John Cena defends loyalty to Vince McMahon and WWE's Saudi ties

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John Cena has long spouted the mantra of “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect,” and he has gone to great lengths to show he lives by those words. Case in point is a recently-published interview with The Guardian in which he defends his friendship with Vince McMahon, stands by WWE despite its presence in Saudi Arabia, and talks about issuing a public apology to China after a perceived move of disrespect. Cena has previously stood by McMahon when he’s been questioned about the former WWE boss’ controversies, the most notable of which being allegations that he sexually trafficked and assaulted former WWE employee Janel Grant. In an effort to promote his latest film, Matchbox: The Movie for Apple TV, Cena sat for a talk with The Guardian’s Sasha Mistlin, who described the retired wrestling star as “generous, funny, complimentary and elusive without ever being evasive.” If he was charmed by his subject, Mistlin didn’t seem to let it reflect by holding back touchy questions. This includes asking Cena about Vince. (Regarding Grant’s lawsuit, McMahon has denied all her allegations, and the litigation was recently moved from the federal court into confidential private arbitration.) “I have no guilt nor shame about my friendship and my relationship with Vince McMahon,” Cena told Mistlin, before adding “you’re obviously going to put this in [your] article.” Cena added: “It’s OK to love somebody when they’re not perfect.” The Guardian reporter also wrote about WWE’s ties with Saudi Arabia, which is scheduled to host next year’s WrestleMania, and how Cena has made appearances in the country on WWE’s behalf. “WWE offers a universal language of diplomacy,” Cena said of this. “So, to your question of: ‘Hey, the thing that you’re in is sometimes criticized for the moves that it makes as an entity – is that difficult?’ Of course it is, especially when you believe in the entity.” The 17-time world champion is no doubt press savvy, but he also was willing to discuss one of his own very public controversies with the newspaper. While speaking to the Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS to promote 2021’s Fast & Furious 9, Cena referred to Taiwan as “a country.” Since China considers self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as part of its own territory, the comment caused backlash in China. Cena responded by issuing an apology in a video posted on the Chinese social media app Weibo. “I made one mistake. I am very, very sorry for this mistake,” Cena said in Mandarin in the video. “I love and respect China and the Chinese people.” The apology was then met with heavy criticism from Western critics, who accused the star of genuflecting to the economic superpower that is China. As noted by The Guardian, Cena recognized the trouble his comment and subsequent apology caused, and he told James Gunn he would understand if the director/DC Studios CEO wanted to fire him from the HBO Max show Peacemaker. “Just because you know the language doesn’t mean you know the culture,” Cena said to Mistlin of the incident. “I got way too overconfident. I thought I was the smartest guy in the room.” He also said the controversy made him scared about the possibility of “the termination of employment that I love.” Elsewhere in the story, Cena opened up about his frequently-discussed stance about not having children and tied it to how he’s granted more 650 wishes for critically ill children through the Make-a-Wish foundation. “If I have a family of my own, I don’t have those 650 moments,” he said. What do you think of Cena’s loyalty to Vince, as well as to WWE? Any other thoughts about comments he made to The Guardian? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.