Stephanie's Places Season 1 Episode 10 | Stephanie's Places S01 E10 - John Cena's Final Round - May 28th 2025
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00:00welcome to a place of accomplishment and integrity welcome to hard knocks out
00:08this is the gym of the one and only john cena john cena is here the champ is here
00:19there is no longer a debate john cena is the goat john cena's life has been a series of twists
00:31and turns from his humble beginnings as an outcast in west newberry massachusetts
00:37to a record-setting 17-time wwe world champion and hollywood star please welcome everybody's
00:46favorite john cena you can't see me i'm a delicate flower john has truly done it all
00:55with one constant throughout an iron paradise to call home this place has been a functioning
01:04part of my life for 20 years it's evolved just as i have through the 25 years of wwe but as it
01:12evolves it still is a very functional part of my life an important part of your life very much so
01:20i'm stephanie mcmahon and i love wwe
01:28i'm on a quest to hear the stories behind the biggest superstars and legends in wwe history
01:34here we go so come join me on the trip of a lifetime
01:45you picked this location yeah so tell me about where we are and why it means so much to you so we
01:52are in the halls of hard knock south we opened the doors here in 2008. what made you want to start this
01:58gym um i would believe it or not i was just sick of working out at places this building came up and uh
02:06bought it the name hard knock south is taken from the original location in amesbury massachusetts
02:13where john trained during his formative years this is a very safe space for conversation to be kicked
02:21around for you to have a bad day but not staying a bad day like in here we right the ship i've never
02:30trained even when i didn't want to and ever said man i wish i didn't do that no kidding right hearing
02:35john talk about his gym it's obvious how much he cares about it and it's not just important to him
02:41it's important to a particular part of wwe history
02:45before the creation of the wwe performance center in 2013 many up-and-coming wwe superstars trained
02:56right here as they looked to follow in john's footsteps we had our golden years so to speak from
03:02like 2009 to 2015. right next to the huge american flag is the top 10 of all-time list these are all-time
03:11bests of the gym it is etours world and we're all just living in it this is a 575 raw bench that puts
03:19him in a very elite class with the world actually
03:35it's been really cool to see it evolve from the weightlifting competitions that we used to have and
03:41like the camelot era of 09 to 15 to like it's kind of a place where the families all get together now
03:48here we are sitting in the gym one of us dressed for the occasion
03:56you know it's like a big thing to figure out what to wear right especially as a woman and so we both
04:01should have communicated and you know i thought about that i'm like i should have texted him last
04:05night and we should have planned this out well i didn't know i didn't know if you were gonna try
04:10to make me do something so i'm i came ready now that i know i should have dressed more professionally
04:17i was eager to learn more about john and how he first discovered wwe do you remember your first
04:24exposure to wwe yeah you guys did something in conjunction with mtv to build up wrestlemania one i'm
04:32the incredible hulk hoven the main man in your rock wrestling connection around mtv mtv showed the
04:39entire match of hogan chic msg were a home and water championship
04:50i'm seven to eight years old and now i'm like yo this is the coolest thing ever
04:55i was around for the rock and wrestling connection and i was a huge fan of mtv that's all i ever watched
05:23of course so for me to also see it yeah yeah i mean i'm a little older than you are by like a few
05:30months it's i'm still older well children of the same generation because wrestling was on mtv
05:38i got to watch mtv i watched that in my next door neighbor acres away he had to go through a path in
05:43the woods to get to this kid's house my parents wouldn't let us watch mtv okay and we could always
05:48watch mtv at this other kid's house who's the first artist you fell in love with i remember
05:54specifically all the stuff that i wasn't supposed to listen to two live crew from miami nwa from the
06:03west coast and because i was the one kid in an area who really connected with this as a rebellious way
06:10to say to my parents i embraced everything the high top fee the airbrush overalls i was wearing my
06:19jerseys backwards one strap one strap yes of course of course come on compounding interest my brother
06:29steve was a nerd and he was in high school and like it's a small town so like the junior high is here
06:35the high school is here they line the buses up my bus happened to be here so i have to walk through
06:40all the high school kids boy am i an easy target there's a kid in turquoise polka dots with the high
06:44top fade kid i was getting bullied and how did you handle that so i was like man i don't want to learn
06:52how to fight but if i make myself stronger maybe they'll leave me alone and then my grandfather finally
07:00convinced my dad to get me a weight set for my 12th christmas gift my parents gave me like my own
07:07corner of the house it was very small but it was like a nice little space where i could go and be
07:13me i could play my rap music and no one would mess around with me so that became a part of the routine
07:19when we got to high school when i was a freshman i'd already lifted weights for like two and a half years
07:24and that helped me gain a little bit of fluency in football which oh man you can help our team win
07:30you're all right you're pretty cool you became a part yes part of the team yes john succeeded on the
07:37gridiron earning a spot on the springfield college football team where he became an ncaa all-american
07:46so i wasn't like what did i want out of life i just graduated with a degree in ex-fiz and kinese
07:52this was um just after the year 2000 the base of health and fitness was certainly in southern
07:57california kind of all roads led through los angeles i landed with uh two duffel bags full of clothes
08:05and 500 bucks you have quite a story right i mean when you first started off you were living out of
08:12your car by choice though i don't i don't want to paint that as like a woe is me but what's it like
08:18living out of your car it was dope yeah it was a 91 lincoln continental i was 20 years old so i felt
08:25bulletproof every day i didn't know what joint pain felt like a nice big back seat and then the front
08:32seat reclined i mean it was those those cars were and you had a radio i had a radio at ac no satellite
08:38and satellite at the time but like i got to sleep in the parking lot of golds wake up use the locker room
08:44to shower clock in get paid to be there and then train after hours so i did not know that you wanted
08:50to be a marine before you got into wwe so i chose the marines because i failed at everything else
08:59tried to apply my degree and no strength company would take me a fitness company would take me
09:04i tried to be a cop i failed the chp exam like i was like man i kind of just work in the front desk at
09:10gold's venice and that's enough like i get to train every day it's cool i'm well fed i'm good
09:16but i gotta i gotta think more long term like what's the next play and i wanted to remain
09:22physical i wanted to to keep myself at a top level of performance so i'm like these the marines they
09:28they pretty much seem like they would do that so i was gonna drive down and sign up and like literally
09:33the weekend i was gonna go um my buddy was like man we're training over in orange county would you ever
09:37want to do that it's like i'll take a look at it and i remember driving into la boxing it's a one
09:43story glass building and i could see the ring through the glass and i was like i will deal with
09:49the suck monday through friday because on the weekends i'll be a superhero and that's how i approached
09:57john dove head first into the wrestling business and became known as the prototype
10:03catching the attention of wwe john cena made his official wwe debut in 2002 against one of the
10:19biggest legends in the history of amateur and professional wrestling hall of famer kurt angle
10:26what is the one quality that you possess that makes you think that you can walk out here and
10:36come into the ring and face the very best in the business
10:42ruthless aggression
10:45i remember being fortunate enough to get my first contract and then being like i have made it in life
11:00because i have a chance to do this as a vocation and i'm never gonna have to wear a suit i have beat
11:07the system with john's initial impact waning his excitement for the business soon turned sour frustration
11:15by john c is still a rookie got tons of skills though in that ring he felt his on-screen character
11:23was too generic and the audience wasn't connecting with him this is another thing i love about sports
11:30entertainment you know if you sucked right away and there are many nights i have sucked
11:38i wasn't stressed to be like gotta be perfect i was more stressed in the fact that i didn't know who
11:44i was oftentimes when someone is looking to find themselves all they need to do is focus on what they
11:52love for john cena he realized there was a lifestyle and a soundtrack that had been with him
12:00all along inside is the jump off hip-hop one day john was freestyling on the wwe bus i was blown away
12:11when he impromptu rapped for me about the tuna fish sandwich i was eating i was part of the wwe creative
12:18team at the time and thought this talent could be exactly what he needed you happen to overhear me
12:25like and then you being like hey you want to do this on tv welcome to the smackdown halloween party
12:32i learned from not standing out to stand out i gotta go it's been a blast came out the locker room
12:39stole ray mysterio's mask tried to get taker's cast but it was plastered on too tight peace i gotta go about
12:44the hawaiians bike john had finally discovered his character john cena the doctor of thuganomics
12:58as the doctor of thuganomics cena's notoriety grew by going after superstars like the undertaker fans
13:05won't even miss you you ain't a dead man you just a dead issue and over the next few years his career flourished
13:16his character evolved he became a multi-time world champion and ultimately a hero to fans all over the world
13:26as john's stardom grew he found even more ways to connect with the wwe universe
13:40you are the number one make-a-wish granter of all time one two three you can't see me
13:48you are strong i like that one the best it's a charity that i've come to know and love i admire
13:58the fact that we can bring people into our world who are going through somewhat of a difficult time
14:03give them a day's worth of escape or give them an experience that they'll never forget
14:08if i get stuck i may have to ask you and then you get immediate suspension of disbelief you get a
14:15true day off ladies and gentlemen this is kj and the champ is here anytime it's like oh make a wish
14:26want you to do this no problem let's do those people who have setbacks and that one wish is to uh
14:32to spend some time with you because i mean that's it
14:36it's not just about meeting the person right the superstar but then it's about the ultimate
14:56distraction perfect
14:58that child doesn't have to think about being sick or what medications they're going to take
15:08and those parents are watching their child be free of all of that and hopefully free of pain for
15:18a few moments so just thank you for making such a difference and providing so much hope
15:24to so many kids and their families throughout all these years the cool thing about those moments
15:31is that i can tell because about motion that it's an absolute boomerang whatever you think you give to
15:37somebody they give back to you exponentially but i don't need a thank you because i was there that's enough
15:46john's natural charisma shined through both in and out of the ring
15:51and this time it was hollywood that took notice right now we have the john cena fun day we're
15:58premiering fast 10 it's a great movie we got a great crowd out there as his star continued to rise
16:05john began to split his time between wwe and the big screen and his blossoming film career led him to
16:14the love of his life here's a big question yeah how did you meet your wife your bride uh so this goes
16:24in line with kind of my whole life by accident it was super bowl about six years ago patriots are
16:31playing and i didn't want to leave my apartment in vancouver i just got there starting to film a movie
16:36because i didn't want to jinx the team a friend of mine convinced me to go out to a hole in the wall
16:41i got to watch the game in walks a group of four and i can't take my eyes off of shea
16:48they're in the booth right across from us so i'm watching their tv they're watching mine
16:52and i'm just doing this like my team is winning and i don't give a and i don't have the bravery to
17:02break the ice and her friend comes up it's like hey can i have a picture with you i'm like only if i can
17:10get a picture with her and she's well to be honest i didn't want a picture with you i was asking for
17:16her anyway i'm like you're kidding me so we get together and i'm like hey um could i could i give
17:22you my phone number could i have yours and she said yes i was 10 steps out of that joint when i stopped
17:30went into a back alley in vancouver and was like i need to spend more time with you and she said sure
17:36it was a wednesday cool i said i'll make it happen man we met batik at the same place and we sat down
17:42at six and they kicked us out at one in the morning just me and her man she's i met her by accident
17:50i always just kind of like let life deal me the cards and knowing that this could be something and
17:56it's time to push some chips in i was willing to like see the energy and be like man push in on this
18:03see where it takes you as john's personal life continued to flourish he made a major decision
18:11about his in-ring career tonight i officially announced my retirement from the wwe
18:21the wrestlemania will be my last wrestlemania but hopefully if everything goes according to plan
18:26we're going straight through from january to december and that'll be the end of my in-ring competition
18:32how did you get there by continuously coming here and being disappointed and then asking
18:39myself the question of this place usually makes me feel good why do i feel bad and it was because
18:46i'm surrounded by pictures by numbers that's a 600 pound squat or that's a cleaning jerk with 330 pounds
18:54or that's a 300 pound snatch i can't even do those lifts anymore because my body's so beat up so as soon
19:00as i got through that jagged pill of like oh man i am never going to overhead press 374 pounds ever
19:07again but let's work to see what the best i can for today is you know it's it it's a very similar course
19:15to wwe my skills are on the regress if i continue at a full-time physical capability or involvement
19:26i'm not going to run right my partner's not going to run right and our relationship isn't going to
19:31run right sorry kid it's time it's time to to close this chapter i wish i was 18 i wish i felt great
19:41because i don't feel more at home besides in the arms of my wife than i do on a canvas
19:47i had to pitch this idea a real wrestling farewell and hoping that they would see the business in it
19:56and they were like uh yes this is this is going to be good as john embarked on his farewell tour
20:04he wanted to change things up in a big way after nearly 20 years of being the biggest hero in wwe
20:12history john cena shocked the world by becoming a heinous villain
20:20what the oh my god john what the hell are you doing
20:27i don't need to single out anyone here because you are all horrible people
20:37we're not gonna talk about just can i just say i love you as a heel and i tried to get you to be
20:41heel for a very long time but man i love it i love it i love it can i just say i had some
20:45some really good people to learn from and you are in a very short list of names that that falls into
20:52i flat out steal a lot from you wow well that's uh so thanks for helping me through this
21:00you use me as an excuse for your pathetic failure of a life i think you give me way too much credit
21:17like way too much credit you never know how you affect people while john didn't want to talk about
21:23what he's currently doing as a character i wanted to delve into his mindset as a person while his wwe
21:32career nears its end now you're almost at the end right this is this is the last year 2025 yeah how
21:44have you changed in your perspective even of john cena in the business from when you first started
21:54to now here you are at the end of your wrestling career your farewell tour
22:01what are your biggest lessons along that that journey that's a great question
22:07it is an absolute fictitious dream job that i'm so lucky that it exists
22:18it is something that i never knew how much i needed in my life and still to this day is something that i
22:27can't live without also it ends for everyone this is the most important thing in your life if this
22:37is the tip of your spear it's going to be all of your decisions are based off of that and for a good
22:4315 to 16 years the tip of my spear was making the town that's why 10 years ago if you asked me i would
22:53say i'd be put on this earth to be a wwe superstar and now at 48 i know i'm not when people lean into
22:59concepts like immortality and like legacy a lot of the retirement questions i'm like what do you want
23:06your legacy i don't care i don't what i'm grateful for is i had a chance to be the man in the arena
23:15that is beautiful i think you are such a massive part of this company's evolution
23:22and i know you will continue to leave your mark even well beyond your in-ring years and i know
23:29that's not your goal it's not your goal to be a legacy persona so to speak but you can't help but be
23:39i love the wwe i'm always gonna try to get people to experience and get invested in because
23:47i love the wwe i love the wwe because man it is it's made my life this crazy roller coaster
23:53regardless of what hangs on the walls or lies on the floor this has been a place of mental
23:59stability and growth for me over the past 20 years and this conversation is absolutely what this place
24:07is about you've been very important and instrumental in my life and i meant what i said in the moments that
24:13i needed you there without you even knowing uh you were a guiding light that was unbelievably effective
24:22and uh i know that's not over so thanks for that i'm always here i know i know all right we hug it out
24:32yep oh you know i'm gonna tease you about the mic and i was like looking at it hoping you didn't hit
24:37your head and then i did hard knock south was the perfect place to reflect on john's career
24:46so much can be learned from his journey and his perspective on a life that was fueled between
24:52these walls and i can't wait to see what the future holds for john cena
24:58have you worked with this crew uh we we were uh we did some work when i was in elementary school
25:07together we've come up together oh yeah yeah these are all florida guys um little timmy over there
25:12big jake and uh lazy mitch he's on camera it's one of those reverse nicknames he's a hard worker no
25:19i'm like i know you didn't grow up in florida i don't know