the trickle down economics of that. You don't know the effect that that has 5, 10, 15 years.

55:14Nobody can predict it. But what I know is what I saw on day one and what I see now. And it's beautiful. Bruce Prichard, who's a big part of your career, I believe. Yeah. And one of my favorite people. He's been a guest on the podcast. He was a guest. I often like to sit here and we have these conversations. And what happens is I become a far better, I hope a better person. But I also feel from a professional standpoint, I become a far better wrestler. And Bruce was one that I don't know if the audience loved the Bruce episode that much or if they didn't love the Bruce episode that much. I think it's my favorite because I wanted to run through a brick wall as a performer, as a talent.

55:55I wanted to, I just felt like he just gave me the answer. That answer I needed that day, which was show up, do it, was his exact words when I asked what makes a top guy. And then it's so simple, but it's not. Show up do it is so simple, but it's not. Not everybody gets to the part of showing up and very few actually get to the part of doing it when it's time to do it. All this aside, something he showed me on Saturday, he knows I like to be motivated and you know I like to be motivated as you continuously have said you're going to show me some numbers reflective on the gigantic merch wave. no no just uh just general yeah first of all I hate the term merchants so okay well here's what he showed me anyway yeah he showed me a list of numbers sellouts revenues and he just flashed it at me I was gonna I wanted to show you a year of analytics so it wasn't a full analytic breakdown but it was more of a dumbed-down version of all I ever needed to see and then he took it away flashed at me.

57:03He goes, you'll appreciate this. And then he took it away. I kept thinking about that Saturday because one of the things that you taught me and was so enjoyable about all the time we spent together is you really did lead.

57:45into everything you did from a segment. singing the national anthem you said it was good oh yes you rocked it rocked it 1200 people total six other people know about it right well now hopefully more know about it more and more folks in the locker room than we're in the stands you go you go to the same arena and we don't just sell out you said we move in we almost we almost breach fire code and whereas what hunter has dubbed 360 there's a difference between a sellout and a 360 360 we're putting seats where cameras are supposed to go yeah marty's having to step around people stew is fighting through uh to get some some an actual shot and i just thought what a obviously what a statement of love for you and your career but also it's so john that it was not just a great wonderful beautiful retirement for pro wrestling fans the world came to this show on saturday you know they called me hunter called me i don't say They, they, excuse me.

58:46Hunter called me asking, would I be part of it in a way that kind of, he didn't, he just said it in a way that I think maybe he thought I was going to say no. I was waiting for that call. Am I going to be part of something that a guy who taught me the majority of what I know and apply, so not just what I know, and apply in his final destination as a pro wrestler and knowing you, and I feel I'm not speaking out of turn saying, that's it. you will not be wrestling again. That is for sure. That's it. Yeah. And I kept saying to all my, oh, nobody ever really retired. Especially after the beauty of Saturday.

59:23Right. I can't top it. And to think that it wasn't just the hardcore wrestling fan, which we love and is always there, and they ride through every season and every era of wrestling, but the world came to that event. 1 ,200 people, 700 paid, Batista's wife singing the national anthem, and here you are, and we're almost breaking fire code. because people wanted to see it and wanted to be part of it and wanted to touch it. Those numbers were, I still look forward to your analytics, but those numbers were staggering to me. But I think the number that's important here is that took 23 years. And a lot of times people think they can do it overnight.

1:00:03Yeah. And first of all, thank you for being part of that, because when your music hits to a crowd who knows you, it immediately brings a certain level to the live event. And you were gracious enough to work with an up-and-coming talent that has an incredibly bright future ahead of him. Probably not your last match with that behemoth. I would say not. Nearly took my ear off. But you introduced him to the noise. You got to hear it for the first time. And that was a personal, selfish goal of mine. how many folks can we get around the noise? Damn, there it is again. Yes. Let's take our top talent and put them with new talent just so on this one night they can hear.

1:00:50Hearing loud noise is one thing. Hearing that level of noise is another thing. Yeah. And now they've heard it, so now they have something to strive for. Furthering that, I got to have one last beer in the locker room in my gear, in my socks, my knee pads, the jorts. Yeah. And I made a toast. And the toast was to the metrics of the evening. Largest arena in WWE history. Wow. Largest for the building itself. Very rarely do we hit those milestones. No, we do not. Yes, very rare. And the only reason I wanted to showcase those metrics is because I said that, you know, Haku was in the room and Javon Evans was in the room.

1:01:34so your last toast in the wrestling business was with javon and haku and everyone in between i mean we have we have legends we have future stars we have talent that are front and center in our programming the locker room was full i can't believe that many people stayed so i have 12 ounces of conversation left in me and i choose to use a moment to say wow this is what we did tonight the reason we did that is because of the effort of people like haku yeah also the goal is for you younger guys to shove that shit straight up my ass you now have the metric yeah my introduction to that was a little bit more brash hit me with it When Steve Austin came back around and we did Staples, Steve is real beautiful with his wisdom.

1:02:31I admire him for always being him, and it's a lesson that stuck with me. Champion, doing things that like, okay, you know, the business is going well. We're digging it out. No more is there 1 ,200 people. But we still are throwing out some black curtain. and i think it might it might have been anaheim because it's one of those no both the buildings have the tunnels but it's like he walked in in daylight yeah it was anaheim it was anaheim yeah he walked in in daylight hey kid how you doing and you could see the arena from where we were at like man i'm doing great things are going good we're doing this i'm doing this on tv tonight he goes that's great we didn't have this fucking black curtain we're not performed have a good night out but not cold honest yeah of course the metric you should be reaching for if you are doing what you say you're doing is getting the word out and i wanted to have that one last chance with the the brotherhood the family the fraternity to say we got here because of these folks we need to surpass this because of you guys yeah let's toast to that yeah you You know what I'm saying?

1:03:41And it felt great. It's not braggadocious because it's a moment. It's fleeting. It is. It's gone. It's gone. But like, hey, guys, this is the standard. I'm fortunate enough to win 17 just so somebody knows it's possible. Yeah. So they can go win 18. Right. And I don't want to be in the dirt. I want to shake that person's hand when that happens. You know what I'm saying? Because that's a, for the longest time, the record would stand. and it's like, oh man, nobody's gonna even come close and oh my God, it might be possible. Now it's possible. So if there's a young performer out there or who knows, it's possible.

1:04:20That's the strongest guy in the gym. Go do more. You know what I'm saying? I enjoyed that. You said it's not braggadocious and I think very similar in a sense. I had a conversation. I think I even told you about it. Production, someone who's new to WWE production and I came on my bus and we were not seeing eye to eye on something. And it's fleeting. You only get one opportunity to kind of say, hey, look at what we did here tonight. And what I was explaining, because we've had this series of, especially with your farewell tour, we've had a series of record grosses, arena records, just stuff that hadn't happened.

1:04:58And then prior to that and coming out of WrestleMania 40, a lot of top grosses, top per caps, all that language. but I said, hey, it's not always like this. It's not. It's not. There are 3 ,200ers. We don't want, but there are. And the goal is, Eddie Guerrero taught me this. Yeah. Those nights that 1 ,000 folks show up, you do everything in your living power to give them the absolute best show you can. So the next time, 1 ,500 people will show up. There it is. And you go out and do double the effort. So the next time, 3 ,000 people. Eddie was big on the law of compounding interest. One fan at a time.

1:05:44Sure. Those lessons that stick with us. Eddie Guerrero, one fan at a time. Take it one fan at a time. Oh, my gosh. And what I like about the metrics you discussed, like I said, that is 23 years of owls and eagles. Yeah. And that's the annuity yield. Like, that's the IRA. It doesn't happen in one, and if you are one of those folks that it happens, I've seen it happen rarely where they're shot to the top. Yeah. You got to stay there. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? I love the past year because it is a true reflection to, like, owls and eagles for two decades or however you want to, whatever moniker you want to put, never give up, hustle, loyalty, respect, whatever.

1:06:29Love what you do. Be coachable. Be reliable. And be professional. And after two decades, hopefully we can do something that's meaningful. You know, this is just a side note because Haku is now, he's in all this. Haku should be coming on the pod, by the way. Haku once beat me up after a New Japan show. Why, in the midst of it, legendary ring announcer Jim Ross said on the air, this angle's taking too long while Haku was beating me up. I don't know if anyone needs to know that. But when I saw Haku at ringside, I thought for a minute, he could come over here right now. And I'd have to sell. I'd have to.

1:07:13I got a good handshake out of him. He was happy. He liked what he was seeing that night. He was in good spirits. But yeah, Haku, certainly cheers to him. Like you said, all the things that he had done. Then all the things now framed up for the young men. All the legends that were there. Oh my gosh. Mark Henry, Booker T, Undertaker, Sean, Michelle McCool, Eve Torres, heck, Elias snuck into that group. You know what I'm saying? But everybody who... Guerrilla was a who's who. Who paved the way. I think it's important because I don't look at it like I told you off air. Like, man, you guys are making the most we've ever made.

1:07:54Like, it's a good time to be a wrestler. Yeah. You got hot because somebody had Louis Vuitton shoes on. That's a joke. You said you got to lighten the envelopes. By the way. Don't pay the guys too much. Yes. And talking like that, you know it's complete sarcasm. It wasn't. But it worried me a little. I thought, no, no. I'm grateful for that. We like those shoes. Yeah, yeah. Instead of jaded. Mm-hmm. You know, because the generation before me helped do that, helped do that, helped do that. It's up to you guys to get these guys in the next bracket. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? to make it, and you only get to the next bracket if we do great business.

1:08:29Yeah. So, enjoy. Big news. WWE and sports fans, the world's number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest, is making its return to New York City. Fanatics is bringing you closer to the leagues, teams, superstars, and athletes you love across four action-packed days in July. Meet your favorite WWE superstars, get your hands on exclusive merch, catch live podcasts, and interact with the biggest names in sports. Tickets are on sale now, and fans of the podcast can use code CODY10 at checkout for 10 % discount. Head to FanaticsFest.com to get your tickets today. I want to bring this up just because it's right in front of me, and I'm just taking all of this in.

1:09:14This ensemble, the suit, seasonal. Well, it's holidays. It's phenomenal. Thanks, man. and the pocket you got a suit game so i gotta you know well the suit game all started you started it at um with your tailor yeah i don't know if you want to shout out your tailor here in terms of you know david allen's well i've gone through a few david allen's been my guy for well over for quite some time yes right you started to suit culture i don't even remember maybe it was the same logic i had my logic in it all was i wanted to subvert expectations on what someone might think when they meet a wrestler. I wanted them to think and know we are a business.

1:09:52And we're looking, we're in the business of entertainment. And I don't, that's what, that was the thing that was in my mind doing it. But no, I just wanted to bring it up that he really threw, whoever threw something together for this. This is quite... He's like the gutter guards at the bowling alley. He will keep me out of the gutter. But I like choosing my own stuff. Yeah, you told me that. You like looking at the buttons. You like looking at the fabric. Swatches. I love because it's man it's like making an outfit yeah i did 36 for 36 this year made 36 outfits yes and i made them all yeah i don't tailor them i don't stitch them all but i'm like no it has to move over a little bit this way and i want to put this as an easter egg in there and we need this and like i enjoy the process and lo and behold it's a uniform yeah the suit is the same structure i always wear either a one or two button coat i wear the i don't wear the low vest It's like, I don't do double-breasted.

1:10:46Every once in a while, double-breasted vest. Every once in a while, double-breasted coat. But, like, the uniform's the same. It's just the color switch. So imagine that. The guy who always wears jorts kind of always wears the version of that. You mentioned the uniform. Joe Hickey. Yeah. To this day, I have this great relationship with Joe Hickey, who works WWE merchandise, Fanatics, WWE shop, all those things. I have this great relationship. I would never even have known his name, which would have been naive of me and ignorant of me as a WWE performer. But you used to talk to him after every event.

1:11:21Yeah. And I'd sit there and be driving and you would just go over. Same with Derek and Chop and all those guys. Yeah. You know, Lumpy. Lumpy, Pumpkin, Derek, Chop. There's a bunch of new nicknames, too. Egger. Yeah. Shout out to the Egg. Saw him in San Diego. Doty as well. Yeah. Yeah, they're out there. So what I love about Joe is he is a creative. He's an artist. I enjoy talking with Joe, with Derek and crew there. Yeah. Because you have guys who are not artists, but they're in the trenches. Yeah. You can make, I just text Derek after he, you know, we did really good this weekend. I'm like, dude, we can have the best stuff.

1:12:02I can feel I have a uniform that is like, this is it. Yeah. If I don't have passionate vendors, we sell nothing. Yeah. and he is a passionate vendor and has passionate a network of passionate vendors underneath them and they care when they set up and they'll tell you like it ain't doing so hot it's the ultimate pivot from them yeah i always like talking to joe about the artistry and then when we get the artistry bringing in derek to be like can we vend this sure it's a it's a team back there yeah you know what i'm saying oh my gosh it's a team and you know me nobody does it alone those guys are just as valuable as Stu and Marty and everybody in the truck and Scalise and John Davis and his live event team and our international team and like we all we all working together yeah it really is it's it is such a team and I got to go to H HQ the other day yeah and just meet every department and see if there's a place that I might fit in in the future and and just you forget the the writers rooms our assistants the yeah daga putting food on our plates catering oh my gosh everybody everybody's in on it and and yeah of value to us you gave me something on that's on saturday again first remark since retirement thank you you gave me something on saturday that did just tickle me inside i just i was so glad you gave me one last piece because you were just walking around saying thank you.

1:13:30Like you said, trying to have meaningful moments. And I thought it would just be a quick pass by. There was no one busier on that day than you. And you came by and you shook my hand. You said, thanks for being here. But then you go, but one thing. And you leaned in and it was a whole thing about staying in the ring too long afterwards with the kid. And I thought, man, even on the last night you know like last night and it was great it wasn't I thought about it after I go ah I did that with every match yeah including my own well that's something you did all the time and one of the things I really liked is you always asked what could we have done better which uh Kirshenbaum on the writer team and uh Pat who's his kind of scribe who's been working with me a lot lately that's the big go-to after well okay good what could we have done better just have a post-mortem Yes.

1:14:21Even if you said even if there was nothing have a postmortem and dig. Yeah. Dig for it. Yeah. Hey, there was an awkward moment between our one to exchange. Right. Okay, let's tighten that up next time. Yeah. Or let's figure out why is it because I was talking too loud or you were trying to talk over me talking too loud or I was talking too loud. I don't know. But I do that after I did that. I did that for every match. I love I do that for every match and including my own. I love it. You invited me a couple times out, and they were your team, including your lovely, lovely wife, who helped with a few promos.

1:15:02I don't know if the world knows that. They should. She definitely is going to get a co-writing credit, not just on John's words, on many of mine as well, but uh that team you have around you i saw them and i wanted to go around when we were all out outside the ring and i really got stuck um on your shoes and i never made it over to them but it was very important to you that they were there and she was there at every show yeah every show it was far more important to me that she was there because a lot of the folks on the team had been with me for a long time. It was very important that she was there.

1:15:44Yeah. Well, I feel the reason, I don't know if they relate to each other, but I saw John when I'm driving you around and I'm trying to learn everything I can. We're having a great time. Was it Delaware and New Hampshire? Were the Blue Hens? I don't know if you remember that. That was Delaware. I don't know where the Blue Hens, like geographically, I don't know exactly. I just remember the lady telling us we had to leave, and you kept upping the time, and somehow she still kept coming out. I believe in diplomacy and friendly negotiations. Most diplomatic person there possibly could be. No, but there were some phases.

1:16:24And when it's someone you look up to and admire and you want to be like him, as I wanted to be like you, I still enjoyed the fact that, I don't know if he knows just about everything about himself, Because one week he was a cowboy for a solid month. Full hat. Chewing Levi Garrett. The beers. Chewing Levi Garrett. And I thought, I mean, my dad was a cowboy. I think your timing's off. That month was like two and a half years. Okay, well, so the phases were cowboy, but then country music stayed. Because we listened to a lot of Conway Twitty, a great deal of Willie Nelson, all Outlaw Country. Merle and Waylon and all that stuff.

1:17:05which I don't know, our little theme song that we had was Poncho and Lefty. Story about two friends? It is. Do you know anything else about the song? Not a thing. No, it is a, good. For those watching, please tell me. I know it's a story about two friends, and that was our song, Poncho and Lefty. Sometimes that's all you need to know. Maybe that is all. Again. All we need to know. Oh, you know a lot about stuff. I know that that's a song I like. Poncho and Lefty. But the cowboy phase was happening, Levi Garrett being chewed, the cooler. But then there was also the lifting phase, which you've always been into physical fitness, my gosh, and it's been part of your whole career.

1:17:44But there was the phase of Olympic lifting where you were really, really big on telling everybody about Olympic lifting. And Rob gets involved. Hard knocks becomes a thing. You got wooden shoes that you're carrying, this little bag for platform lifting. Bands became a thing for a minute. All of these phases, I was around. And then a period of time, I go away from WWE. I don't see you. We have no interaction. And then ultimately, when we get back together, the first time that any brown liquor is brought around, I'm assuming we're going to shoot this and gargle it and, like, fire in our throats and bellies.

1:18:22And you gave me this whole thing about it's scotch. And we savor it. And it was just a refined. I remember kind of sitting back and thinking he seems in such a refined different place and I don't it doesn't mean that wasn't in there still but I just there was something about her and you together that I really was so happy for you thank you very much for saying that I I firmly believe we shouldn't be who we were yesterday and when you look back at your life yeah just for a moment, just reflect in your mind. Are you the same high school wrestler? No. Okay, great. Are you the same person you were when you left us?

1:19:06No. Okay, and phases before that. Yeah. Like, all of us have phases. Yeah. And what I loved about every chapter and the chapters to come is I enthusiastically go in. Yeah. And then when something is exhausted, I take the nuggets of what I really loved about it. What did I love about the cowboy phase? I loved the sadness of wanting love in my life, but the ability to not commit. Like, I am meant to be on the range. I am meant to be on the road. All those outlaw songs are talking about, like, life on the road as if they're forced, but they're not. It's a choice. and then the lack of things. And I also liked essentially the background-ish noise of country music.

1:20:01But every once in a while, when you're through that bottle of brown, you could be like, yo, listen to the words. And they were also running parallel lives to us, doing different shows every night, trying to make it work, trying to balance everything when there's no such thing. The fraternity involved in that, the persistence in weightlifting, the precision. It's essentially like a golf swing with a bar and it's something you'll never perfect. So you have to do it a million times just to be okay and then do it a million more. And its success is measured in 0.5 kilograms. 0.5 at a time. You can do your best and you can break your best by 0.5.

1:20:40That's not a ton of weight, but incrementally it adds up to a great compounding gain. It's like everything I strive for. Being able to sip and enjoy. I asked Undertaker one time, why don't we drink bourbon? He said, because it's hard. No kidding. And we gargle it because it's difficult. And when I'm trying to get my eyes on a room of who are the right people, yeah the business is tough yeah it's it will just if you're not ready for it it will get the best of you yeah and it was a metric among many can you take a rib like can you do the hard stuff can you be up early can you be out late do you can we trust you again a bit archaic yeah because the business has changed but the reason they did that was because it was difficult so my takeaway away from that was don't be afraid to do hard shit.

1:21:42Sure. But also like what I loved about that time was the brotherhood. Yeah. The fraternity. So what's the difference? Why do we got to drink it all at once? Pour me something, let's sip on it and let's have a conversation. Let's grow and learn. Yeah. You know? So I'll take things from these phases and move on to the next phase. And if we're sitting here 30 years from now and I'm still the same guy, I have some course correction to do yeah that's hunter's rule too i'm not the same as i was shouldn't be and yeah we should all strive for growth and approach life with curiosity you know i can't wait to everybody's like oh what are you gonna do i don't know but i can't wait was was shane man the one who said we gargle the whiskey to separate the weak from the strong so he gave me a mirror message of what undertaker said we do it because it's not easy what a statement to make to a group of people you know but like so what i hear is we're trying we're trying to bet on the right people yeah and i i get that i'm i'm a way more lenient i want to bet on everybody i want everybody to win but i also get why it existed and i also it for for many more reasons than that i mean escapism in some forms sure sure sure yeah this could turn into a therapy couch yeah yeah Yeah, we do that every now and then.

1:23:02For the longest time, pro wrestling was my safe space, and my life was a fucking wreck, and everything was great in wrestling, so I didn't want anybody coming in, which is a lot of the reason why I wanted to make sure my teammate was at every one of these. And in being at over 100 shows, she gained knowledge of wrestling. She talks the language now, and now I can reference moments in my career. She'd be like, oh, man, that's great. We stole your toast game. The toast game? That's her idea. We stole her toast. You want to explain how the toasts work? Yeah. I don't know if you want to give it away.

1:23:30No, I'm going to have one tonight. We're going on a date tonight. I stole it and thought, this is a great, and it's fun with a big group of people. But it's also fun with a small group. It works. I've been totally bawling when it's just her and I. Yeah. So she's introduced to, my group is eclectic from all over the world. I don't have neighborhood friends because I've never had a neighborhood. so she's kind of dropped into this petri dish and boy we like we lean into conversations I don't mind talking about sports and the weather but I can only do that for a hot second and I want to talk about real shit because I want to grow and all the people around me are in that same mindset yeah she's like you guys it's crazy what you talk about and then one night she just came up with the idea of like let's have everybody at the table have a thought let's let's do a toast like Cody you go first and I'll end it and everyone goes around the table and what I love about it is the folks that are new to the group can simply say cheers they get to speak and they get to listen and listening is a lost art and dwindling every second so the cool thing about a big table is a majority of those toasts are going to be like you better have two drinks because you're going to rifle through them but you also have to listen the two on two toast is good because we can both emote and it's a personal thing but when you have 19 people you're going to listen for 18 stories and when you go you've got to also know your time you hit your times that's why I like the larger groups there was an element of camaraderie but also almost a competitive nature but also listening and learning about somebody and then and that itself we just had we just had a real special one on uh sunday and it's pretty much everybody you saw in that front row oh yeah and and and every single person i i lean in i got very few guardrails because i'm i'm at peace with who i am uh there's not there's not a ton of protected information but the stuff that is mine hardline boundaries that's mine And the conversation between them and my wife is the same.

1:25:48But a lot of those folks, for the first time, were able to take down some of the guardrails and speak from the heart. And I just love seeing that. You mentioned your listening. It's a lost art. It's not a lost art to me because in MetLife Stadium, in front of 60-plus thousand people, you were about to attitude adjustment me through a table. and I had my hand in a weird position, but I'm also thinking I'm taking the bomb. He's fine. And you said, I, you, you, you said, I can't hear and I can't see because of where my arm was. And I thought, but it just throw me. I'm not like, I'm the one who's falling.

1:26:33And then I had to move my arm so you could see and hear. But you you then said the nicest all of this should not be said in this setting, but you got it all out. Hey, I can't see. I can't hear. I move my arm. And then you go, thank you so much. And then threw me through the table and that wonderful space age table that we have today. That's quite complicated. We're going to get it right. Eventually it shattered. But I that was as clear as it could possibly be. Need to see, need to hear, need to listen um need to listen a lot of moments in the retirement match yeah um hopefully one of these days and i know the consumer or right now the information we have i'm i'm a very when the facts change i change my mind yeah but the information we have is our consumer wants to have that curtain pulled back more and more yeah i know that wwe catches ring mics, I just know they don't turn them up.

1:27:31I am audibly talking a lot for all of the match. Yes. When Archives chooses to release footage, you'll hear me so many times. Ears, bud, ears. Can't hear. Ears, bud, ears. It's like, I, the noise is, it's a conversation. And if you're having a conversation and your ears are plugged. there's hours of unused sound of Robin Williams as the genie just going on and on I feel it's probably very similar because some of the full conversations shouted out in there by you are truly amazing Are you ready to hold WWE history in the palm of your hand? Topps is bringing you closer to the action than ever before with WWE Topps Now, highlighting the biggest matches and milestones from WWE shows and PLEs throughout the year Tops Now is enhancing the fan experience by connecting collectors to the superstars and spectacles that ignite their passion.

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1:29:13here's uh the the bigger question again retirement just happened thank you world famous nightmare factory the first time we've done it here may this be your forever spot wheatley american vodka this is ww id location this is this is maybe the the next uh 18 time champs going to come out of here why would you do it anywhere else you're almost saying it in a way this should be your spot i i hear you i even i even suggested get your students for the broadcast yeah so we can have a live audience filmed at the world famous nightmare factory in front of a live studio audience y 'all can come up with some like 80s open vcr effects i know you love that bro come on nostalgia old nwa open or something like that i do i do love a period of wrestling i feel like every time you come on my bus it's on and you you've you've often asked what are you what are you watching this what are you getting there's something in there there's something in everything it's like the six hours of you got to get through it a little bit but then there's that moment that Terry Taylor buff bag well finish that you're like that's it but here I can take that you're watching matches to I think have it on yeah be close to the product I need it but also learn I I watched every event I was on I watched 99 95 percent of the matches that happened yeah just to watch them and and I was into every one and every one I would put myself in the shoes of the competitor of like, I would have done this.

1:30:37I would have done this. This was the long enough pause. This was too short. Or I don't know why they did that finish. Or they milked the t-shirt at the beginning and didn't pay it off. So many things. I don't mind watching matches. I just, I'm not good enough to have enough discipline to, in those moments. Like, okay, I have to have it all. I should have. You know, maybe I'd learn a little bit more. But I don't have the discipline. I'm not good enough. I think you have the discipline. Well, the bigger question here, again, retirement just happened. Thank you. First words. What would you like to do?

1:31:13And forgive me for the vagueness here. What do you feel is next for you? Pro wrestling, the people in the industry who know you, and a lot of the fans because they know you in terms of the authenticity, that connection has always really been strong. know that you aren't going to wrestle again no for you being part of the WWE as an ambassador but what do you think is next in terms of what what hill is next to climb as a great lesson I had said it three times I dropped I dropped two of you yesterday and in terms of just talking with Kirsch what's our why what's our why here tonight and then of course let's climb the hill in front of us.

1:31:57Do you know what that is? And if not, that's quite all right. I just, I think the world would like to know what's next. I have always been somebody to

1:32:11wait for life to deal you what it's going to. Yeah. Because life will deal you a hill. Mm-hmm. You know, it will deal you a hill. So what is immediately next for me? Yeah. I got to get my third run on an implant. Oh, hey, look. I've lost three of them, and I got to get another one. Who did it? Was it Gunther? Or you just lost it? Just lost it. Life did it. Yeah, okay. So I'm going to get that done two days from now. Okay. And then holiday travel. Yeah. So be present with curiosity and purpose with my family for seven days. And then for my other family for ten days. Yeah. And then after that, whatever hill I have next.

1:32:52But that is like keep screen time way down. Get as many social engagements as you can. Actively listen. Curiously ask about folks and be genuine in what they have to answer. Know when a good friend of mine tried ahead. Do you want me to listen or do you want me to help, essentially? Yeah. A lot of folks just want a light in their backpack. You know what I'm saying? So these are folks I care and love about and actively after years of absence, hiding under the guise of, well, I'm working. I'm still not pouring into that relationship. So I got two to three weeks of that, and then I'll see, man. Yeah.

1:33:35Yeah. I don't know how you feel about this next thing I have to say because that's beautiful in terms of what's immediately next. I don't know in what setting, but I really hope we get the opportunity to work together again. you're my first job after retirement there it is look at this he literally yeah no shit you are my first job after retirement you can't sit and i scheduled this like way ahead of time you did you made it very clear you also made it very clear we weren't going to be faking it you needed retirement to happen yep and and the conversation would be would be authentic and and and real and And we were very ready for it.

1:34:17I can hear you rounding us up. I don't have to. No, you do. You got stuff to do. I hope... You know a lot of the stuff I have to do is stuff you used to do. Stuff I still do. Stuff you still do. I just hide it away from people. Yeah. Yeah. No, but I mean, that's the path. My path. Worked okay for me, but everybody has their own. Certainly. and one of DJ moves in his own lane, Roman in his own lane, Brock in his own lane, you and your own, like we all, there's all, there's a ton of Phil in his own lane. Like it's a chicken soup business, dude. And I think that's why people get so passionate about it.

1:34:55And I think that's a lot of times why, uh, emotions might get the best of us and in a, in a nice way to call back to maybe, maybe something I wanted to do this to talk about this is, uh, we all have our own way of doing it. And what I love about the past year is so many people have been critical about so many moments. And blamed it on this fictitious book or like creative direction. This always happens. I never, what a fucking ironic statement to make. I never speak in absolutes. I rarely speak in absolutes. In my 23 years of time under tension, creative has changed so many times. That is the nature of the business.

1:35:44It is also okay for us to say we have a lot of eyes, we want to make a moment. Because we don't know. And I say we as if I'm involved in this creative body, but I feel as if I am. You can't tell if someone's going to run with it. But you've got to give them a chance. You've got to. We have an opportunity to mesh worlds. And gosh, we've been doing that forever since Cyndi Lauper and Liberace had won. You know, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. And I'm not going to beat up a tree about like, well, what was your why? Why did you not continue being on my favorite program? Maybe it's just because you had life.

1:36:29And that's okay. But you know what I have to do? pick six i gotta get back on the field and i can't i just can't waste my time i can't invest my time in something that is never going to come to fruition i admire the fact that people criticize that like they didn't have any long-term booking for this they might have that shit changed all the time and if if the critical spot is like moment of heel turn great you were in the ring it It was fantastic. You lost an ear for us. Appreciate it. I did. Sandus ear keeps getting hit. Afterwards, the audience's expectations were, I want a new personality. I want new gear.

1:37:09I want a new theme song. I want all this. Yeah, great idea. Those were all great ideas. You know it takes two years at least to get a guy over. Yeah. So if I'm going to do that and we've got to call it quits in December, I don't know if that's enough time for a turnaround. So now the tools I have to work with are like play within confines, develop your why. Okay, I'm in an abusive relationship. And all right, that makes sense. I can lean into the polarization of the audience and say all those things I didn't want to say.

1:37:44Again, I rarely walk down hypotheticals. Let's walk down hypothetical streets for a second. Let's walk it down. Let's say everyone that showed up at the chamber is active until August. Okay. that robs us of John Cena, Randy Orton. Yeah. That robs us of John Cena, CM Punk. John Cena, Ron Cena. John Cena, AJ Styles. John Cena, Logan Paul. Yeah. Me and you for the last one. Mano y Mano. Yeah. So yes, the story that might have been, might have had star power and gravity and who knows what, but what we got by just being like, these are the pieces left. Yeah. What can we build? what we got for me personally was beautiful.

1:38:28It was beautiful. And I'm not trying to change anybody's mind. Again, I've released art into the world and they can think how they want about it. I'm just also saying that like, is it a wise investment in time and what I've learned about like, credible wrestling critiques? Of course it is, because you want chatter and you want clickbait. but not like let's let's analyze what happened and i was in the ring with you i was in the ring with randy and punk and ron cena and logan paul and aj styles man it was really loud yeah so judging by the wise man sean michaels does that mean we did okay i don't know i don't know But I, man, sometimes, like, what's the next thing you're going to do?

1:39:20What's all these hypothetical things? Let's just figure out what is. Yeah. Figure out why we're doing it. And just climb that hill in front of you, man. You know? Because it's going to change. They're going to have a plan for you. And it's going to change. Yeah. Here's the thing. The WWE audience or the people who critique our work, they're so forgiving and understanding when the reason is injury. Someone gets injured. They can't compete. Okay, we got to give that up. Totally blows the story. Creative. Injury. I get it. What if it's an emotional injury? What if we deem things aren't working out?

1:40:03What if somebody says, I just can't make it? Sure. like yeah it just doesn't work sometimes yeah and instead of bitching about what we could have had the imaginary thing look at what we got dog and when i again when i reflect on saturday i went peacefully i closed this chapter peacefully and and uh man fun fun stuff you mentioned saturday closing the chapter upon hearing that you were coming on the podcast do you know who asked to be on the podcast gunther i was gonna say haku no haku is welcome on the podcast you should we do welcome haku i'd like to talk about the situation that happened in long beach new japan how you only beat up me in the corner while there were plenty of other bodies but no the man you face definitely should have gunther and i'll tell you why yes we're having him for for many a myriad of reasons but like I see things from a different plane.

1:41:05Yeah. He sees things from this plane. Yeah. And I love that because he is relentless in mastery of a piece of canvas. Yeah. Relentless. We can talk about a myriad of things. Yeah. You'll have a lane of conversation with him, but it'll be enthusiastic. He is, you like a flat white, he's a coffee nerd. Yeah. wrestling and like with purpose he has an idea of what it should be and an idea of what offends him yes very much and this offends me i cannot tell you how much respect i have for him and i know he's not going to say the same thing about me and he shouldn't and i i'm okay with that yeah it is such an honor to be able to step in there with someone who whose moniker is the ring general yeah and in my last one if i could add a star to his uniform someone who believes the matt is sacred i believe the same thing we just see it through different lenses very much i hope you have him on i can't hear what i can't wait to hear what he has to say i'm excited about it as we uh come to a conclusion and land the plane um you say all the time leaving it better than you found it And I know that's big.

1:42:21And you always, especially now, speak very much. It's measured and it's with the thought of growing and it's with the thought of knowing you don't know everything. But I am just asking, do you feel after Saturday and after this retirement tour that I am so insanely thankful and grateful to be part of both professionally and personally? Big ups to Wheatley. Big ups to Wheatley. Do you think you left it better than you found it? We wouldn't be doing this 10 years ago. We might be doing this, but nobody, it wouldn't be for you guys. The amount of opportunities for performers is exponential. And the company is far more empathetic and inspirational and like, go out there and get it.

1:43:16Yeah. We went from trying to be accepted, and this is why it was tough to let talent flex different muscles because, man, I can't take you away from the thing. This is another benefit of less live events. You can do more things. You can grow. If you're creative and you want to grow your tentacles, it's fine. So that's a pro of less live events. Money's never been better for talent. Creative outlet has never been better for talent. We have great partnerships now. I believe that we're accepted on far more of a global plane. I think the overall attitude of talent is we're in the consumer service business and consumer first.

1:44:05I think in the days of old, it was very like, I'm talent. Stay the F out of my way. And I know there is some breach of personal boundaries that everybody's trying to discover with all the new technology out there or whatever, but I think our talent is very consumer-friendly and consumer-aware. I think that's now an aspirational position that we've done a great job with our partnerships of fanatics and sports licensees to make it a universal truth that that's a symbol of greatness. Economically, those who sit in the boardroom are pretty happy with where we're at. I remember we were about$6.50 a share.

1:44:44We are currently not trading at that today. No. So that's kind of where I started. Yeah. And that's where we're at. Consumer engagement is at an all-time high. Yeah. I'm inundated every day how I've effed up. Yeah. And also consumer admiration, consumer chatter is at an all-time high. So I think it's not just we always tote like we don't give enough love to you guys out there. We always told like arena gate, merchandise record, whatever. That's fine. That's a direct reflection on your passion. And our consumers are more engaged and around the world. But that's because of our relationships with companies like Netflix.

1:45:26You know, companies like ESPN. I was just about to mention ESPN. Also Netflix. Now instead of, man, I am from an era where we are on live on cable television. Yeah. And on the same night, we're on at 2 a.m. in Germany. Yeah. When we used to be on at 8 o 'clock in Germany. So we would draw in Germany for six months, and then it'd dry up. What happened? Our TV deal went south. We're on Netflix. You can catch us there. We're a member of the Disney family. You can catch us here around the effing world. Yeah. It's going to give you a chance. We've got a PLE in Italy coming up and may I'm excited about.

1:46:05We're taking WrestleMania overseas in another year for the first time ever. All of these things, man. I mean, you got it in front of you to make it way better. But I'd like to think that we're better off. I was sitting next to Ed Kosky and Gorilla during the match and live updates on the phone from ESPN. And it didn't feel out of place. and I thought how special that was very much your answer that rings true in terms of the business where I stand and I stand in a very good place in the business. Entertainment used to look at us like we're not good enough. Right. Sport used to look at us like we're not good enough and then they kind of both started borrowing and honestly my hat's off to the influencer influencer culture they get knocked for a lot but man the fact that they're successful allows both entertainment and sport to lean into like there's a million different ways to do it and we're we're we're influencers before influencers we're reality tv before reality tv like we're we're my sport drama we're cinema like it's all things rolled into one and it just took i don't know when when when Vince Byer from his dad, 1980, until it took 50 years for us to be on a level where everyone's cool.

1:47:25And because everyone's cool, that means we can fire in a lot of lanes, or before we were just a carnival business. So I started as a carny, and now we're shaking hands in some pretty important rooms, and we're shaking hands with a lot of people in the arena. I think we're pretty good. It takes time, 23 years. Time under tension, small wins, dude. Just climb the hill in front of you. I'm going to give you this, John. This is a wonderful jingle brought to our friends, brought to us by our friends at Wheatley American Vodka. Yeah, big up to Wheatley. Big up to Wheatley. Doing it. You Can't Sip Me, great bartender today.

1:47:57Thank you all very much. I'm going to ask you to replace a word in this jingle. Why should Moscow always get the mule? All right.

1:48:13Why should Moscow always get the mule? That's one part of it. Vodka this good, I repeatedly play with my tool. Well, that works too. Because if I get enough of that. Wheatly so good I drink it. And instead of neatly, what does John Cena put there? Oh, Wheatly so good I drink it completely. There you go. Completely. Yes. I got through about 65 % of this thing on camera. Yeah. We know, man of your word, you are going to, all of it will be gone before you leave here. This is the Pat Summerall section. Wheatley's so good I drink it completely. And having just completed your career and now completed your professional wrestling career at that, completed your first interview and podcast outside of it.

1:48:59At the world-famous Nightmare Factory, a WWE ID facility where the next 17-time champion will emanate from. These hallowed halls. Get yourself a live studio audience. Get yourself a wonky 80s introduction. maybe lance catamaran can come and do some uh commentary for you i don't know lance okay yeah and i got his number somewhere yeah so he went back to utica we'll exchange uh contact info i i need to thank you no you don't need to thank me of course i do hey whoa take the compliment you know yeah you came in the ring saturday and thanked me and i didn't want any any piece of it no you did not and and what everything that was going on in my head was like instinctually this is wrong.

1:49:41I need to be better with words of affirmation and I need to be more coachable. Take the words of affirmation and be more coachable. Let these young men call this spot and see where we land. Yeah. I think all I said to you was don't fight it. And then I love you. Yeah. And that's, that's what got me. That's what's like, I'm doing this whatever, however I feel it's, it's the right thing to do. But I want to thank you because because you are going nose to nose, and you go as hard, in some cases harder than I can imagine. Your work ethic is aspirational. You will joust that. Here is my volley. You are responsible for more than yourself.

1:50:24For many of these years, I was running a one-man show, and it was like, if you want to ride the wake, I'm the boat. You can get a tow and some skis, but we're doing it my way. family man, a dedicated father, a wonderful husband. You got people to support and that support you. And sometimes that helps, but like you are juggling so much more than I ever possibly could. So thank you for overstaying. You gave me another 35 minutes. It's not lost on me. And a lot of me wanting to milk this is just, I miss my friend and I wanted a conversation with my friend. I love you too. Thanks so much for this time.

1:51:04And, and man, you're doing it. You're doing it. And, and I'm, I'm so fucking proud of you. Thank you very much. And obviously thank you from me, but thank you from, I said it and I, I didn't really finish my thought in a sense. I, I feel like I'm in a good place in our industry, a good position to look out upon it. And I think I can safely say from everybody who puts on a pair of boots, who's going to tell you the same thing, and everybody who comes to watch those who puts on a pair of boots, thank you very, very much. Oh no, man. This is going to be out of frame. We're going to have to hug our knees, but I don't give a shit.

1:51:49Oh, buddy. Love you, man. Love you, too. Oh, man. Thank you so much. Oh, I'm gonna go get a flat one. Oh my gosh. John Cena. John Cena.