The Rock On His Relationship With John Cena: ‘I Used To Dislike Him, Now We’re Buddies’

Former fifteen-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena didn’t exactly praise The Rock during his seven years away from World Wrestling Entertainment, and when “The Great One” finally returned to the company in February of 2011, the two began an on-screen rivalry that was far more personal than most people realize.

The personal nature of their rivalry made for some great television segments, and it built to what was at the time the most successful WrestleMania in WWE history.

Their second match with each other in 2013 wasn’t as much of a big deal as their first match was, but it was still a success nonetheless, and the big news coming out of that match was that The Rock, who had insulted Cena for nearly two years straight, finally paid respect to him in the middle of the ring.

In the WWE Network original series Rivalries, WWE gave an inside look at the two-year feud between Cena and The Rock. They took us behind the scenes following their second match at WrestleMania 29, and it was revealed that, after the match, the two buried the hatchet, and it appeared that they no longer disliked each other.

The Rock was interviewed by ESPN‘s Jonathan Coachman over WrestleMania weekend, and he was asked about his two matches with John Cena; in-particular his relationship out of the ring with the former WWE World Champ.

“The People’s Champ” admitted that he and Cena legitimately didn’t like each other during their two-year feud, but he told Coachman that all of that is in the past and that the two of them are actually good friends now.

“(Wrestling John Cena) was amazing. I was able to come back after some time, and coming back to wrestle John, we had a great match – I loved it… It was very, very special. Also, John and I had a real different relationship back then, and it was fire, just in terms of… I did not like him, and he did not like me, and it was legitimate. But, since then, we’ve become really, really good buddies.”

John Cena and The Rock showcased their new friendship at this past Sunday’s WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium, where The Rock shocked everyone by actually having a match, even though it wasn’t much of a match, as it only lasted six seconds.

After the match was over, The Wyatt Family (Erick Rowan, Bray Wyatt, and Braun Strowman) surrounded the ring, and out of nowhere John Cena hit the ring, helping The Rock take out all three Wyatts.

The Rock welcomed Cena back as the segment was ending, although it doesn’t appear that he’s actually back just yet, as he hasn’t been medically cleared to wrestle. But he should be back in the ring within the next couple of months.

If The Rock never wrestles again, then technically his last match will have been the six-second match with Erick Rowan from this past Sunday. But his last real match will have been with John Cena at WrestleMania 29.

There is a strong possibility that The Rock will never be able to have a competitive match again because of his movie commitments, which is partially the reason why he wasn’t able to have anything other than a six-second squash this year.

Next year’s WrestleMania is taking place in The Rock’s home-state of Florida, and prior to this past Sunday’s event, there was a rumor going around that he was going to wrestle Roman Reigns next year. But for now, that doesn’t seem to be happening, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be wrestling any time soon.

[Featured image via WWE]