John Cena is looking back at when tensions arose with Dwayne Johnson outside of the ring.
The WWE star recently shared his regrets over starting a feud with the Jumanji star back in the late aughts when he publicly criticized Dwayne’s choice to move away from wrestling to venture into an acting career.
As John—who later made a similar move to onscreen roles—explained, he can now “one hundred percent see and understand” the shift from a completely different perspective.
“If you’ve been following what I’ve tried to do, especially as of late,” the Peacemaker star said during the WWE Fastlane Press Conference Oct. 7, “publicly and personally to Dwayne Johnson, I’ve stated that although I thought I was trying to do what’s best for business, I went about it the wrong way.”
The feud between John and Dwayne (also known by his moniker as The Rock) first ignited after a 2008 interview with The Sun, in which John claimed the Game Plan star “doesn’t give anything back” to the wrestling world and suggested he return to do an occasional appearance.
Now, the three-time Heavyweight Champ says that his commentary on his former colleague “violated his trust.”
“I made allegations about his perspective that I knew nothing about,” John continued. “And deep down, I was a fan. I wanted The Rock back. I wanted to do anything to get The Rock back, but I did it the wrong way.”
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As the Barbie actor noted, “I didn’t do it the respectful way, so I had to eat a little bit of crow. I had to say, ‘I’m sorry and I was wrong,’ because I am sorry and I was wrong, and that’s a very humbling experience. Dwayne is a hell of a guy.”
However, he and the Fast & Furious alum were ultimately able to let bygones be bygones. And John admits he’s grown from that experience.
“I become who I despised,” he added. “I see that perspective and I understand it. It was a great learning experience from my mistake with that feud with The Rock.”
Keep reading to revisit even more celeb feuds.
