John Cena's
struggle: Why WWE's biggest star can't take time off
When John Cena stood in the ring one night after losing the WWE Championship at SummerSlam, his torn triceps injury was expected to keep him away from the ring for at least four months and, perhaps, as many as six. But when the record 11-time WWE Champion steps back into the squared circle, he will do so far ahead of schedule, returning at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on Oct. 27, after only two and a half months on the shelf.
The
polarizing veteran hardly ever takes time away from the spotlight, but when he
does, Cena seems to return sooner and sooner than expected. In an exclusive
conversation, WWE.com asked the Massachusetts native why he pushes himself,
what he’s feeling when he watches Raw from the couch and how he takes his mind
off performing in front of millions of people in each week.
WWE.COM: This is much sooner than many WWE fans were expecting to see you back.
The timetable indicated you’d be away from the ring for four to six months.
It’s been two. Is it hard for you to stay away?
JOHN CENA: Of course, I think if any active Superstar tells you differently, they
should rethink their profession. For most people, being injured and having
surgery is a very difficult experience. They may spend a little bit of time
loafing around or feeling sorry for themselves. I get to work right away. I
just, literally, follow the rules. I go to physical therapy like I should. It
becomes my job. When my job isn’t performing in a WWE ring, my job is to get
back performing in that ring. When I’m hurt, all I have to do all day is get
strong and get better. I’m a very dedicated physical therapy patient and that
helps a lot.
WWE.COM: Is there something
special about your body that you’re able to recover from your injuries so
quickly? You always seem to return much sooner than expected
CENA: Please don’t spread the rumor that I’m some kind of real-life X-Man or
something like that. The reason that surgeons give those timetables is because
they obviously want to err on the side of caution. They don’t want the
operation going badly. They basically take all the operations they’ve done and
come up with a medium timeframe to recover. That’s why it was four to six
months.
WWE.COM: Are you at all surprised that you’re coming back so quickly?
CENA: No, I’m happy with the way everything has gone. I didn’t feel too bad
when the injury happened. It started to really be a pain in my neck about two
weeks before SummerSlam. I had to tell the greatest surgeon in the world that I
have a physical therapy team that I’m extremely familiar with. In doing
therapy, it’s good to know that the therapist will push you. A lot of times,
people are reserved or maybe scared of testing what your body is capable of.
I’m not. I have complete faith in my surgeon. When it was time to test range of
motion a little bit or test strength a little bit, a lot of people — if it’s
their first surgery — they want to wait a few weeks before they do that. I kind
of want to say, “Hey I got a new arm. Let’s see how it works.”
WWE.COM: Are you in the gym lifting weights already or you’re not quite up to
that yet?
CENA: I started weight training 16 days after surgery, because I had to wait
for the stitches. The biggest concern with this whole thing was the risk of
infection. After I got the stitches out at about 14 days, it took two days for
the wound to heal up, and that’s when I could actually start breaking a sweat.
So, those first two weeks were tough.
WWE.COM: What are you doing in those two weeks? Give me a picture of John Cena
at home on the mend.
CENA: A lot of ice, a lot of electronic stimulation, a lot of strengthening
everything around the elbow, shoulder rehab, grip strength. Physical therapy
twice a day, six days a week.
WWE.COM: When you have some free time, what kind of stuff do you do to keep
your mind off of things?
CENA: I’m either studying Chinese or spending much-needed personal time with
a beautiful woman.
WWE.COM: How’s your Chinese?
CENA: It’s getting better every day.
WWE.COM: Are we talking Mandarin or Cantonese?
CENA: Mandarin.
WWE.COM: When we last saw you, you lost the WWE Title to Daniel Bryan. How do
you feel about coming back and going for the World Heavyweight Title instead?
What do you feel the distinction is between those two titles?
CENA: I see them all as opportunities. For me, I’m hugely thankful for being
able to get this opportunity. Daniel certainly did deserve to be called the WWE
Champion and because of the circumstances and sorry state of affairs that’s
happened to him, you can’t help but feel sympathy for the guy. But I just want
to be back and I want to be back in any capacity that I can. For me to get any
match is fine. For me to be thrown right into the mix and be named No. 1
Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship is a blessing.
WWE.COM: Do you anticipate having that rematch with Bryan down the road?
CENA: Eventually, yeah. I don’t think Daniel Bryan is gonna hang up those
boots anytime soon, certainly not. So I don’t see why it wouldn’t.
WWE.COM: Do you think you’re
missing out on a big moment by returning sooner than expected and not in your
hometown of Boston at Survivor Series?
CENA: The big moments for me are moments when I can actually contribute. For
me to want to hold off, especially if I’m ready to compete and be part of the
active WWE roster, I think that’s just selfish. I don’t want to do that. I want
to be back in the ring and in front of the WWE Universe, because I miss them
and I hope they miss me.
WWE.COM: When you’re not on the road and not on television every week, are you
sitting down and watching Raw every week?
CENA: Every
week.
WWE.COM: When you do that, are you picturing how it would be if you were there
or how the show might be different?
CENA: Not at all. Having done this a few times, it’s actually a nice little
refresher to be able to watch. You gotta remember, I was a member of the WWE
Universe before I was a WWE Superstar. It’s really nice to know, “Hey, I’m not
going to be back until that date. There’s nothing I can do.” Right now, if I
were to be frustrated or upset, it’s a waste of my own time, because I can’t
physically contribute anything. So, I just watch and enjoy with an unbiased
eye, be entertained, be not entertained, but just enjoy the show.
WWE.COM: What’s that like for a 10-year-plus veteran and enormous star to
distance yourself and watch Raw as a fan?
CENA: It’s something I do anyway. It’s just in a greater capacity when you
can no longer physically contribute. At all Live Events, I’m watching
somewhere, whether peeking behind a curtain or peering at a TV backstage. I
watch just as much WWE as almost anyone, but I love to. It’s something I enjoy
doing. I don’t force myself to watch. I get excited for Mondays. I get excited
to see the show.
WWE.COM: You haven’t had many injuries and when you are gone, you’re gone for
very short periods. But do you feel, over time, these injuries force you to
change how you perform in the ring?
CENA: If you broke down my technique, it wouldn’t really take a rocket
scientist to do so. I don’t know how you could take something so basic and do
less [laughs].
WWE.COM: What’s your frame of mind coming back to face Alberto Del Rio at Hell
in a Cell in Miami?
CENA: I’m just so excited to be coming back. You have no idea. Being injured
is tough. I know this is a business where you only have a certain window to
perform in, and being here for 11 years now, that window closes every day, so I
want to spend every day that I can in the ring. I’m driving back from the
Performance Center right now, having gotten in one of the seven practice rings
that are over there, just giving myself a last little test. Everything feels
good. I know Alberto Del Rio is at the top of his game, but man, he’s gonna be
hard-pressed to have a decent night in Miami. I want to make Miami special.
Source: wwe.com
