00:00Hi John, it's so nice to see you.
00:01Good to see you as well.
00:03Thank you for taking the time to chat with us.
00:07Okay, so Cars and John Cena, John Cena and Cars, like a match made in heaven.
00:13We know you have a huge and great car collection.
00:16So we were wondering, which car from the movie would you take home to your collection?
00:22The one I got to drive the most was Land Rover.
00:25Oddly enough, you know, getting chosen to be a part of a movie called Matchbox,
00:30I thought I was going to be driving the whole time.
00:33It turns out my friends do most of the driving and I do most of the fighting and the Daredevil
00:38stuff.
00:40So bittersweet there, but I did get to drive that Land Rover.
00:44Goodness, there was a, there's a Chevy in there that's pretty nice.
00:50I don't want to lead anybody down the paths for spoilers or anything.
00:54Oh, okay, okay.
00:56There, just a couple of the high horsepower American muscle stuff.
01:00I've, I've been able to, I've been lucky enough to drive some of those cars and they're,
01:04they're really fun because they're just a, just a really big engine in a really heavy,
01:10uncertain car and, and you really got to pay attention.
01:13Okay, so you're more of a muscle car guy.
01:16No, no, no, no.
01:17I don't want to lead the witness.
01:19I'm only going by the cars that were in the movie.
01:20Um, I, I, I like all cars.
01:24I mean, honestly, I, I think that there's, um, passion conversation, uh, and enthusiasm
01:29in, in, in all automotive stuff.
01:32That's great.
01:33And so the other way around, if you could have taken one of your own cars from your collection
01:39and have it play a role in the movie, uh, which one would you have liked to, to take?
01:45So I have a, the first car I ever bought with my own money is a 1989 Jeep.
01:49And I would have loved to drive that in the Sahara desert just because that car has been
01:53with me on kind of every, every point in my journey, uh, my professional journey.
01:59So to get that thing out to the Sahara and, and, uh, chase it away from the bad guys and,
02:04and all, all the stuff crashing around it, that would have been, that would have been
02:08right for the Jeep.
02:09It served me so well.
02:11I would have loved to have given it some time on the big screen.
02:13So I think that that's probably my answer.
02:16I think that would have been great to see.
02:19Um, okay.
02:20So speaking of cars and, uh, the role that they have played in your life, we have prepared
02:26a little game.
02:27It's a this or that game.
02:28So we're going to be pitting cars against each other and you have to choose one.
02:34You can speak from reason or you can speak from the heart.
02:38Like there is whatever you prefer.
02:40I'll give it my best shot.
02:41This should be exciting.
02:43Amazing.
02:43So to get started, uh, Volkswagen T2 bus versus that Land Rover six by six.
02:51Ooh.
02:52So the six by six was only a two seater and the bus, I got to drive a small amount,
02:59but
02:59I actually got to wheelie it because of the weight balance.
03:02So we did a stop.
03:03We did a stop start a few times.
03:04And, uh, in me driving back to the mark, I actually got to wheelie the bus.
03:09The bus was a fun drive.
03:10I'd have to go with the VW bus.
03:11Oh, that's insane.
03:12Yeah.
03:13Okay, good.
03:14So bus versus the Honda Civic Type R.
03:18Civic Type R all day.
03:19It's going to be tough to knock this one.
03:21You, we may just want to punt and leave that out of the equation.
03:24So it'd be perfect for the matchbox gang.
03:26I can fit everybody in there.
03:27It's a manual.
03:28It's got plenty of horsepower, multiple drive modes.
03:31Looks the business.
03:32Got a hatchback for our luggage or nuclear bomb.
03:34Uh, yeah.
03:36Civic Type R is going to be tough to beat.
03:39Oh, but I'm going to throw you a curveball because that's the Type R against the Lincoln Continental 1991.
03:47Ooh, so one is a car that invokes a passion, right?
03:52As far as like the driving experience and one invoking nostalgia because that used to be where I lived in
03:58the 1991 Continental.
04:00Um, gosh, that car was big and, and definitely, it definitely, uh, served me in life when I needed it.
04:08But I could put the back seat down in that hatchback and the Type R and probably sleep pretty comfortable.
04:13And I have to keep the Type R in the bracket.
04:16Okay, good.
04:17So I'm going to go again to the Nostalgia.
04:21So is it the Type R or the 89 Jeep Wrangler?
04:26Wow.
04:28We're going straight to the heart.
04:30I'm going to go with 89 Wrangler because I can't, I could get another 89 Wrangler,
04:35but it would be very difficult if I ever sold mine to track down the actual true car to get
04:41the VIN and make sure it's that car.
04:43I can get another, I can get another Type R.
04:46As a matter of fact, the 2027s are coming out and they did some, some really cool revisions that I'm
04:50not allowed to talk about,
04:52but I know what's coming and I'm very excited.
04:53So I'm on the list to try to get a 27 Type R.
04:56So I'll get another Type R.
04:58I'll, I'll never get another Jeep.
05:01Amazing.
05:02Yeah.
05:02So has anybody ever offered you an insane amount of money for that Jeep?
05:06It's not even a conversation.
05:09It's not even a conversation.
05:10It wouldn't be worth what they would offer and I wouldn't sell it.
05:15I'm, I'm, I'm in a position where I'm fortunate enough that it is not for sale.
05:20That's great.
05:21Um, so what about pitting it against the AMC Rebel Machine?
05:27Oh, man.
05:30Wow.
05:31Okay.
05:31So I'm, I'm going to take the, it's my first car and I can never get another one out.
05:38Yeah.
05:38The Rebel Machine is like, um, the one that got away.
05:42Uh, anyone who's a collector of anything, uh, it could, it could be autos.
05:47It could be, it could be action figures, stamps, doesn't matter.
05:51I think they have that one that got away.
05:54And gosh, I had a, uh, a type paint scheme Rebel Machine.
06:00No, that was a Scrambler.
06:01I had a Scrambler and a Rebel Machine.
06:03They're both red, white, and blue painted.
06:04And they're both like so quirky and so AMC.
06:08And, and those are cars that I, those got away.
06:12I'd love to have those back in the garage for a nice little rip.
06:15That's great.
06:16So great hearing you speaking with such passion about this.
06:19And I would go on, but I do want to ask you a few things about the movie.
06:24That's okay.
06:24Yeah.
06:25Thank you.
06:25By the way, those, you did your research.
06:27That's good stuff.
06:28We did.
06:29We did.
06:29I appreciate you saying that.
06:30I'm going to go check the one ads for an AMC.
06:34So after so many years in the WWE and now a good while in the action movie scene,
06:41um, is doing risky scenes and your own stunts, uh, very different, uh, doing it,
06:46doing them in the ring from doing them on a movie set.
06:50Very different.
06:51So the live choreography of WWE, I feel very fluent and knowing that you're not going to
06:57get a second chance.
06:58There almost is no wrong.
06:59Uh, if there is a stumble, it's live.
07:01So it's real.
07:03Um, it's very improvisational depending on, on the performer you're working with.
07:08I, I fancied myself a little bit more of a physical improv sort of person.
07:12Um, and the, the story is told in a shorter amount of time.
07:16Actually, you know what?
07:17The fights are so short in movies.
07:19It just seems like you're fighting forever.
07:21The stunts in movies to me, uh, harbor far less risk because the stunt, the, the larger
07:30than life stunts in WWE don't have, uh, safety cords.
07:34Um, it's, it's live as it happens.
07:37So it's like a lot, there's, there's a lot of variables that could happen and it's done
07:42usually in an arena in front of an audience.
07:43So there's just a lot of variables, um, movie stunts like me running up the chain bridge
07:49or hanging from a helicopter.
07:51Although I'm afraid I'm completely safe.
07:54It's just a matter of like a human being shouldn't be doing this and you got to overcome your fears,
07:58but it's incredibly safe fights and movies are so arduous because they take so long, so many
08:07takes of the same choreography over and over again, different angles where in WWE, the music
08:12hits, you go out, you do your thing, you have fun, you come back completely exhausted and
08:16like filled with energy because tens of thousands of people were super excited.
08:19And then you do it again the next night, uh, the movie fights, they're beautiful and they're
08:25exact.
08:25And it's, it's way more of like a dance where rhythm matters, timing matters, spacing matters
08:31where the WWE is a little more fluid.
08:33That's a good question, by the way.
08:35Oh, thank you.
08:36And that was a great answer.
08:38I, it was so interesting to hear the differences.
08:41And so to kind of do our last question, uh, one fact I love about you is that you hold
08:47the
08:47Guinness world record for most wishes granted on the Make-A-Wish foundation, which is amazing.
08:54And we were wondering if you could break another record of anything at all, what would you like
09:00it to be?
09:00Oh my goodness.
09:01Uh, longest lifespan.
09:03I, I love life.
09:05Uh, and every day I wake up curious and, uh, energized and enthused.
09:10And I think life is the greatest gift of all.
09:12So regardless of the state of chaos around me, as long as I wake up, that's a good thing.
09:17So I'm going to try to try to break that record.
09:20Oh, wow.
09:21That is so inspiring.
09:22I was not expecting that.
09:23That was so inspiring.
09:25Oh, thanks so much.
09:26I think we have like maybe half a minute left.
09:29So I'm going to end it on a very, um, fun note.
09:33So I know that this is your second Marvel movie, uh, not Marvel, Mattel movie.
09:37It is.
09:38Because you actually did a cameo in Barbie.
09:41You have done your homework.
09:42Would, which other Mattel franchise would you like to see, or maybe even be a part of,
09:49uh, in, in the next movie?
09:51So with a minute left, great question.
09:53Here's what I love about Mattel.
09:55They understand their intellectual property is known.
09:58They also understand the complex process of taking intellectual property that people
10:02know and feel some sort of way, and then putting it on screen for a movie.
10:07When I got the script for Matchbox, I was like, how the hell are they going to do this?
10:11I loved playing with these cars as a kid.
10:13I have an idea already in my mind what Matchbox is.
10:15How are they going to connect my passion to the screen?
10:18And when you watch Matchbox, it's not a hard sell.
10:21And we didn't have Mattel looking over our shoulder being like, hey, we need more of
10:25this.
10:26And that there's such great partners because they understand that the IP is already there
10:30with a passionate fan base.
10:32The job is to make a great film.
10:34Both Barbie and Matchbox are great examples of that, where I was there for, for both sets
10:39and Mattel just kind of let the creatives be creative and gosh, they're such a good partner
10:45as far as translating IP.
10:48So goodness, I, I'd, I'd be open to doing anything that they wanted to transfer because
10:52they're, they just understand that it doesn't have to be an exact transfer of what the toy
10:58is to the screen.
10:59And I think that's very important from a, from an IP standpoint as a partner.
11:05That's amazing.
11:05John, thank you so much for taking the time.
11:07The movie was so much fun to watch and I'm wishing it all the best for, for the premiere.
11:13Thanks so much.
11:13And great questions.
