All of a sudden, the door just swings open, no knock, nothing, and Sina walks in, grabs a folding chair, puts it in between Bray and just sits there and like is staring straight at me, like he like, what what are you gonna do about this? And I'm looking at this guy who's like two hundreds of eighty pounds. He doesn't he doesn't look pissed. He just looks like he's got a smirk on his face, like do something.
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
Shut up?
Bouts that hit the fan.
Welcome to on Section Thursdays are Wrestling with Freddy.
What's Up?
Everybody? Welcome to Wrestling with Freddy's other show, unsanction And it's the show that you asked for, you created, and you get and we'll keep it until you hate it. Today's episode, we're going to talk about the announcement John Cena made that he is retiring from professional wrestling. We'll get into some of the history of John Cena, we'll get into some of my personal history with John Cena, and we'll talk about.
Some other shit as well.
First things first, I have a movie coming out you guys July twenty sixth. It's called The Girl in the Pool. It's like a sexy thriller independent film that we found distribution for. It's such a hard thing just to get a movie made, let alone complete it. But to get distribution is the ultimate and final goal, and it's so hard to do, and we accomplished this with an indie movie. I'm really proud of the work. And this the movie's really cool. It starts me Monica Potter, this Crol, Gabrielle
Hope Hof. Sorry, I have a friend who's last name is ho Kevin Pollock, who I love a stand up comic from She's All That. And Monica, who I did another movie with I remember the name of im. Sorry, but she's awesome. And it comes out July twenty sixth in limited theaters. We got some theaters, but it's also on Paramount Plus and on Showtime And I think it really dig it If you're into like sexy thrillers, who did it?
And you know, yo, that chick's hot.
And if you're into dudes, you know, I'm old now, but there's a hot dude in His name's Tyler Gray. The youngsters are like him, all right, So let's talk about John Cena speaking of Hollywood. John Cena is mister Hollywood now, and he announced that he's retiring from WWE, which is always kind of sad, but it gives you an opportunity to reflect on their contribution to whatever art
form they were in, whether it's acting or music. All these retirement tours and now he'll have his his wrestling one, and unlike Barbara Streiss, end I believe his will be the actual final retirement tour. So let's talk a little bit about history ww championships. He's got thirteen of them. Thirteen, so not the greatest of all time, but pretty fucking great.
World Heavyweight Champion three times. Now, that is the championship that Vince didn't have as much respect for as his championship, so that was the less important one to him, so that one doesn't really matter as as much. That's why people didn't always give the big goal belt the love, because they were like, well, it's not Vince's belt and he doesn't care, so.
Why should we?
Because the dudes who weren't made the belt belt didn't make the dudes a five time United States Champion, five time United States Championship mid cart but prestigious just the same, not the Intercontinental though the Intercontinental one is usually reserved for the workhorse, and John Cena when I was there, was the workhorse. So I don't know why he never won the Icy Belt. Maybe he just got rocket shipped after after he got over and there was no time
for the Icy title. It was it was straight to the WW Championship. He was a WW Tag Team Champion two times, once with the Miz and David O'tanga. And he was a World Tag Team Championship two times, once with Batista and once with Seawn Michaels. I was there for the Batista one and we'll get into the story behind that because I remember the back.
Was got pissed at it. He also had two time two wins in the.
Royal Rumble My Favorite pay per view now known as a Premium Live event and eight twenty thirteen and he won money in the bank, very dangerous match. I'm surprised they even put him in it. He won that one time in twenty twelve. So anyway, the end is near or nigh for John Cena, and he's going to retire at the end of twenty twenty five. He will start the new era of WWA on Netflix. So Netflix will
get to see John Cena uncensored on a microphone. I don't know if he I don't know if he goes anywhere outside of the words damn?
Would he even say goddamn?
I wonder what he would try to get away with or would he just sticked to the PG John Cena that got over to all the kids. I wonder what he would do on Netflix? What curse words would he say? Hit us up on our social media? What curse words do you think John's going to say on Netflix? Or am I the only one who gives a shit about that stuff? He said he'd be about a part of of thirty dates, including including premium live events starting with
the Royal Rumble. He made it a point to say that this WrestleMania in Las Vegas, where my Raiders play, will be his last.
Don't make fun of my team. I know this suck well.
We beat the Chiefs, though we always beat the Chiefs. We find a way to get there. It's just usually the only one we have. He's going to retire the jorts and he's going to the gene. Shorts were the only like mistake that I thought John Cen ever made. I hated the gene shorts. It's always like mah, like nineteen ninety four, like everyone stopped wearing them, but you the shorts were brutal. So he's going to find he's
going to leave the company. Not leave the company, but he's going to leave the ring, the squared circle, and he's one of the best to ever do it.
Now. John didn't like me when I was there. I like John.
I didn't think he was the nicest guy, but I shouldn't say liked because he wasn't. We didn't like each other, I guess, but I liked him before I got there, but I always respected him. I knew what he meant to wrestling. I knew what he was there for. That's why his promos were earlier because that's when kids were watching, because it was the earlier hour of the show. But he took that on like that could have been triple h it could have been true, it could have been anybody,
but nobody else wanted to be a PG champion. John Cena took that on his shoulders and he made it work and held the company on his shoulder for years. On one shoulder. He didn't even need both that's how wide that son of a Bitch is, and I mean that as a compliment.
Son of a bitch.
He was the WWE for his era as and was as relevant for his era and who his target was as any other major champion they've had at the top, top, top level, from Hogan to Rains. I'm not saying he was Hogan, but for his generation, that's what he represented. He was each your vitamin, say your prayers, listen to your parents, do your I mean he was that. He represented that once he did the Marine movie and kind of found that Gi Joe type character. He should have
been at Gi Joe. By the way, he would have been sick of this duke as friggin do I mean, I think it was Channing Tatum the Planet. He did a good job, but imagine John Cena's duke, come on, come on. Anyway, when I got there, he did not want me there at all. And I remember the first time I met him, I was super polite, put my hand out to shake
his hand. He walked right past and didn't even like acknowledge me, and I think somebody said something because a few minutes later he came up and he goes he goes, hey, I'm John, and he put his hand out and I shook his hand. I go hey, I'm Freddy. Nice to meet you, and he goes, oh, I guess I'll just
let anybody work here words to that effect. I'm not quoting the man, And I was like, all right, cool man, and I basically said, I'll rack that up to he doesn't want Hollywood in the business, and I represent Hollywood.
He doesn't know how much I like wrestling.
And so as my job there evolved as ones does, I started running what was called promo Class, which is basically an acting class for professional wrestlers. I thought I could do a better job teaching acting than Vince could because of the way I could deliver information versus the way he would deliver information. He would use terminology that
they just didn't understand. I legit saw him say you got to give me some razzle dazzle with your promos, and people were looking at each other like, yo, what what dald does rassele dazzled like they didn't even know. So I approached Vince and said, hey, this is what I do. Like, let me take this class over and I'll only communicate with you. That'll make the wrestlers feel safe. Ish,
I won't even tell them that. I report to you, and I'll let you know who I think is doing a good job, and you know who's who's struggling and needs more help, and he says yes, and that becomes an addition to my job, without additional salary, just in addition to So now I'm running this promo class and at first it's all young wrestlers that go in there, all the youngsters. This is when MS was young, and
uh yeah, your old ass deal with that. All of them are young youngsters and all the people that are veterans now they're They're all in there and we're doing this class and it grows from like three people to or not three. The first one was like probably nine people, and then it grows to like, you know, twenty plus. And right when we were around fifteen sixteen, I remember Bray why it was Bray, it was Bray Wyatt and
it was mister Perfect's kid. But they were doing a scene from Bad Boys with Martin Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. I let them pick scenes from movies and I would print up the scripts for him and we would break down the scenes the same way you would in acting class. And they're both in there doing their doing their thing. No, I don't remember who played which part, but you can
speculate all you want. All of a sudden, the door just swings open, no knock, nothing, and Sina walks in, grabs a folding chair, puts it in between Bray and just sits there and like is staring straight at me, like he like, what what are you gonna do about this? And I'm looking at this guy who's like two hundreds of eighty pounds. He doesn't he doesn't look pissed. He just looks like he's got a smirk on his face, like do something. And so I'm not going to fight
a two hundred and eighty pound dude. I'm not going to fight John Cena. So I just go, hey, man, you want to talk with me outside real quick? And we go outside and I go, what the hell is that?
Man? What do you do it?
And he goes, well, maybe I'm in these are his words, this is a quote. Well maybe I'm a Neanderthal. But you can either do this or you can't. So I don't see what the hell you're doing.
I don't know.
This part's not a quote so I don't know what the hell you're doing here, or what the f you're doing here, or something like that, and I go, I completely agree with you one hundred percent, and that's why you don't need my help, because you can do it. But for the ones that you're you don't have time to help, or the ones that you choose not to help. I'm here and they're coming to me. I'm not asking them to come. They're coming to me asking for help,
and I'm doing my job. So do you want to let me do my job or do you want to continue to do.
Shit like this?
And he goes, oh, whatever, man, He just kind of like walks off, like a ah right, maybe he's just given me a hard time. I go back in and all the young wrestlers give me an ovation. They start clapping. They're like, dude, we thought you were gonna find I'm like, shut up, the I had this shit kicked out of me. I had some looking guy who has two anvils for hands.
So everyone has a good laugh. The promo class became what it was, which became a really good thing there, and they've continued that tradition even after I left over at NXT and.
Within WWE as well.
So kudos to all those wrestlers for keeping that up even after I left and still wanting to improve and work with each other and and find new and different ways to get their shit over and to get their ideas over. And we worked really hard at that. They continued that discipline even after I was long gone, and continue that shit to this day. So anyway, about six months ago, and I had a wrestler cutting a promo in the ring. I don't I don't remember who it was.
This is a long time ago. You guys, they're just killing it. They're doing a great job, and they beat the what chant. When they started, they were working very moment to moment, like tonight on the you know, tonight's the night what or I'm gonna settle this score what? This is not what I wrote. I'm just giving you guys an example. And I'm sitting there like, come on, man,
just stop the pauses. You don't need the pauses. You know this shit, we worked on it, and all of a sudden he just gets in a flow and starts doing this thing, and the whole crowd gets behind and they're all young, and Sina was up next and he was in the gorilla position. I was sitting next to Vince with the headset on talking to the to the director's truck to let them know when certain parts of the promo that I wanted close ups and things like that.
Even though they didn't always listen. They would just kind of do their own thing because they had their way, but I would still try to encourage them, like, hey, he's about to start screaming, so get in nice and close little things like that, and Vince liked it when I gave the truck shit, which I didn't know. So anyway, Sina goes, he did a really good job. And I had a choice in this moment to choose violence or
did you not violence? But you know what I mean, to be a dick or to be cool, and I would just went, yeah, thanks man, whatever, and just kind of gave him the same sort of energy that he gave me. But I didn't want to be like super pretive that he was finally being cool, because I didn't think he deserved that in the moment. Again, this is like two thousand and nine.
I was younger. I'm forty eight now.
I wouldn't care, but that was like my like my one moment where I could be like, all right, well, at least you acknowledged it. So anyway, that was kind of my history with him, and that's why. And I always said, you know, Evince even talked to me. Was like, after the first time the John or the only time that John interrupted the class, he goes, so, I heard you had a little problem in promo class today, ha ha ha. And I was like, nah, man, it was it was fine. He's like, well, he's not going to
mess with you anymore. Don't worry about it. And I was like, all right, whatever, I go. It wasn't it wasn't that bad. But I told him, I was like, you know, he's a good actor. He'd be an actor.
One day. He's like, no, I'd never do it.
And now he's like one of the biggest well not one of the biggest stars, but he's a big star in Hollywood now and doing his thing. I think he has his own production company and he's acting in all kinds of movies, whether it's a rom com or an action or a comedy. He's trying to, you know, show his range and do things like that. Hopefully won't do a Mark Kurt thing like the I'm just kidding. I'm I'm sure it'd be good. Man, We'll see. It's just the wigs throwing me off. Man, the wigs really thrown
me off. But anyway, you guys, John Cena, who do you want his last match to be with? Who do you see sending him off into the wrestling sunset? Obvious Hall of Fame first ballot, as if they even needed a first ballot for John Cena, one of the greatest to ever do it. Wasn't a big fan of mine, but I was still a fan of his.
He was fine.
He just didn't want outsiders coming in, and I totally get that. I don't like outsiders coming into some of my shit either, so I get being protective over that stuff. You just watched Doggin, so you guys don't get mad at him. I hope you enjoyed the episode. I hope you had fun listening to the stories and shout out to John Cena. Thank you for everything you contributed to the business. The blood, the sweat, the tears on the
actual canvas that's the center of that damn ring. You deserve all the glory and the praise that you're gonna get, and people will not be booing.
You, sir.
They will be cheering you in every single gal arena you go to. So enjoy it and we'll see all of you next week on Wrestling with Freddy and each Thursday on unsanctioned Thursdays. Don't forget to give us those reviews, whether it's five stars or not. I'm not afraid of a three star review. So you think I'm afraid of a two. No, you think I'm afraid of a one. Just be funny. If there's something funny in there when you talk trash, I'll read it.
Enjoy peace.
This has been a production of Iheart'smichael Toura podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
