Paris Hilton

Hey, babes, it's Paris Hilton. So I was checking my points balance in the Hilton Honors app the other day and yeah, I've got about a billion, which feels excessive even for me. Just kidding. You can never have too many Hilton Honors points. And I want to do something iconic this summer, so I'm giving away all my Paris points. Just find somewhere you've always wanted to stay, then go to my socials or Hilton's and tell me about it. Just make sure you're a Hilton Honors member and I might be sending you Paris points because when you want points that make your summer even hotter, it matters where you stay.

John Cena

Foreign.

Amy Poehler

Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. We have John Cena with us today. Actor, wrestler, humanitarian, good citizen of the world. And John and I are going to talk about a lot of really fun stuff today. We're going to discuss what it's like growing up in the Boston area with four brothers. We are going to decide my new wrestling character and realize that it's going to be incredibly successful. We're going to talk about Little Brother, the movie that he's in, and how much fun he had working on it. And we're going to discuss how dress and suits are important to him. And because of that, I'm going to, after this intro, go spiff myself up and make sure that I am looking good for the interview. But we always like to start these interviews by checking with someone who knows our guest who wants to ask us a question to ask our guests and speak well behind their back. And we are talking to to our first undisputed champion on this show, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Cody is calling in on Zoom from a beautiful lake. And I just like that he's a champ. I love talking to champs. And let's see what Cody has to say about his buddy and at times enemy and always mentor, John Cena. So, Cody, are you there? This episode is presented by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking how long that recipe takes before you start cooking. Well, that's how you learn that simmer for four hours is buried halfway down the page. Yeah, checking first is a good idea. So check Allstate first for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings. Vary subjects to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. Cody? Hello? It's Amy.

Cody Rhodes

Hey, can you hear me?

Amy Poehler

We can hear you. How are you?

Cody Rhodes

I'm good. I'm Sorry if I was doing like the old people yelling, can you hear me? I don't know how loud I am at the moment. I'm outside.

Amy Poehler

Congratulations, champ. Nice to meet you.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah, very nice to meet you. I. I have to share this with you. You might have heard this already, but where I teach wrestling, we use bowling for votes as a part of the curriculum.

Amy Poehler

No way. How do you use it?

Cody Rhodes

So it's a way. What I suggest, I always ask is everyone. Anyone ever seen the show? Because I was a big fan of the show, but I always ask if they have and then they have to go home and watch that night. It's a way for young the prospective wrestlers to understand that social media. If you scroll through 300 positive things, but then you find that one guy who thought you were fat, there's no point. Go with everybody else. Go with the people who already had your back, you know. But we use that episode as brought up every camp and most people know it too. So it's actually a lot of fun.

Amy Poehler

Oh my God, that's so. That's so nice to hear. I would never think to ask if anything from parks is used in any kind of curriculum. Oh, yeah, but you're right. I bet you have young people who are trying to figure out how to participate in feedback, which is really hard, especially for a young person to like, not let that feel too personal.

Cody Rhodes

Well, particularly wrestling is brutal. I feel like every funnel is one thing, but I feel like wrestling and Star wars is the most divisive social I've ever seen.

Amy Poehler

It's.

Cody Rhodes

You can't just say you like a thing. Like a thing means you dislike something else and it means war.

Amy Poehler

Speaking about Star wars is really interesting. I'm sure you've made this parallel before. All this like hero's journey stuff is in the stuff that you all do, the stories that you make in the ring, it is very similar, which is the rise and fall and betrayal and trying to get figure out who you are in real time. There is a lot of Joseph Campbell parallels.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah, I always tell people the hero's journey for me as a baby face and John as a lifelong baby face. Lot of betrayal, lot of betrayal. Every week is new betrayal.

Amy Poehler

When you know a storyline is happening, when you know, for example, you're going to get betrayed, let's say by someone like John. Do you guys look at each other and go, yeah. Or do you look at each other and go, oh. I mean, you guys probably never make that sound, but

Cody Rhodes

I make that sound a lot internally throughout the course of the day because a lot of like, ah, ah. You know, but with John, particularly when John, if you've ever seen it, the moment where he hugs me and his face changes and he was so excited and I was more trepidatious in terms of he had never done that and he had ne. It didn't even make sense to do it at this point. He had never gone rogue, gone bad. So I just didn't want to screw that massive moment up.

Amy Poehler

Right.

Cody Rhodes

He taught me everything I know because I drove him around for two years before he got his big tour bus. John was such a fun riding partner. A lot of strict rules. We do this little ritual stop where he had to load up a Styrofoam cooler with an extra 24 beers in the back of the car,

Amy Poehler

just in case.

Cody Rhodes

I'd never seen anyone in terms of. He was our top star and the lead babyface at the time. The lead good guy.

Amy Poehler

And he this term babyface. I'm obsessed with this. Okay.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah. He is the ultimate baby face. Even after what he did to me, they were still cheering him and booing me. So it was like, all right, okay, thanks, guys. Jon is pretty great at the magic. And except for one area that is widely known to wrestling fans and wrestlers, Jon will not talk low are in carney, as we would say. Like, if I need to tell you, Amy, duck the clothesline. I'd say, like, dizzuck. You know something? This little carny.

Amy Poehler

It sounds like a little, like, fake language, like a pig Latin.

Cody Rhodes

It's like a pig Latin meets Snoop talk. But John yells everything that's gonna happen in the ring as loud as he can possibly yell it. He calls it for the first four rows. An interactive experience.

Amy Poehler

God, this is so helpful because one of my questions is, like, you know, is figuring out exactly how you all improvise, because you're improvising a lot. Obviously, a lot is written and, you know, beat it out. But you're, you know, you're talking about really big physical things that you have to figure out how to signal to each other in safe ways. Obviously. That's really funny. That screams. It screams.

Cody Rhodes

It screams it. And then there's the last match I had with him at SummerSlam. He's about to slam me with his big finishing move, which is the attitude adjustment from a table to another table. So it's highly dangerous. It's going to hurt. We're going to do it the safest way we can. But you can hear him yelling at me. Why I'm on his Shoulders that he can't see because my arm is over his eyes. And I never spoke back to John. I never wanted to speak back. He's a mentor to me and. But it was one of those moments where I thought, buddy, I'm the one doing this. I don't give. Just throw me, like, I'm not worried about your. Your screaming at the top of his lungs. I can't see.

Amy Poehler

I really love your relationship. You guys have a very brotherly relationship.

Cody Rhodes

Oh, good. Yeah, well, I mean, I can't think of another guy who didn't need to take the time. He definitely didn't need to. He had. He was the busiest guy on the roster. He took the time. He. I was another term. I was. He's not going to agree with this, but I was a job guy.

Amy Poehler

What's that mean?

Cody Rhodes

I was laying on my back looking up at the lights every night. I was the 3 second tan, as John calls it, you know, and he still wanted to. He had a belief in me.

Amy Poehler

Wow.

Cody Rhodes

You know he can speak a little French too. Yeah.

Amy Poehler

And Mandarin, right?

Cody Rhodes

Ah, the Mandarin.

Amy Poehler

I can't. It's so annoying. I was just saying, like, it's so embarrassing. I can't speak another language and I don't need somebody to be coming in here and showing off the two that they can speak.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

You know, it's like, keep it to yourself.

Cody Rhodes

Not on your turf, you know?

Amy Poehler

Exactly.

Cody Rhodes

Not on your turf.

Amy Poehler

We ask the people we speak to before our guests to ask, to give our guests a question. Is there anything big or small, dumb or serious that you think I should ask John about or you'd wanna know about him?

Cody Rhodes

Oh, man. What's he gonna do with all this knowledge? Right? What's he gonna do with it? We don't have a book yet, right? There's no book. Does he plan to write a book? And what is he gonna do with all this knowledge? And if he plans to do nothing, what was the point? I don't know. I don't know if that's any good, but what's the point, right? Too short. You're not going to be speaking Mandarin, you know,

Amy Poehler

it totally speaks to the bigger thing, which is like, I want to know, like, when. When do we all get to rest?

Cody Rhodes

Yeah. When do you finally go down, John? When do you rest?

Amy Poehler

Yeah, what's the thing that's going to take you down? What new thing?

Cody Rhodes

Yes, that's the thing. Something he's going to tackle, he won't be able to do.

Amy Poehler

Actually, that's a really good Question is, what can you not do?

Cody Rhodes

Well, he'll give you some. Some. Excuse my language. Oh, he'll give you some bs. Humble, Humble answer. God, he sees so well. He's so well put together. You got your hands full.

Amy Poehler

No kidding. But, you know, I do really well with these big guys.

Cody Rhodes

Oh, yeah.

Amy Poehler

I don't know what to tell you, but I'm just. I really know how to handle them.

Cody Rhodes

I'm a huge fan of the show, so. I know you do.

Amy Poehler

Oh, my gosh.

Cody Rhodes

Huge fan.

Amy Poehler

Thank you so much. It means so much that you talked to us today, and I know John will be so thrilled that we talked, and it's really nice to meet you.

Cody Rhodes

Very nice to meet you too. Have the best day, and thank you again. If you need anything and anyone wants to reach out, I got. I could talk about John for days.

Amy Poehler

Oh, awesome. Thank you so much for your time. Such a pleasure.

John Cena

Yes.

Cody Rhodes

You're welcome.

Amy Poehler

All right, champ. Talk to you later.

Cody Rhodes

Have a good one.

Amy Poehler

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John Cena

We enjoy a tasty beverage every once in a while, and I wanted to get you something that was, like, highly rated, but I didn't want to get you a hundred point wine, because with 100 point wine, when you drink it, you're like, I don't get it. It was something like 98. Like, oh, man, they got gypped. So hopefully it's a good glass.

Amy Poehler

Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much. This is so nice.

John Cena

A lot of fun conversations happen over wine.

Amy Poehler

I want to talk to you about wine. I know you love wine and you know a lot about it.

John Cena

I have had a lot.

Amy Poehler

You know a lot about it.

John Cena

I've had a lot of it, but

Amy Poehler

it is like that thing that you can just keep learning and learning and learning.

John Cena

As with most things, you can get deeper in the rabbit hole.

Amy Poehler

John Cena is here. I'm so excited that I changed into. I put a suit jacket on for you, so tie.

John Cena

I put a suit jacket on for you and a pocket watch for you.

Amy Poehler

And a P.O. is that a personal pocket watch?

John Cena

It is. I even have the.

Amy Poehler

Does it mean something?

John Cena

Of course it does. I even have my readers.

Amy Poehler

Wait, let's put our readers on. Let me see yours.

John Cena

I will do the full presentation again. Starts out as a monocle. Here we are.

Amy Poehler

Now that falls under some haberdashery.

John Cena

Thank you.

Amy Poehler

Yeah, thank you. I like that you do you like to wear a suit?

John Cena

I do, I do.

Amy Poehler

How come?

John Cena

I think, you know, I've tried to reflect on this. I think it has to do with uniformity. I do. So like there's the uniformity of knowing what you have, but then the freedom to. To do cool stuff within that, you know, like not exactly base suit colors. So there's an aggressive stance with the pinstripe, but it's still going to be like, okay, non low cut waistcoat, two button coat, everything fits.

Amy Poehler

Do you get them made for you?

John Cena

And that's another thing. Right. So like I used to hate suits because they used to be so uncomfortable.

Paris Hilton

Right.

John Cena

Until people were like, no, no, we make it around you. And I'm like, say what? And then someone made me a suit and I put it on and it felt like a warm up suit.

Amy Poehler

Yeah. Are you the same Gen as me? Are you Gen X?

John Cena

Yes, I believe so.

Amy Poehler

Okay.

John Cena

Yes.

Amy Poehler

So I feel like in our lifetime we've watched clothing get just more and more and more casual.

John Cena

In our lifetime, I feel we have watched clothing get more efficient.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

You know, this one suit is made of stretch fabric so you can run a mile in it and you never have to wash it. It's more of that.

Amy Poehler

Yes. And this connects to kind of what I wanted to start talking again.

John Cena

Just my lens.

Amy Poehler

Yeah. But I think it connects to a bigger thing which is there's something about the way in which you participate in what would almost be considered at times old fashioned things, which are professionalism, politeness, like wearing a suit, being able to be dependable. All those things sometimes feel like, sadly that they feel sometimes old fashioned experience. I've got a chance to work with you and had the pleasure to get to know you a little bit over the last couple of years. And like you're just such a professional John, like you're such a hard worker, you do what you say you're gonna do. And even the suit like feels like a symbol of like, I'm taking this seriously, I guess. Where does that come from? Have you always had that? Have you always been that person?

John Cena

So there's a lot there.

Amy Poehler

Okay.

John Cena

There's a whole lot there.

Amy Poehler

We've Got wine? We're fine.

John Cena

I don't know how. Simple. That simple? Yes. You want to be in shape, Go to the gym. Simple. Easy. I don't know.

Paris Hilton

Right.

John Cena

Those things aren't easy.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And you equate those things with success? Success is ambiguous. There is no one recipe for success.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

What I do is what I believe will get me the next opportunity. But I'm also wrong a lot of times. Where do I get those things? Through wisdom and experience. If we were doing this interview in 2005, I would have an oversized sports jersey on. I would have a backwards Mitchell and Ness hat on. I would have come in with more diamonds than I've ever seen in my life. Or I need. I would have been wearing a set of Reebok pumps and a set of jorts, and I never would have broken the character of the Doctor of Thuganomics. Yeah.

Amy Poehler

You would have stayed there, because that,

John Cena

at the time, I felt was my path to success. How did I get these things? Good question. So I don't know how to succeed. I don't. I always try to put odds in my favor, and I appreciate people's opportunity. I'm also not supposed to be here. I'm a kid from West Newberry who didn't train for this. I didn't put in the hours of improv classes like you. It's like a happy accident. All said. Life hands people opportunity and hands people some bad cards. If you get an opportunity card, man, try to work to make the most of it.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

I am where I'm at because I know how to fail. And I talk to people about this a lot, and I want to try to. I'm trying to expand on this idea to get it out to people.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

The things you do in life, I can guarantee you will fail if you are unreliable, unprofessional, uninvested, and uncoachable. Those four things. And I don't mean like work. I mean like life.

Amy Poehler

It's so interesting you say that, because sometimes when people ask about succeeding in the kind of stuff that I do, I always say something that it feels like almost simple, but it's like, just be fun to work with. And it falls under that category, which is when people want you around, you get more opportunity. It's the final product of what's gonna happen in your life to your point, about what you're gonna be successful at. You never know. You don't even know if it's gonna be what you want. It always changes. But the experience, the way people feel around you. They remember. They remember. I liked working with that person. I had a good time or I

John Cena

liked seeing that person. I liked being entertained by a good interaction. That doesn't necessarily guarantee success. What I'm not saying is if you're coachable, professional, reliable and passionate, you will succeed. Because there's still a level of magic dust and ambiguity and luck and things beyond our control. I can't tell you how to succeed. What I can do is if you are unprofessional, uncoachable, uninvested and unreliable, you will fail 100% guaranteed.

Amy Poehler

I wanna talk to you about your thoughts about winning and losing and about collaboration. And I feel like it goes back to probably the fact that you grew up in a family with four brothers, five boys. Amazing.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

That is a feat. Your mom, well, I mean, she had a. Albeit she had probably a tough

Amy Poehler

30 year run, I would say we got a chance to. So John and I got to work together a few different times. And you told me a story about your brothers and you in crayons.

John Cena

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

Can you tell that story?

John Cena

Yeah, sure. So the house was wonderful and not too many safety guards. So if helicopter parenting is like constantly looking over your kid. My parents were submarine parents. Like, I don't know, I'm trying to find the basement.

Amy Poehler

They were hiding in the basement.

John Cena

I think the only thing safety concern was at night we do like a 10 in 10 inspection. You got 10 fingers, you got 10 toes, go to sleep. That was such a cool thing to have as a young person because we essentially could have an idea and do the idea.

Amy Poehler

Amazing.

John Cena

So because there were so many of us and my dad would work and my mom would stay home, we would just do stuff like in a box of 64 crayons, if one kid was behaving and coloring in the lines, three other kids grabbed as many as they could and just ran on the wall and did whatever. Just to be like, this is great. Because at the time doing that as a kid, that is great.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

But my poor mom would be like, oh man, Matt, what a great. What the.

Amy Poehler

I can't even imagine.

John Cena

Meanwhile, like laundry for an army is pulling up.

Amy Poehler

And then she's like, oh my God,

John Cena

now I gotta feed everybody again. I just fed you guys three hours ago.

Amy Poehler

Taking years off her life.

John Cena

Oh, man. But honestly, she. She had an uphill climb for three decades. And now all of us collectively as a group are like, man, we need to make sure she's doing all right. Always. So these last four plus decades have been a different chapter in my mom's life, and especially like the last 20 between all of us and her have been real special.

Amy Poehler

I want to ask you about that because I know you've done some very special things for her. But growing up in Boston, you in the 80s, not like, you know, were you guys. Was your family, you know, like, were you known as, like the Cena brothers?

John Cena

Oh, my God, yes.

Amy Poehler

And they all came, walked together.

John Cena

So this. I grew up in West Newberry. We gotta take Boston out of the equation.

Amy Poehler

Well, we all say Boston, no matter

Cody Rhodes

where we grew up.

John Cena

Anything around, no one cares.

Paris Hilton

Right.

John Cena

So West Newberry is. If you keep going northeast of the state of Massachusetts to the New Hampshire line, there are some old maritime towns that are quite beautiful.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And inland, there are some even smaller farming towns. And that's West Newbury. Twelve hundred people. And in 1985, your neighbor is acres away and you got to ride bikes everywhere. It was like out of a movie. It was like Goonies.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

You know, and you were your own. It was awesome. So, yes, we were the cenas. And we could show up and a basketball game would ensue because we've brought the team. It was an incredible place to grow up.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And I'm so glad I didn't stay there because it is not a diverse look at the world.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

But, man, what a cool place to grow up.

Amy Poehler

Especially because when you're a young boy, like, boys, Young boys are sometimes like dogs. You have to kind of like run them out. You have to run them.

John Cena

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

They need like a yard and you just throw the ball.

John Cena

We had acres and like, we could go out in the forest and try to burn the forest down. Thank you, West Newbury Fire department. Or we could have, like, pick up football games that would end in brawl for alls. Parents are just pulling up in their cars and ripping. That's my kid. But it was great. And it was great.

Amy Poehler

And did you learn how to, like,

John Cena

I learned how to lose a fight, which I think is really, like, any tips? That's why I'm a diplomat. Like, you get your ass kicked a few times and you're like, yo, that this sucks.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

And what are some rules to lose a fight? Like, what did you learn by losing a fight?

John Cena

Humility, embarrassment, Physical harm. And another thing is, like, winning a fight also sucks. It doesn't feel good.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

Especially when you're like, man, we just fought over, like, who gets to play bases loaded next, like, what? And that kid's hurt.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

So you get on both sides of that equation.

Amy Poehler

Yeah. I don't think people realize that, you know. And when we grew up in my high school, there was a fight every day after school. And it was like, oh, who's going to fight today after school? And women too young.

John Cena

It was common.

Amy Poehler

It was very common. And in fact, when I went to college for a while, I would go to parties and I would just kind of stand there.

John Cena

It's like an episodic 3 o' clock high.

Amy Poehler

Yes. And people. And people would be like, what are you worried about? I'm like, there's too many people here from different towns. Like this is gonna go down the different town thing. Different towns. If someone showed up at your party from a different town, forget it. Yeah, but as you know. And not.

John Cena

So you show up at a Morris party. But if the Haverhill kids show up.

Amy Poehler

Exactly.

John Cena

Yikes.

Amy Poehler

Like kids from Woburn show up. Like, it's gonna be a bloody mess. But do you have big guy growing up as a tough guy with brothers. But also you felt like you were bullied a little bit.

John Cena

I was. I got the shit kicked out of me every day. Every day. Cause I was a scrawny kid and dressing like MC Hammer and Bel Biv Devoe. It was like if Belle Bivid DeVoe and MC Hammer ran into each other. Yeah. Rayon and airbrushed denim.

Amy Poehler

And you got picked and you got

John Cena

high top fade beat up by your

Amy Poehler

brothers or by people.

John Cena

By my peers. So it was a multi town high school where the junior high is at one place in high schools at one place. And Merrimack's buses were here. And Groveland's buses were here and West Newberry's buses over at a high school. And I'm in junior high. And you have to like. I see the walk down the sidewalk as if it was yesterday. I'm walking down the sidewalk and I'm passing the kids who are like 15, 16, who can't drive yet and still have to go to the bus. And I'm the one sob wearing like rayon polka dots in an 80s rock country music combat boot denim, you know, mullets. Like you can paint the picture. I stand out like a sore thumb. And I was an easy target. And like a scrawny skinny kid. Even something as simple as like, boom, down the hill I go, right? Shitty comment. Like that was on the daily. That was like the daily.

Amy Poehler

But that's trauma. That's traumatic, John.

John Cena

I appreciate you saying that.

Amy Poehler

That's traumatic.

John Cena

Life deals us all hills to climb. Yeah, I doubled down. It was a great experience. For me, here I sit, dressed loudly as myself. I don't have a stylist. I prefer to do these things without makeup because I want people to see me as me.

Amy Poehler

Now, I understand this.

John Cena

If I'm creating a character, put as much shit on me as you want. But this is me, and this is how I feel comfortable. When those kids picked on me for how I dressed, I would go straight to Liberty Tree Mall and be like, what is worse than this? Yeah, I'm turning it up.

Amy Poehler

I got the Liberty Tree Mall.

John Cena

And then, like. And then I found weights. So I didn't learn to fight. I wasn't like, yo, I gotta learn to fight. I'm just gonna project. The art of, like, the math isn't so much in your favor anymore. And by the time I got over to the new building, I was 15. I'd been working out for two and a half years, and I was stronger than everybody. So it was like, ah, I may get them, but if I catch a stray, I'm gonna get my teeth knocked out. So it hedged. Like, it worked.

Amy Poehler

So what's it like to go home to Boston?

John Cena

It's wonderful, actually.

Amy Poehler

Yeah. They must feel like they really. Cause the one thing I'll say, one of the things about Boston that's really lovely is your hometown really embraces you. Like, if they feel like if they have some pride in you, you really feel it when you go back. Like, people really feel like they share. Like, look, you always know from Bostonians how they feel. They tell you to your face, you're good, you're bad.

Paris Hilton

I like you.

Amy Poehler

I don't like you.

John Cena

It's weird. They do, but they don't. I want to. I'll elaborate on that, but continue.

Amy Poehler

Yeah. No. Do you think I'm wrong? That they're more passive aggressive?

John Cena

No, no. They'll tell you how they feel about you.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

They'll never tell you how they feel.

Amy Poehler

Oh, no feelings and that.

John Cena

Like, so that's why. That's why recently, going home has been way better.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

Because my brothers are all hitting that, like, late 40s, approaching the half century now. And we all have wisdom of, like, yeah, man, it's kind of a. Kind of a shitty mindset if somebody's like, hey, how's life? And you're like, ah, it's taking forever like that.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

But that's also West Newberry.

Amy Poehler

Totally.

John Cena

And, man, as beautiful as the landscape is, sometimes there's a. A lot more anchors than sales over there.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

You know, and I love the pride you're Right. Like when someone from a community makes it, the community has made it.

Amy Poehler

That's right.

John Cena

I like that.

Amy Poehler

That's right.

John Cena

Because that's a win for everybody. Hopefully it gets everybody's spirits.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And I don't mind that. It's just sometimes hard to get anything real out of anybody.

Amy Poehler

Oh, babe. The idea of figuring out your feelings and saying them in real time, that was not what we grew up with.

John Cena

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

I mean, I still kind of can't believe sometimes when people are able to locate their feeling and then say it, it's like, how did you do that? Because we just. It's a skill. It's a skill to figure out what you're actually feeling, feel it, and then express it. That's like a lifetime of work. And when you're around culturally, this thing and this feeling of just like, to your point, there's a lot of, like, a lot of comedy, a lot of self deprecation, a lot of self deprecation and a lot of.

John Cena

A lot of doom and gloom and pessimism.

Amy Poehler

A lot of pessimism and a lot of action over words. Right. So someone's not gonna say necessarily say like, I love you, but they're gonna like, fix your tire.

John Cena

Oh, the. Yeah, the fuck you broken down for, you fucking idiot? Let me fix your tire. All right. Get the fuck outta here. Fuck off.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

Like, that's literally their way of saying, like, oh, man.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

Tough day, right?

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

Let me help you out here. I hope everything goes better for you. But it's not that.

Amy Poehler

No, it's not that.

John Cena

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

No.

John Cena

Asshole. You can't even fuck a roof. A house. I'll get up and fuck a roof in two hours.

Amy Poehler

You told me a story, though, about. And I want to get to wrestling because I have so many questions about it. And as a person who. The Bostonian in me had an early experience with it, but it's changed so much.

John Cena

We've kind of lived in the same world, though.

Amy Poehler

I know. Okay. Your mom, you bought her a house.

John Cena

My mom earned a castle.

Amy Poehler

But that story.

John Cena

So we settled on a house.

Amy Poehler

Okay, just tell a little bit of that story how it went, if you don't mind.

John Cena

There's never any land for sale in West Newberry.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

And there came a large plot for sale in the height of development, and it was heavily overpriced. I don't know if anyone was following the financial ticker, but Something happened in 2008, and that same price, everybody made good decisions. Well, the culmination of all those good Decisions happened, and they stopped pouring the champagne. The person who was selling the property came back and said, hey, we just want to recoup our engineering costs. Would you still be interested? So a value opportunity came up of like, I don't need this, but I have an idea of what I can do with it. And my brother Dan just so happened to be in really good graces and working for a contractor at the time. And he's one of the most respected individuals in our small building community. Met with him, and I kind of specked out, like, what would this idea take in real time? He's like, less than the cost of what they offered you to buy the place for. I'm like, you can do all this. He's like, I can't. It's like, I'd like you to put your name on this place and make it something you're proud of. He's like, I still can do that. Okay, do it. And like, a secret meeting like this.

Amy Poehler

Oh, my God.

John Cena

Everyone wearing suits, a lot of smoke. Everybody, scotch. It was 8am it was like, dan, we're doing this. Don't fucking say a word. The story is, I'm moving back home. So building a house takes a long time. And it's a beautiful plot on the hill where, like, from three towns over, you can see what's going on. So now we got a clear land and we're digging trenches, and we're building this nice, beautiful New England home that exposes itself to the river. It's got viewpoints, it's got this crazy copper dome and all this stuff. Everything is settled for, like, creatively. Everything's on the first floor, and there are multiple floors, but everything you need to get in and out of the access is on the first floor. And everybody's watching the project, and everybody's like, when are you coming home? And everyone in the family's kind of excited. And meanwhile, I'm still in my residence, happy in Florida. So it finally gets done two years later, and it's around Thanksgiving, which is a great time in New England, because everyone comes home for Thanksgiving and they go to the bars for Thanksgiving and the Thanksgiving football game. My mom's birthday is close to Thanksgiving, so we throw a Thanksgiving thing. And it's not for my mom's birthday. Everybody comes over. Cause we're keying the door to the house for the first time. Place still smells new. And taking everybody for a tour. And I'm bragging about like, ah. And this is this. And this is this thing. And I built a Bar over the garage. Cause I had to add one space for me. My mom doesn't like that, but she wanted to come see the whole house. And when everybody gets in the bar room, I give my mom a birthday present, and it's the key to the house. And she, like, lost it. Like, she absolutely. She's like, I can't. I can't. I'm like, no, it's already taken care of. Movers are coming tomorrow. My mom was living in the third floor of, like, a triple family in an attic in 300 square feet with her stuff packed in, and she was just by herself. Packed in, and she was content and happy. That's who my mom is. She's a lunch pail blue. Like, she'd go to work, she wouldn't accept it. So then I had to negotiate. I had to be a diplomat of like, you don't understand. There'll be trucks there tomorrow. Everyone's on board. We're gonna move your stuff over. I'll tell you what. It's. It's already here. This isn't for me. Could you please at least give it a try so all this doesn't go to waste? Well, if it's gonna go to waste, and that was, like, 15 years ago, and she's been there ever since. And now it's her place. And we get together there on holidays, and it's her place.

Amy Poehler

And that's what a son should do for his mother.

John Cena

Well, again,

Amy Poehler

your mother, a house.

John Cena

She earned it. She absolutely earned it.

Amy Poehler

It's such a beautiful story, too, because you also included everybody in that surprise, you know, like. And you. I just think. I don't know. I just think it's so indicative of how you're always kind of thinking about, how can I extend my gratitude? You're such a generous, generous person. And we'll talk about that. But after this, my parents are gonna call me and say, why haven't you

Paris Hilton

bought me a house?

Amy Poehler

100%. Bill and Eileen are gonna be like,

John Cena

we're against the wall. We have no space.

Amy Poehler

We heard John on the podcast, and we're wondering why you haven't built us a house. This episode is brought to you by Hershey's. Now we've got to have a tough debate that we're bringing to you straight from the campfire. Are s' mores better when the marshmallow's gooey or toasty? Got a strong feeling about it. Course you do. When you're putting it to the test, just remember that nothing makes a s'. More. Like Hershey's chocolate. Join the heated debate at Hershey's. She's on social media and let us know if you're Camp Gooey or Camp Toasty. This episode is brought to you by CarMax. Thinking of selling your car but still a little unsure if or how? Start by getting an online offer from CarMax. It's a real offer, worth real money, but there's no pressure to take it. CarMax gives you up to seven days to compare offers and think it over. And when you're ready to sell, they'll pick the car up directly from your home. Get a real offer today@carmax.com at home pickup not available in all locations. Distance restrictions and fees may apply. This episode is brought to you by carmax. Okay, hear me out. When carmax says that you can buy your way, they really mean it. Shop for cars from your sofa, the subway, the hair salon, wherever. And the price you see is the price you pay. No negotiating, no last minute surprises. Plus, every car is CarMax certified and backed by a 10 day money back guarantee. So you can shop and buy with confidence. It's all about what works for you. Want to drive CarMax? Shop now@carmax.com this episode is brought to you by Visible. Folks, it's officially summer. Whether you're planning summer travels or staying home to watch all the action in the villa, you need a wireless network that keeps you connected and you don't have to splurge. With Visible, you get unlimited 5G data and unlimited hotspot powered by Verizon for just $25 a month so you can save and order some extra spritzes this summer. Visible is more than just a wireless plan. It's unlimited wireless designed to always keep you. And there's no contract to tie you down. Switch today at visible.com plans start at $25 a month. Or get the premium visible plus pro plan and save $10 on your first month. When you use promo code hang terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details. You know, my dad used to take me to wrestling in the 80s. We used to go see.

John Cena

You're kidding.

Amy Poehler

No. So we used to see Hulk Hogan.

John Cena

Where?

Amy Poehler

Sergeant, I know you're gonna ask me this. I forget. Maybe like the Worcester Center.

John Cena

Worcester Centrum.

Amy Poehler

Or as we would say, Worcester.

John Cena

The Worcester.

Amy Poehler

So it was Hulk Hogan, Sergeant Slaughter, the Iron Sheik. Yeah, high 80s, you know, very.

John Cena

So here's the cool thing. There were a lot more performers on that card, but you remember, like Americana patriotism.

Amy Poehler

Totally. Yeah. It was USA all the way xenophobic.

John Cena

All that. But that's.

Amy Poehler

That was totally. That was a time. And I remember watching it and being like, almost like, you know, in retrospect now, it was kind of like the closest we could get to Las Vegas or something. Like, it was like. It was like how. It felt like a. Like a high level, high energy performance.

John Cena

That's pretty. That's on the bullseye.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

With audiences that were really, really invested.

John Cena

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

And can you explain. I mean, wrestling to me feels like a combination of dance, choreography, writing and story and magic that you will never know the secrets to.

John Cena

I'll take that.

Amy Poehler

Okay. Is that fair?

John Cena

I think that's very fair.

Amy Poehler

So when you are performing and you are in that arena and the audience gets to interact with you and you are. How much have you prepared for that day? Because the difference is, like any other performance, there is such skill needed for the physical. I mean, Cirque du Soleil doesn't wing it.

John Cena

No.

Amy Poehler

But there's amount of improv in wrestling that I noticed when I would see it and also when watching it. Now, that is like, I can't always tell how much is prepared, how much is actually prepared and rehearsed.

John Cena

I guess it completely depends on the performers.

Paris Hilton

Okay.

John Cena

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

Some likes that, some don't.

John Cena

Some.

Amy Poehler

What do you like to do?

John Cena

I like to be an improvisational performer.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

But that is not. I don't go out and wing it.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

I prepare my ass off. So I start with the creative part. What is the story? So if we're fighting over the fact that you stole 10 grand from me.

Cody Rhodes

Right.

John Cena

Everything I do is gonna relate back to your theft, and everything you do is gonna defend that you never took it. And the thing that WWE is different than snl, that is different than sketch. The audience is the act. Not observing the act. The audience is the act. So as a performer, the way I approach it is. Okay, I have 25 minutes. We have a match together. And we've been telling the story of. You've stolen something from me.

Amy Poehler

$10,000 for three weeks.

John Cena

This is a lot of money.

Amy Poehler

You needed it for your.

John Cena

I was gonna pay off my mom's house.

Amy Poehler

Pay off your mom's house.

John Cena

And you took that away from me.

Amy Poehler

And now she can't get in, and

John Cena

now she's gonna be evicted.

Amy Poehler

Yep.

John Cena

So just by.

Amy Poehler

What are you gonna do about it?

John Cena

You've kicked my mom out of her house.

Amy Poehler

Yeah. That's so good.

John Cena

You did that.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And I almost. This was the last payment.

Paris Hilton

Yeah.

John Cena

You Know, I got my.

Amy Poehler

And I got the keys, and I'm just swinging them right in front of you.

John Cena

Yeah, yeah. So now, you being a creative mind, we could have that wrestling match right now.

Amy Poehler

Right?

John Cena

Give us 25 minutes. I'll take 35.

Amy Poehler

Okay. I love that. And then you're right. So all the moves are kind of connected to that, Right. Like, everything goes back to that theme.

John Cena

And here's where it gets very interesting. If the story dictates in this match, it dictates you've stolen something from me. We're gonna ring the bell. I'm gonna show that I'm more skilled and I've earned the right to make this payment. You're gonna cheat just like you stole and be like, no, I'm better. And then there's gonna come a point in the story where the crowd is like, would you do something? It's the typical Hulk up. It's called the Comeback. So what I do is we have our why. What we need to really rehearse is from the Comeback to the finish.

Amy Poehler

Okay.

John Cena

And that's usually.

Amy Poehler

I see what you mean.

John Cena

That's usually the why we need to

Amy Poehler

rehearse the physical part of it.

John Cena

The third act.

Amy Poehler

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

John Cena

The third act needs to be ad nauseam. You need to have it right.

Amy Poehler

Because you're doing dangerous things.

John Cena

You are doing dangerous things. But there's a fundamental trust between performers that, you know X skill. I know X skill. And the conversation we can have before is, do you do anything specific that's outside of the fundamentals that I should know about?

Paris Hilton

Right.

John Cena

And the person who leads gets all that information and stores all these things in their card catalog. The third act needs to be prepared because it can also change.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

Basically, you use the first two acts to go out and improvise, Right? And if we get out there in the Worcester Centrum, which I believe to be a rowdy crowd, but slightly different than Boston and Hartford, but they change. And they're like, we're for you.

Amy Poehler

Right? We don't want that mom to have her house.

John Cena

But keep in mind, we need to. We need to gear for that moment where they're like, john, do something. So immediately, a piece of line that I would throw under the water is, punch me in the face. And they might cheer.

Amy Poehler

You would say that to me. Punch me in the face.

John Cena

I would say, immediately punch. Whatever we had planned. If we talked about something and they came out and we're like, yeah, hey, me. I'm like, punch me in the face now. Or like, you want to make sure I will go out and turn my shoulder to the crowd as if I'm confused. And when I come back, hit me in the face. Bam. So we did two things there. You threw the first punch, which is not fair. It's not virtuous, and you did it when I wasn't looking.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

So it's these subconscious things of, like, they're for Amy, but this is my mom. And bam. Oh, geez. Get on me. Come here. And then I would have you just beat the tar to me. And they might like that. And then I would just have you lean into that. Yeah. Where it becomes like, oh, man. It's like watching a bad fight. And then I would just listen to be like, well, come on, do something. Do something. Nah, screw you.

Cody Rhodes

Do something.

John Cena

Okay, duck. Here we go. And then we go into Now. We have the. Now. The audience is working with us rather than against us. But there have been instances where the people behind the curtain will tell the ref to tell you, like, switch the finish. So we've decided that the other person is gonna win. So if you're super prepared, you can change things and change in real time. Now, keep in mind, as I'm saying, when I turn around, punch me in the face. I'm listening to the crowd. I'm hoping you're gonna be there. I'm also listening to my ref. So sorry, that is. I thought that was real.

Amy Poehler

No, it's fake.

John Cena

So real ruse. Anyway, I have the ref being like, you have 17 minutes left. You have 16 minutes left. So it's all happening in real time. And there are coaches watching you from behind a curtain that will tell the ref what they think you should do.

Amy Poehler

Right? Oh, you're getting. You're getting notes in real time.

John Cena

In real time.

Amy Poehler

But that's why live TV is so great.

John Cena

It's great. That's why I wanted to do it forever. And I just physically, I can't do it anymore. But that's why when anyone says, what do you like more wrestling? Yeah, that's why I got run out of Hollywood.

Amy Poehler

The first time in life you talked about that. I love what you said, which is like, look at what we just talked about.

John Cena

That that's fucking great.

Amy Poehler

Right?

John Cena

Like, you can feel the excitement. I want to be there now.

Amy Poehler

The noise.

John Cena

And then when you get fluent at it, when you're like, oh, I kind of understand this. I'll do this. And then the challenge becomes like, oh, man, the UK crowd is throwing a beach ball around. How the do I work that into the act. Go out and get that thing and pop it. When you come back, I'm gonna give you my finish. Real time. This stuff. I've had people get married. I've had people start fights and stands. And we work it all into the actual.

Amy Poehler

That's amazing.

John Cena

Just cause you're prepared.

Amy Poehler

It's the opposite of, like, doing stand up and not wanting a heckler. Basically. You want that feeling that people are listening and participating.

John Cena

Here's the thing. It's not that we want it, it's just. It is. It is stand up. The kind of protocol is like, enjoy the comedy. Don't heckle.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

Here it's like, you have paid your money to heckle.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And there's 12,000. All right. Good luck. And you can. You can heckle en masse.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

Chants start out that are too hot for tv. That Netflix is turning us off and turning us off. The audio goes out like, it's. It's crazy. And you can't. The more you try to be like, calm down, everybody.

Amy Poehler

Yeah, of course. You don't want to be the calm

John Cena

down character that you're working with.

Amy Poehler

That would be my character.

John Cena

Part of the act.

Amy Poehler

I would be like, you guys, calm down. Stop. I'd be like, guys, it's so loud. That would be my thing. Guys, it's so late.

John Cena

We're in Massachusetts.

Amy Poehler

I'd be like, it's so late and so loud. I'd be like, fighting. Why are we fighting? This is crazy. That would be my character.

John Cena

Did you hear that?

Amy Poehler

Let's take a nap.

John Cena

Do you hear that off in the distance? It's the money printing machine. It is.

Amy Poehler

Take a nap.

John Cena

Oh, man. Calm down. Shirts. We sell chamomile tea. Oh, my God.

Amy Poehler

That's actually a great idea. I can hear the money where I come in and get. And all of my hold. All of my moves are like. To just be like, quiet. Just like. And I just. I snap and they go down.

John Cena

Just be quiet.

Amy Poehler

Oh, quiet.

John Cena

Come on.

Amy Poehler

And then everybody brings their blankets in and they're like, shh.

John Cena

Everybody calm down.

Cody Rhodes

Wait.

John Cena

We sell big foam hands. Wait, calm down, Amy.

Paris Hilton

1.

Amy Poehler

When the entire space is quiet.

John Cena

CDA.

Amy Poehler

Calm down, Amy. CDA.

Paris Hilton

It's.

Amy Poehler

Instead of CBD oil, it's CDA.

John Cena

We'll get you that. We'll get that brand partnership working. This.

Amy Poehler

This is fucking genius.

Cody Rhodes

We did this here.

Amy Poehler

We just did this here.

John Cena

And here's what's also so crazy about the wwe. You might see that character. They'll maybe watch me, like, yeah, they're onto something. Get the cdd.

Amy Poehler

I love what you said in your transition to acting is that it was confusing to not have the show, you know, like the super long hours, lots of waiting around for your time.

John Cena

Different mindset.

Amy Poehler

Totally. And you spoke about how in the

John Cena

beginning it was really confusing as a young 20 something.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

I want it to be there. And I want to go to the bar afterwards.

Amy Poehler

Yeah, Right.

John Cena

And then do it in the next

Amy Poehler

town and then the next town and get instant feedback.

John Cena

It's the best.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And I'm not saying, like crushing it is awesome. It's the best when you bomb.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

It's the best.

Cody Rhodes

Right.

John Cena

Because then you're like whizzing to be like, I got another performance in 24 hours. What do I do? Like, it's the best.

Amy Poehler

Yeah. And you don't get feedback when you're shooting. I mean, you do from the director. It's different.

John Cena

It's a different mindset. And it took me appreciation of the mindset to really apply. And people like you to bet on me and know that, like, oh, man, I'm getting an opportunity here. What can I do? Show up early and fucking be prepared. Be ready to go.

Amy Poehler

I mean, okay, so we worked together in a movie called Sisters, me and Tina, the great Paula Pell. And it was so fun.

John Cena

Tons of comedians. Great cast, great cast. We stacked that thing.

Amy Poehler

It was so fun to work with you. And you and Paula Pel fell in love. You love each other. And I. I mean, to me, we

John Cena

had a few conversations over wine.

Amy Poehler

You and Paula had a few wine. What did you guys do? You guys hung out and drank wine a lot. I mean, what's so great about Paula? What do you love about her?

John Cena

I like her. Her perspective. I love her courage, man. Like, I just like that energy. Like again I say anchors and sales. She's a sale. You know, like, always curious, always creative, off the wall. I just know, I know any idea is gonna have like that whimsy, that magic in it.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And I wanna be with those people.

Amy Poehler

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you. Were you a big comedy fan growing up? Cause you've done a lot. What were you watching? What? We were all watching snl. And what were you watching growing up

John Cena

at a young age? I was watching stuff I shouldn't be watching. So my dad was the only person in my only male in New England that care for sports. Not kidding. Like, we never grew up with the Red Sox, the Celtics. That stuff all happened when I got to junior high.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

And I had to fall In a peer group. So, like, I gotta. I gotta start caring about sports.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

My dad liked old 80s titty comedies and pro wrestling. Like, Benny Hill, he loved. So I'm watching, like, Benny Hill.

Amy Poehler

My people don't understand how important Benny Hill was. I mean, unless you're my dad. And now. You watch now and you're like, jesus Christ, this is a terrible show. Like, Betty Hill is talking about Predator.

John Cena

It just didn't age well for the time.

Amy Poehler

But at the time, I remember being a little kid being like, what is this?

John Cena

Yep.

Amy Poehler

A lady standing behind a bunch of melons. And Benny Hill's like, he, he, he. Like a cartoon character trying to grab anything.

John Cena

There's always a chase scene. Physical comedy.

Amy Poehler

And it was like, why? What is this? Like, yeah. And so in our psyche, Benny Hill.

John Cena

Yeah. The chase with the music has become a meme. You don't have to do the Benny Hill style, but you do the chase and the music, and it's a meme.

Amy Poehler

And did they watch, like.

John Cena

They watched, like, Kentucky Fried Movie?

Amy Poehler

Yes.

John Cena

Animal House, Caddyshack?

Amy Poehler

Yes.

John Cena

Anything Rodney did?

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

Like, I mean, you name it. I mean, all those comedies we talked about, Mr. Mom, like, it just 80s comedies.

Amy Poehler

Yes.

John Cena

My dad would literally fast forward through the romance of, like, the rom coms. Gocans are the jokes. But they were great.

Amy Poehler

Yeah, but, dude, some of them, like, you go back and you're like, oh, my God, Porky's.

John Cena

Like, Porky's was a. That was on heavy rotation.

Amy Poehler

And when you were a young woman watching Porky's, it was not good. So. John, it really. It really. With our heads.

John Cena

I get it.

Amy Poehler

It did. Because it was like, what is going on? It's like. Like, there was so much like. You know, I remember watching Weird Science and being like, incredible movie. And then a couple years later, I'm like, okay. Two teenage boys create a sex Robot. It's Kelly LeBrock. And they're like, come, sex robot. Come meet our friends. And I'm like, that did. That does fuck you up. It does. We. We saw. I'm sure this has happened where you look at an 80s movie, you're like, this is a hilarious comedy. And then you play it. You're like, oops. There's a lot of that. But you have a real knack and love, I think, for comedy especially. But you do all different kinds of acting. What's your relationship to acting right now? Retired.

John Cena

I'm a retired physical performer.

Amy Poehler

We'll see.

John Cena

No. Okay, so I have stated that speaking in absolutes is Impossible.

Amy Poehler

Yeah, exactly.

John Cena

I've also used the term it would be financial suicide for someone to be like, here's what it's gonna take. And I'd be like, you did it. I'm a liar. Financial suicide.

Amy Poehler

You know, that's how Judge Judy negotiates her contracts. She slides over a number.

John Cena

That is. She's such a g. Such a g. She is.

Amy Poehler

And then she goes, and if you don't want me to do this, guess what? I'll go home.

John Cena

Guess what?

Amy Poehler

Who cares? I'm good.

John Cena

I got a 3:15. It's 3:07.

Amy Poehler

She's like. She slides. She slides. And they look and then they go, welcome back or whatever.

John Cena

So I'm never performing physically again.

Amy Poehler

Okay. Got it. Got it.

John Cena

And there's multi tiers to that. I need to stop because physically, I want to enjoy a long, good life. I don't want to have a bunch of crusty years and punishing my body. The math isn't in my favor.

Amy Poehler

For the good years part of your body that barks the most when it's low back.

John Cena

But so I'm a male or I'm a human at 50. That's everyone.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

Aside from that, I did really good.

Amy Poehler

That's great. Do you do, like, Pilates and yoga and, like, stretchy stuff?

John Cena

Heavy, stretchy stuff.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And I hate it. And I do it a lot. All the time.

Amy Poehler

Can you touch your toes?

John Cena

I can.

Amy Poehler

I can't touch my toes.

John Cena

Stay in frame. The suit is tough.

Amy Poehler

Oh, my God. John is doing it. He's touching his toes.

John Cena

I actually can't bend farther than the suit. Whoa. Yeah.

Amy Poehler

That's really good, John.

John Cena

I can go. Hands flat on the floor. That's my stretch.

Amy Poehler

Hands flat on the floor.

John Cena

That's my stretch. Every day in the shower. And if you walk in on me taking a shower, you'll see me in a different pov, man. I was really just. All the funky bits spread open. That is every morning. Full spread. Start with that.

Amy Poehler

Full spread, man. I was really hoping that you would be not flexible because. No.

John Cena

Cause that's. I have to work at it.

Amy Poehler

You have to work at it. That's incredible.

John Cena

I want to move around.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

So I can talk about it or do it.

Amy Poehler

Okay.

John Cena

And it sucks. And I hate it. And I do it.

Amy Poehler

Oh, God.

John Cena

And it's great.

Amy Poehler

You're good at doing things you don't like to do.

John Cena

But I like to do them because I like what it yields.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

And forced austerity are a luxury because life gives you stuff that you really don't want to do that. You didn't get to choose. So it's like.

John Cena

And a lot of times to choose, like, I want to do this. I want to be good at this. All right. It's going to be a lot of things that are going to be tough.

Amy Poehler

Yeah. Okay, so I'll fucking stretch more.

Paris Hilton

Jesus.

John Cena

You got to.

Amy Poehler

I know.

John Cena

You got to. I mean, it's just. It's like a crusty rubber band. You got to make sure. Don't let it get too weird.

Amy Poehler

Oh, God. Okay.

John Cena

So physically I'm good.

Amy Poehler

So you're physically good and you're feeling good. And your relationship to acting now feels like, what? What have you learned about yourself as you've. Because you've acted more and more.

John Cena

What have I learned? Acting and wrestling are the same. The same.

Amy Poehler

Interesting.

John Cena

I don't run the company, so I don't control who wins and loses.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

I get a chance to make choices within my story, but I can't change the finish. I should be prepared. I should hit my time. I shouldn't ask for more than I'm given. And I should be grateful what I have. If you do good work and you are professional, it increases the math of people calling you back. Right.

Amy Poehler

And also, I gotta say, John Dean, you're such a softie. You're really, really. I talked about it earlier. You're such a generous person. You're the person that's given the most. You know, you've fulfilled more. Make a wish wishes than any celebrity over 650 at this point. You do incredible amounts of charity work. I know that about you. Giving that amount of time to people is expensive. It's a lot of energy and even that sometimes, I'm sure you walk away feeling like, I wish I could have given more. How do you kind of. When you approach people who are sick and ill. Because a lot of people are very scared of reaching out when people are in a tough place. You know what I'm talking about? It's not easy to be around, especially young people who are having perhaps, like. Who are perhaps at close to the end of their lives.

John Cena

Remember your why?

Amy Poehler

Mm.

John Cena

Why am I there? Am I there to be scared?

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

Am I there to be sad? No. I am there to be the hope. And that is my why. And now I'm retired. People like Cody, people like Ria, people like Roman, it's their time to be the hope. You know what I'm saying?

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

Those experiences renew my faith in humanity. They give me gratitude for life. I'm so Grateful for the people I've met.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

Like. And, man, when people are just raw, emotionally excited, you see it. It's real. You can't see it.

Amy Poehler

I like what I'm learning about you, John, is like you're chasing emotion, like you're looking for it. You, like, want to have real connection.

John Cena

Don't we all? No, I disagree.

Amy Poehler

Well, I mean, I guess. I mean, I guess we do, but. Yes, we do, at the end.

John Cena

So there's no 100% certainty of anything. There might be a.

Amy Poehler

Mathematical.

John Cena

Enough.

Amy Poehler

I guess it's just that people don't make it a priority. Right. Like, they might want it, but they. But it feels like you prioritize connection.

John Cena

That's what matters.

Amy Poehler

I'm just saying, like, I get what.

John Cena

I'm just trying to. I'm trying to do me the best I can.

Amy Poehler

You won't take a compliment. You won't take a fucking compliment.

John Cena

I will say, at this moment in

Amy Poehler

life, my connection is pretty important. Swinging them around in the ring. And I'm gonna give you a compliment before the finish. Now everybody calm down and get quiet so I can compliment you. And now take a nap.

John Cena

Cda. Cda.

Amy Poehler

It's too late. Okay. And so the other thing is. You brought up Cody.

John Cena

Yeah.

Amy Poehler

So we do a thing on the podcast where we talk to someone who knows our guest.

John Cena

I did this for Idris.

Amy Poehler

Oh, yeah, that's right.

John Cena

It's where I gave you the. It's where the mythology behind that bottle of wine you've pounded during this show.

Amy Poehler

Oh, my God.

John Cena

And forgot that I did your show. Yes, yes.

Amy Poehler

Oh, I remember you did it. What was the mythology. What is the.

John Cena

I told you, the next time I see you, bring your bottle.

Amy Poehler

Oh, I did forget that. I wish you'd let me barely remember it.

John Cena

That way I wouldn't have had to carry that in my bag.

Amy Poehler

This is so fancy, this wine. I can't wait to drink it.

Paris Hilton

Okay.

Amy Poehler

Thank you for doing that for Idris.

John Cena

It's Idris.

Amy Poehler

I know.

John Cena

He's my guy.

Amy Poehler

And Cody talked to us today.

John Cena

I'm so glad you talked to him.

Amy Poehler

Cody Rhodes, first of all, because I

John Cena

will say, not a lot of wrestlers on Good hang. Trying to. You're trying to have a diverse portfolio of people in the entertainment space. Not a lot of WWE Superstars. Good hang. Think I might be numero uno.

Amy Poehler

Yeah, well, we've got two todays.

John Cena

That's right. See, there we go.

Amy Poehler

Chill out. We've reached our goal.

John Cena

I think this is a great day. You've Increased your population by 100%.

Amy Poehler

You're right. And I do want to talk to more wrestlers, and that's why I started the podcast.

John Cena

You don't, but you will. Out of guilt. You'd be like, we gotta. Could somebody get the number of that guy? Cause we'll have. That'll be crazy.

Amy Poehler

But, you know, I love talking to Cody, and that's good. Well, first of all, I found out that the term babyface, which absolutely love. And heal, too. Heal. Would I be considered a baby face?

John Cena

So this is another thing. It's kind of ambiguous. If you went out and tried to be like, you would be a heel fuck. I think if you went out and

Amy Poehler

you were yourself, Babyface.

John Cena

Born babyface.

Cody Rhodes

And then.

Amy Poehler

Do women get different terms in wrestling? Do they?

John Cena

No, the terms are universal.

Amy Poehler

Okay, Love that.

John Cena

Okay.

Amy Poehler

And it was really fun to talk about him noticing how much you not only care about your own work and pay attention to the good work of others, but that you're kind of constantly learning new things. I mean, you know Mandarin a little bit. You know French I hear a little bit. Okay, congrats.

John Cena

So, like, that's like, you know math. I know a little bit of math. I don't know all of math. Like, I know. I know.

Amy Poehler

Could you speak. Could you order in a restaurant in both those languages?

John Cena

Yes.

Amy Poehler

Congrats. That's great. Well, Cody was like, what are you. Cody's question is such a brotherly question, which is like, what are you gonna do with all this knowledge? He was like, write a book. And if you don't write a book, what's the point of it all? And then he was like, what can you not do well? But Cody was really funny. His question was really this search for knowledge and getting like, you really want to know things? What's behind that search? What's behind, like, the drive for those things?

John Cena

Am I honoring life correctly?

Amy Poehler

Yeah, but why do you worry that you're not?

John Cena

Because look how lucky it is I am.

Cody Rhodes

Yeah.

John Cena

Like, am I doing enough?

Amy Poehler

Am I doing enough?

John Cena

If I'm not moving forward, I'm not honoring the luck. I talk about, like, earning the sunset. I'm big on, like, honoring the luck. This is not in my control. This is, like, the weird, mystical piece of the universe from who I am when I was born, where I was born, the opportunities I've been had that are beyond my control. Just go like hell and try to honor the luck. It's what I do alone, to focus, stay committed, do something hard, feel good about myself. Like, it is Mine.

Amy Poehler

But when you go to my wrestling matches, you're going to be encouraged to just take. Take a break and calm down and take a nap. Just. You got it.

John Cena

You did it. You are. You want to talk about it?

Amy Poehler

I do think productivity is a cur, you know, it can be a curse.

John Cena

Leaving money on the table.

Amy Poehler

Okay, we get a little quick lightning round.

Cody Rhodes

Here we go.

Amy Poehler

What are you reading right now?

John Cena

Manias Crisis and Crashes, 8th Edition.

Amy Poehler

What's that?

John Cena

It is a history of market manias, crashes and bubbles.

Amy Poehler

Uh huh. Okay, great.

John Cena

Cause I just want to know about it.

Amy Poehler

You want to know about it? Okay.

John Cena

It's a tough book to read.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

The South Sea crisis and the Tulip Mania bubble and yes. Railroad fever in the 1800s.

Amy Poehler

An album that you're into right now that you've been listening to. Old or new.

John Cena

I'm rocking to some cocktail jazz because I want to try to learn how to play it. But when I'm alone, blues like a John Lee Hooker howling wolf blues.

Amy Poehler

Okay. Fun movie you've seen recently or a comfort movie. Like one that's on that. If you see it, you're just like, I want to watch it.

John Cena

Just watched the Lorne Michaels documentary.

Amy Poehler

Oh yeah, Loved it.

Cody Rhodes

Loved it.

John Cena

Like, reminds me a lot of what we do. And man, when I walked the hallowed halls of Saturday Night Live, like as a single serving guest, the amount of respect I have for everyone and then him seeing that, it was awesome. It was awesome. Thing about wrestling, you know you've made it when everyone has an impression of you. He is what an amazing person.

Amy Poehler

When I was wrestling in Canada. Okay. Are you watching anything fun?

John Cena

We just got through four seasons. This is gonna be taped, but we're taping it on Will Forte's birthday. Happy birthday, Will.

Amy Poehler

Happy birthday, Will. Happy birthday in hell, Will.

John Cena

That's Tina Fey's.

Amy Poehler

Tina's the Four Seasons. Great second season.

John Cena

So we just got through the second season of that.

Amy Poehler

Fantastic.

John Cena

Yeah. So that's.

Amy Poehler

And then you're in the new movie Little Brother with Eric Andre. Congratulations on that. And what was it like working on that and the experience of working on that.

John Cena

Eric is an eccentric physical comedian. He is awesome. I gotta say, I've always been impressed by what he can do.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

Give someone the chance to show what they can do and you set yourself up to be surprised. He crushed not only. I read the script and it came from him and I'm like, dude, this is your vehicle. I will gladly do this because you're going to shine. There's also Parts in there that are really heartfelt and he crushed those as well.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

And like, what a moment. I think it's gonna be a great movie. It's gonna be a great movie for people who see it on Netflix. I'm very happy to be a part of it. I got to do a comedy.

Amy Poehler

Yeah.

John Cena

Where, you know, with comedies you're like laughing all the time.

Amy Poehler

Well, this is my last question, which is like, what? I know you love to laugh and you love comedy. What's making you laugh right now? Like, what do you.

John Cena

It could be anything.

Amy Poehler

Yeah. Like, is there a video, a scene from a. What's something that you like?

John Cena

No. You never know. I think. Okay. X makes me laugh. I rule out everything else. A lot of it is me. Like, the joke's on me.

Amy Poehler

Uh huh. Right. Being self like. Yeah.

John Cena

Allowing yourself to be a soundboard for humor not only, like, eases the tension. You never know what it can lead to.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

A lot of it is like the big bullseye in the fuchsia pinstripe.

Amy Poehler

Right.

John Cena

So if you open that door, it's kind of cool. And then it gets like, you don't want to be too crazy because sometimes ball busting can be bullying and you always to want, want to cool that tea kettle.

Amy Poehler

But a little bit of teasing is a love language.

John Cena

Like, hey, look at me, I'm such an idiot. And then like, hey, let's talk.

Amy Poehler

Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, you're trying to get connection there. You're back to connection.

John Cena

Laughter helps connection, doesn't it? If we're laughing about something, we're talking about something.

Amy Poehler

It's so true.

John Cena

That's why folks are gonna love little brother. They're gonna laugh and then they're gonna wake up the next morning and go, like, what was your favorite part?

Amy Poehler

Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Well, Sina, I love such a good hang. It's such a good hang. I love seeing you. You're so fun to talk and such a considerate, nice person. Thanks for doing this, pod.

John Cena

Thanks for the kind words.

Amy Poehler

I probably will never wear a tie again for anybody. But you never wear it. Well, my God, thanks. Yeah, we literally just ran out and got it across the street.

John Cena

You look great.

Amy Poehler

Thanks.

John Cena

And you just put this together. Like a lot of those just put together. Looks are really trying hard.

Amy Poehler

Well, I realized halfway through, I was like, he's gonna show up in a suit. I'm like, we got. And we were like, we gotta get our shit together.

John Cena

Let's go.

Amy Poehler

We have six minutes. Paper splic

John Cena

magma hatches. It looks Great. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Amy Poehler

Thank you so much for doing it.

John Cena

Thank you.

Cody Rhodes

Yay.

Amy Poehler

Thank you so much. John Cena, it was so fun having you here and I can't wait to take this tie off and get back to my regular sticking it to the man. But no, it was so fun talking to you and such a pleasure always to hear your perspective in pov and for this polar plunge as we wrap up, you know, we talked, John and I talked a lot about comedies, 80s comedies, those like big, dumb, funny things that we grew up on. And speaking of big, dumb and funny, I just want to remind everybody that Wet Hot American Summer, a film I did 25 years ago, is celebrating its 25th year. And there's going to be a million different ways to go back and watch what is really genuinely a funny, dumb movie with a lot of cast members who are at the beginning of their careers. So. So check that out if you can. And check out John Cena's new movie, little Brother, and continue to support the arts and wrestling because if we learned one thing, they are the same thing. Goodbye. You've been listening to good hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weissberman and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by the Ringer and Paper Kite. For the Ringer Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, cat Spillane, Kaia McMullen and Alaya Zaneris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell and Jenna Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy Miller.