Thanks to a shoulder injury in January, John Cena has been missing from WWE programming for most of 2016 - though he did make a big appearance at WrestleMania a couple of months ago, in a segment with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and the Wyatt family. However, Cena will be back full time beginning on the next RAW and, in typically impressive fashion, he's returning after five months away, even though the initial prognosis was nine months.
Shortly before his appearance at the NBCUniversal Upfront in New York event last week, I spoke to Cena about coming back to WWE, who he’s hoping to have storylines with and more – including his thoughts on the return of the WWE Women's Championship (replacing the Divas Championship), the adult-aimed animated series Camp WWE and more.
Note: This interview was conducted before WWE revealed SmackDown is going to move to live shows on Tuesdays and that the RAW and SmackDown lineups will be split again, hence it not being discussed.
John Cena at the NBCUniversal Upfront.
IGN: You're coming back to RAW soon, right?
John Cena: I return May 30th, USA Network, Monday Night RAW. I’ve been ready for a while, but I can’t just show up and fight, so my formal return is May 30th on USA network.
IGN: Have you been itching to get back?
Cena: I have been. I really have been.
IGN: Have you been thinking about what you’re going to do when you get back?
Cena: No, I’m just thinking about getting back. It’s not about planning for something. I know we have pretty much a new era going on, a lot of new faces, kind of a new boss. I just want to get back in the fold, man.
John Cena.
IGN: Is it exciting for you to have Shane [McMahon] back? That’s something that so many of us just thought never was going to happen.
Cena: I was in the company of the “never,” but I guess this goes to Vince McMahon's old adage, “never say never.” It’s good to have Shane back. I think it's a renewed energy in not only the program but the audience, as well. Shane’s been really proactive about showing a lot of new faces and I said for a long time that there’s a bunch of talent that was in NXT and it’s good to see them get their chance on WWE Monday night RAW.
IGN: Are there people you’re excited about getting to work with, perhaps for the first time?
Cena: Like I said, I’m very happy to just be back. I’ve got my eye on Big Cass and Enzo Amore. I think they ooze everything that it takes to be a WWE superstar. They have so much energy. Those guys and the Vaudevillains are the guys I’ve been tipping my cap to on the viewership side. I can’t wait to get in the ring and we’ll see what happens.
IGN: What did you think about seeing the Divas title go away and the Women's Championship come back?
Cena: You know, the WWE is constantly evolving and if they want to make the move, it seems like an obvious jump. WWE is really focused on empowering the women. They did a wonderful job branding the women as Divas, as Superstars, but I think it’s a company initiative to make them equal to what the men do and [having] the men’s championship and the women’s championship, I think it’s a logical progression.
IGN: Though you’ve been gone, you did get to make that appearance at Mania. Was it great to pop in there and have such a huge moment with the Rock?
Cena: It was and it's very rare that we can actually surprise people in our business and it took me watching WrestleMania in a broom closet to be the surprise that it was. It made for a very cool moment. I'm so glad I could be a part of that.
IGN: Wow, so they were keeping you as hidden as possible!
Cena: Literally. I spent the day in business casual wear and when it came time to change into the Superman outfit, which was around the start of the show, I literally went into a broom closet. I had a nice little TV in there to watch the show but it was a very secluded area.
IGN: I wanted to ask you about Camp WWE. Is it fun for you to watch this completely different take on these larger than life characters you get to play on TV, yourself included?
Cena: Being so doopity! It’s awesome. And I think it’s just one of the reasons that people should get hitched on with the WWE Network. It’s more than just these network specials like WrestleMania and like SummerSlam. It’s programming geared for the WWE universe. You can see me, but you can see me in a different light on Camp WWE. They truly skewed more for our adult fans. I think it’s a wonderful show. I don’t mind being the butt of all the jokes. I love how they portray my character. I really think it's a good thing. It's something for the WWE network - to give our universe more value for the dollar.
(L-R) Nikki Bella, John Cena and Brie Bella at the NBCUniversal Upfront.
IGN: It’s a notable era for you guys, because we’re getting a lot of behind-the-scenes material with some of the Network shows and Total Divas and other programming.
Cena: You're gonna get more too.
IGN: Is that interesting for you, because there were times where it’s very closed off and right now it’s more open?
Cena: It’s one of those things where I’ve heard a couple of the Hall of Famers say “You either evolve or you don’t exist.” I have my opinions on how it should be, but I’m not the WWE universe and if the WWE universe demands to see more of us then we’re going to give them more of us and if that’s the driving force behind the success of the WWE Network, hell, I’ll let them into my house if I have to. I’m pretty much doing that for Total Bellas anyway! So it’s a different experience and it takes a little getting used to but it shows the growth of WWE and it’s what our fans want. Regardless of the perception that the talent may have or the Superstars may have, WWE’s business model is “give the fans what they want.” So it’s one of those things where I love WWE and I’m going to be a part of it, so if we have to let them into my life a little bit more, welcome into a very fast ride is all I have to say.
The 100: Season 3 finale airs Thursday, May 19th at 9:00pm ET/PT on the CW.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheEricGoldman, IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at http://ift.tt/LQFqjj.
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