A 16-time WWE world champion,John Cenafirst made his move from wrestling to on-screen acting inThe Marine(2006) and has since appeared in comedies like last year’sRicky Stanicky, Oscar-nominees likeBarbie, and massive franchises likeFast & Furious. Now, he’s going the way of fellow actorsJason MomoaandZac Efron, with a Roku Originals series,What Drives You, that Cena calls “a quasi-talk show/car show/travel show.”
In Cena’s first-ever, eight-episode talk series, the multi-hyphenate is changing up the talk show game by inviting celebrities to join him on the road. Cena will conduct interviews from the subject’s favorite vehicle, where they’ll discuss everything across the spectrum, from sharing laugh-out-loud moments to deeply personal subjects. To hear the host tell it, however, these interviews always turn into in-depth conversations, fueled by Cena’s genuine curiosity, where he creates “a safe place for people to talk authentically as themselves.”
It all began, Cena tells Collider’sSteve Weintraub, with a pitch to Roku for an idea he was passionate about: creating “a comfortable environment for people to just share thoughts and…become better acquainted.” The premise seems simple but offers celebrities the chance to open up and have long discussions about things that are important in their lives without fear. “Spend enough time in the car with somebody,” Cena says, citing his WWE days, “and you really do get great conversation.” Hence, the cars. The guests take Cena to special locations in the vehicle of their choice: guests likeBlink-182’sTravis Barker, fellow WWE personalityMike “The Miz” Mizanin, andLogan Paul.
In addition to talking about the series, Cena also talks about the importance ofPeacemakerSeason 2’s dance number, going platinum with his first and only self-financed album,You Can’t See Me, two decades ago, and his final tour in the WWE. Check out the full conversation in the transcript below to find out what his plans are should he win his match, which wrestler he’d co-star in a movie with, and which losses over the years had the biggest impact.
It’s Been 20 Years Since John Cena Became a Platinum Rapper
“That album was a labor of love.”
COLLIDER: What’s the most nervous you’ve been on the first day of filming something?
JOHN CENA: Man, probably the first day ofPeacemakerbecause it was a naked sex scene in the bathroom. Yeah, that was a nice way to start that film.
I understand why. This is the most important thing I’ll bring up during the interview: you are the only artist to go platinum on your first album and then retire from music, and this is back when people had to buy CDs. What does that mean to you to be a platinum-selling artist?
CENA: I think it is a great example of being foolishly brave enough to try because you never know what will happen. I’ll say that. That album was a labor of love. It was self-financed and pretty much handed over as a bet on myself and the people who made it. Man, we made, like, 80 tracks, and only a few made the album. I literally learned how to make music, and we made a whole lot of bad songs, but I’m really proud of it. At the end of the day, we all try to put our best foot forward, and the fact that folks listened to it, that makes me feel real good. It’s amazing you asked about it. I think the album turned 20 this year. So, 20 years ago, I was thinking of being a platinum rapper.
It’s funny you say that, this is Collider’s 20th birthday, also. When I started the site it was a hope and a dream.
CENA: Man, and here you are, two decades later, living the dream, dude.
John Cena Explains the Importance of the ‘Peacemaker’ Dance Numbers
“It does take a village.”
Right back at you. So, this will be the onlyPeacemakerthing that I ask you because I know you really can’t talk about it, but everyone has said there’s a new dance number forPeacemakerSeason 2. What was it like filming for you, and was it harder than Season 1 to get the moves right?
CENA: I will say filming the dance number in Season 1, even though it was written in the script the whole way through, so I knew months out we were going to film it, you still kind of scratch your head, like, “Is this going to work?” Then, when it became such a part of the show, I think everybody this time was just so excited, and I really think that’s going to show. I’m very happy with it. I want to say so much more, but I’ll just say I’m very happy with it. Everyone was super enthused and also understood how important it is this time around, and I really hope that shows. I know the show is great. In my mind, the opening number is great. I hope the world agrees.
I watched the credits for every episode ofPeacemakerbecause that dance number and song were the most addictive thing of that year.
CENA: It’s just a nice way to introduce everybody and also give everybody credit. I tip my hat to James Gunn. It does take a village, and gosh, we got so many heroes behind the camera. They should get a tip of the cap, too. So, it’s a great way to thank everybody for putting a whole lot of effort into making something good.
‘What Drives You’ Offers an Authentic Experience With Celebrities
“I spent a lot of time trying to strategically craft a…safe place for people to talk authentically as themselves.”
Jumping into the show, what was cooler, being a voice onThe Simpsonsor making music with Travis Barker?
CENA: I’ve got to say, man, I don’t think anyone could have talked me into the booth, and Travis just has a way about him of making you feel good about what you do. We talked about the 20th anniversary of the album. I told everybody I’ve kind of hung up the mic, but can’t wait for people to see that episode because Travis had other stuff in mind.
It’s fantastic. So, the show has eight episodes. Do you have a favorite?
CENA: Gosh, you know what, I really was looking forward to talking with The Miz because I truly do love him. We have such a long relationship, and we bonded over the time that we spent together, but it was really good to just get him one-on-one. People will see in the episode, you know when you get The Miz and you know when you get Mike [Mizanin], and each one of those facets is wonderful in their own way. I don’t think Mike gets enough time because he’s a really good dude, and I wasreallylooking forward to that.
But I’ve got to tell you, every single one, I really spent a lot of time trying to strategically craft a quasi-talk show/car show/travel show, but above all else,a safe place for people to talk authentically as themselves, even with folks that I didn’t know what I was going to get, man. It kind of harkens back to my days on the road with the WWE. Spend enough time in the car with somebody, and as long as it’s a safe space for conversation, you really do get great conversation. I was very, very proud that no guest wanted it too cool for school. It did take some guests more time to open up than others, but again, I’m really just proud of it for what it is.
You get to see cars, I go to celebrities' homes, and they take me to a place that’s important to them. You get a sneak peek in my garage at the end of every episode. If you’re a car enthusiast, you get plenty of that stuff; if you’re a fan of celebrities,we really do get some authentic conversation. There are also plenty of attractive spaces between the homes and the destinations that are important to the celebrities. It really is the celebrity kind of driving experience, for lack of a better term, and it shines through. Everybody comes off as authentically themselves.
I watched the four episodes they sent me, and if I had had more episodes, I would have continued watching.
CENA: It’s not crazy long. They’re easy to digest, some 20-odd minutes. And like I said, I think there’s enough variance to the episodes from location to the cars to the destination and whatever we talked about, and the button on the episode. They really do come out as a fun watch. It was a blast to do.
You clearly have an amazing car collection, and you tease one car in every episode. Do I even want to know how many cars you have? Do you rival Jay Leno, or is it like you’re building towards Jay Leno?
CENA: [Laughs] No. There’s only one Jay, and he’s got such knowledge and such a diverse assortment. I’ve always loved cars, and they’ll always have a space in my heart. I’ve got a few spaces in the garage for them.
If you get to do another season, would you target Jay Leno? Because I would imagine the two of you would talk cars nonstop.
CENA: That would be great. I mean, selfishly, I would love to see Jay’s collection and certainly pick his brain, and actually find out what drives him. That’s a great question to be able to ask people like that, especially car nuts. But when I pitched the show’s idea to Roku, they were like, “Well, what if someone does a rideshare? What if they pick you up in an Uber or Lyft?” I said that’s no problem because we can then philosophize about why they made that choice and where they’re going to take us in the Lyft.There’s no “wrong.”
That was another great thing about the show. You don’t have to be an enthusiast. I am a car enthusiast, and I believe that, just like fashion, there’s something you’re able to find out about someone by what they drive. We’re all human, and what you drive doesn’t completely and wholly define you, but it can be a nice trail of breadcrumbs to get to know someone. When you see a car, you may make some snap judgments about people that are backward or wrong, or they might be right on the bullseye. You get to lean into those things by having a conversation with people and doing it in the comfort of being behind the wheel of their own vehicle. I just thinkit allows people to open up more.
I hope we get to do another season, and with the others, if we get to do another season, I hope potential guests out there see the empathy that I’m trying to lead with to create a safe place for them to share whatever they want to with their audience.
How Much Prep Went Into Each Interview?
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” – Mike Tyson
This was your first time essentially being a talk show host and interviewing people on camera. How much prep did you do before sitting down and meeting up with someone, and how much was it you winging it in the moment and just talking as people?
CENA: I believe everything is won and lost in preparation, but I also believe — what’s the famous Mike Tyson quote? — “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Because it was such a free-flowing conversation, and these conversations were also very long. I think the minimum was 90 minutes, and the maximum, man, we had some going for two and a half to Joe Rogan-style, like three hours.I just wanted to be a good listener.If I had an agenda, I didn’t want to stick to that becausemy questions and my research and my prep isn’t my North Star. The North Star is to get this person who’s welcomed me into their home, into their car, and is taking me to some place of importance to share what they want, regardless of the prep I did. A lot of that ended up going out the window, but I think I wouldn’t be doing the show justice if I didn’t prepare for each guest and try to learn at least enough about each guest to hold, at the very least, the 45 minutes to an hour conversation. But in the end, I would say 5% of all notes got used, and it just ended up being a free-flowing conversation.
I completely understand. How involved were you in the editing process? Did you wait until they had a cut, and then you watched that cut?
CENA: Certainly, as a person who came up with the idea of the show, I wanted it to be what I saw in my head, but I don’t have the depth of field of a professional editor. Also, I’m trying to be better with micromanaging. I’m trying to trust the process and let pros do what pros do, and that paid off here big time. We had such a great team on the road with us, rigging all the cameras in the cars because the show is obviously on the move. Man, the edit just turned out great. There were only one or two places where I would speak up and be like, “What do we think about this, or what do we think about this?”
I would say nobody understood the show until we got in the first car, and then after the conversation, when we got out — I think the first one we filmed was The Miz — right after we got out, we got The Miz’s location. As the team was switching, everybody was like, “Oh, we get it now. Now I understand it.” So it just took that one ride for everybody to get up to speed, and then it clicked after that. I was just so lucky to film with Mike first because we have the closest relationship. I know the most about him. Then, man, it was such a great guiding light for the rest of the crew because they kind of picked up what we were trying to do.
With the guests you had, how much were the text messages from you to them saying, “Hey, I’m doing this show,” and how much was it other people landing guests?
CENA: I know the business in itself is the business of relationships and all that, but I didn’t want to call any favors.I wanted people to do it because they wanted to do it.So it’s not like I’m like, “Hey, I’m doing this show. Do you want to be on it?” I put the whole thing into a casting process, which was also great because I did have a friend like Mike on the show, and there are some other guests that I do have a depth of field with, but I also met a lot of new people, and that’s great because I got to learn a lot about people.
You genuinely see people’s enthusiasm as well as my curiosity just to want to know what makes this person tick or what drives them. I’m so glad that I didn’t curate the guest list. I’m so glad it was set up for me that way. I didn’t have any biases going in.Conversation with strangers is the whole ethos of the show. I wanted to create a comfortable environment for people to just share thoughts and, hopefully, over a car ride and a trip to a place that’s important to them, become better acquainted.
Will John Cena Return to Defend If He Wins His Last Match?
“This is a full-blown retirement.”
We have a lot of people at Collider who are very big wrestling fans, and I will tell you that we are getting more traffic on wrestling than we have in the past. I asked our people if there are any questions for you, and I’m going to read one of them: Everybody knows about your biggest wins in WWE, but the defeats tell just as important a story, particularly for what it meant to the wrestler who beat you. What are some of your favorite losses in WWE for the moments they created and the story told, and do you think it’s important for John Cena, the wrestler, to do the honors in your final match?
CENA: I’m going to answer the question backwards, probably because of my attention span. I thinkwhatever is best for both the audience and the business should happen in my last match, whatever that is. That is beyond my control. It always has been. I don’t own the company, so I don’t steer the ship in that direction, and I never have used any sort of influence to do that.
There were times when I lost a lot, and there were times when I won a lot, and there were times when I lost a lot. I don’t necessarily think that is as impactful as it may seem. Whatever is best for the business and for the fans is exactly what I’ll do.I think any time a loss was unpredictable.Some of the ones that come to mind are certainly The Rock in Miami was a fantastic loss; Kevin Owens’ debut was another great one that I thought was a really fun one; Rob Van Dam at Hammerstein Ballroom — anytime you can surprise people.
One of the biggest hang-ups in the middle portion of my career was that, spoiler alert, John wins. What people don’t understand is, I think now, maybe, as we begin to reflect back here on this last run of, like, “Hey, man, I was in it for the long haul,” and the way you make those losses impactful is sometimes you’ve got to win, and sometimes you’ve got to win a lot. But I thinkany time you’re able to pass energy on to somebody, that’s kind of the life cycle of the business. You come in an unknown and, hopefully, you get the flywheel spinning, you create all this energy on your way out, you pay it forward. You pass it off. So, however that can be done, that’s great. I think those three are three good ones. The Rock in Miami, because I don’t know if people could call that one, Kevin Owens’ debut, and RVD at Hammerstein. Gosh, that one was pretty special.
If you were cast in a big-budget action comedy movie, which WWE superstar would you love to partner up with?
CENA: I think the viewing public probably would get a kick out of… Usually, in the action-comedy space, it’s kind of oil and water, or two comedy styles that combat each other, and I don’t want to say “combat,” but I think people would dig me and CM Punk together.
I agree. You’re retiring this year. You’ve made that very public. If you’re still a champion after your last match of the year, do you think you would stick around to defend, or is it one of these things where you relinquish the title?
CENA: Gosh, here’s the last thing I want to do. I am honestly advertising this as the last time I’m going to be around in a performing aspect. This is the last time the t-shirt, the jorts, and the ball cap are coming out. So, regardless of what happens in the last scheduled match, I don’t want to get to the point where I lose the message.This is a full-blown retirement.The business has been great to me. I’ll be 48 in April, and for my health, I’ve got to step away. I wish I could do it in perpetuity, for infinity, because it’s the best feeling being out there, but it is time to step away.
The WWE is stacked right now. Like you said, you’re getting more traffic on wrestling than ever, and that speaks to the talent and how they’re kicking ass over there. So, I just wouldn’t want to dilute the message I’m trying to send. But yeah, I don’t know. Man, I’ll build that bridge when I get to the water. How about that?
CM Punk Sets His Sights on John Cena in Fiery WWE Raw Opening Promo
The two have major history.
100%. Listen, I’ve gotta wrap with you, but one last thing. I was a huge fan of André the Giant; have you ever thought about what it would have been like to wrestle André, and do you think you would have had any chance? He’s one of those iconic figures in wrestling.
CENA: I’ve often thought about that, and not because, “Man, would I have a chance of beating André the Giant?” Anybody’s got a chance, but come on. What I would want to know most is,it’s been really important to me to attempt to earn the respect of my peers, not only my coworkers, but those who have come before me. I was very fortunate enough to be brought up in a time of some of the last great territorial performers, and that’s kind of how I crafted my style after the wisdom that they gave to me. And everyone who was kind enough to give me any piece of information or any of their quote-unquote energy, I just wanted to know that it didn’t fall on deaf ears, and the only way I could do that was by absolutely living the business, be everywhere all the time, never take any days off, attack each opponent or episode of television with the most virtue and respect and energy and enthusiasm that I could and still can, and André was kind of the measuring stick back in the day.
If he liked you, you had a really good chance of sticking around. Not to say that you couldn’t be a success without that — André is famous for firing Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty on the spot — but it was kind of a different era where the locker room and the stuff that happened in the locker room had a lot more sway, and André was the measuring stick. If he took to you, I guess in that regard, you’d kind of made it.
