John Cena on setting up his own gym, training wrestlers who later challenged him in WWE ring: ‘I was just sick of…'
John Cena is currently going through his farewell tour in the WWE and will be retiring from in-ring performances at the end of this year. Cena debuted on Smackdown in 2002, when he accepted Kurt Angle's open challenge and decided to showcase his own brand of 'ruthless aggression'. 23 years and 17 world titles later, he is finally closing the curtain on his storied career, and in a conversation with his former boss Stephanie McMahon, the wrestler discussed his in-ring career and how he created a home for himself and other wrestlers away from the ring.
In a special interview hosted by ESPN, WWE's former co-CEO Stephanie talked to Cena about his career in the company once helmed by her dad, Vince McMahon. While Cena didn't talk in detail about his current character, he did share some interesting anecdotes from his own gym, a place which became a haven for wrestlers before the opening of WWE's own performance centre. When asked about how the 'Hard Nocks' gym came to be, Cena said, 'We opened the doors to here in 2008, and believe it or not, I was just sick of working out at sh**** places. This building came up, and I bought it.'
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The name Hard Nocks comes from another gym situated in Amesberry, Massachusetts, where Cena trained in his formative years. He added, 'This is a very safe place for conversation to be kicked around, for you to have a bad day but not stay in it. In here we right the ship.' Stephanie explained in a voice-over that the gym not only means a lot to Cena but also to many other WWE superstars such as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, who followed in Cena's footsteps and eventually challenged him in the ring. Cena then showcased a record board alongside the American flag, which holds all the power-lifting records held by people in the gym, a list which has WWE superstar Big E on the top in many categories.
Cena continued, 'It's been really cool to see it evolve. From the weightlifting competitions we used to have, to becoming the kind of place where the family gets together now.'
Cena is currently on his final championship run in the WWE. After winning his 17th world title against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, he defended his belt against Randy Orton at Backlash. He will next be facing Rhodes and Jey Uso at Money in the Bank, with influencer-turned-wrestler Logan Paul on his team.
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