In this episode of Good Hang, Amy Poehler interviews John Cena, covering his life, career, and philosophy. Cena opens up about growing up in rural Massachusetts with four brothers, where his parents' hands-off approach fostered independence and led to childhood mischief. He credits these experiences, including getting picked on for his flashy style, with building resilience and humility. Cody Rhodes, a WWE champion, joins via Zoom to share stories about Cena's mentorship, including his loud in-ring communication and their brotherly bond. Cena explains wrestling as a unique art form combining improvisation and rehearsal, where the audience drives the performance, and the final act is meticulously planned for safety. He also shares an emotional story about surprising his mother with a custom-built home, reflecting his deep gratitude and family devotion. Cena discusses his approach to success, emphasizing that reliability, professionalism, and coachability are essential, though luck plays a role. He talks about his love for suits as symbols of professionalism, his transition to acting, and his work on "Little Brother" with Eric Andre. Known for his record 650+ Make-A-Wish wishes, Cena describes his role as bringing hope to sick children. The episode ends with Cena sharing his current interests, including reading about economic bubbles, listening to blues, and enjoying comedy, while Amy promotes her film "Wet Hot American Summer" and Cena's new movie.
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. We have John Cena with us today, actor, wrestler, humanitarian, good citizen of the world. And John and I are going to talk about a lot of really fun stuff today. We're going to discuss what it's like growing up in the Boston area with four brothers. We are going to decide my new wrestling character and realize that it's going to be incredibly successful. We're going to talk about little brother, the movie that he's in and how much fun he had working on it. And we're going to discuss how dress and suits are important to him. And because of that, I'm going to after this intro go spiff myself up and make sure that I am looking good for the interview. But we always like to start these interviews by checking with someone who knows our guest, who wants to ask us a question, ask our guests and speak well behind their back. And we are talking to our first undisputed champion on the show. WWE champion Cody Rhodes. Cody is calling in on zoom from a beautiful lake. And I just like that he's a champ. I love talking to champs. And let's see what Cody has to say about his buddy and at times enemy and always mentor. So Cody, are you there? This episode is presented by all state checking all state first could save you hundreds on car insurance, not checking how long that recipe takes before you start cooking. Well, that's how you learn that simmer for four hours is buried halfway down the page. Yeah, checking first is a good idea. So check all state first for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with all state potential savings vary subjects to terms conditions and availability all state North American insurance company and affiliates Northbrook Illinois. Cody, hello, it's Amy. Can you hear me? We can hear you. How are you? I'm good. I'm sorry if I was doing like the old people yelling, can you hear me? I don't know how loud I am in the moment outside. Congratulations, champ. Nice to meet you. Yeah, very nice to meet you. I have to share this with you. You might have heard this already, but where I teach wrestling, we use bowling for votes as a part of the curriculum. No way. How do you use it? So it's a way what I suggest. I always ask is everyone anyone ever seen the show because it was a big fan of the show, but I always ask if they have and then they have to go home and watch that night. It's a way for young the prospect of wrestlers to understand that social media. If you scroll through 300 positive things, but then you find that one guy who thought you were fat, there's no point. Go with it. Go with everybody else. Go with the people already had your back, you know, but we use that episode. It's as brought up every camp and most people know it too. So it's actually a lot of fun. Oh my god, that's so that's so nice to hear. I would never think to ask if anything from parks is used in any kind of curriculum. Oh, yeah. But you're right. I bet you have young people who are trying to figure out how to participate in feedback, which is really hard, especially for a young person to like not let that feel too personal. Well, particularly wrestling is brutal. I feel like every funnel is one thing, but I feel like wrestling and Star Wars is the most divisive social I've ever seen. It's you can't just say you like a thing. Like a thing means you dislike something else, and it means it means war. Speaking about Star Wars is really interesting. I'm sure you've made this parallel before all this like heroes journey stuff is in the stuff that you all do the stories that you make in the ring. It is very similar, which is the rise and fall and betrayal and like trying to get, you know, like figure out who you are in real time. There is a lot of Joseph Campbell parallels. Yeah. I always tell people the hero's journey for for me as a baby face and John as a lifelong baby face. A lot of betrayal. A lot of betrayal. It's every week. It's new betrayal. When you know a storyline is happening, when you know, for example, you're going to get betrayed, let's say, by someone like John, do you guys look at each other and go, yeah, or do you look at each other and go, oh, I mean, you guys probably never make that sound, but I make that sound a lot internally throughout the course of the day, because a lot of like, oh, you know, but with John, particularly when John, if you've ever seen it, the moment where he hugs me and his face changes, then he was so excited. And I was more trepidacious in terms of he had never done that. And he didn't even make sense to do it at this point. He had never gone, gone rogue, gone bad. So I just didn't want to screw that massive moment up. Right. He taught me everything I know, because I drove him around for two years before he got his big tour bus. John was such a fun riding partner. Oh, a lot of strict rules. We do this little ritual stop where he had to load up a styrofoam cooler with an extra 24 beers in the back of the car. Just in case I'd never seen anyone in terms of he was our top star and the lead baby face at the time, the lead good guy. And he was his term baby face. I'm obsessed with. Okay. Yeah, he is, he is, he is the, I mean, he was even after what he did to me, we're still fearing him and booing me. So it was like, all right. Okay. Thanks, guys. John is pretty great at the magic in except for one area that is widely known to wrestling fans and wrestlers. John will not talk low or in carny as we would say, like if I need to tell you Amy duck the clothes line, I'd say like dizzuck, you know, something we, this little carny, it sounds like fake language, like a pig Latin. It's like a big lad meets snoot talk, but John yells everything that's going to happen in the ring as loud as he can possibly yell it. He calls it for the first four rows and interactive experience. God, this is so helpful because one of my questions is like to, you know, is figuring out exactly how you all improvise because you're improvising a lot. Obviously, a lot is written and, and, you know, beat it out, but you're talking, you know, you're talking about really big physical things that you have to figure out how to signal to each other in safe ways, obviously. That's really funny that screams it screams it. And then there's the last match I had with him at summer slam. He's about to slam me with his big finishing move, which is the attitude adjustment from a table to another table. So it's highly dangerous. It's going to hurt. We're going to do it the safest way we can, but you can hear him yelling at me. Why I'm on his shoulders that he can't see because my arm is over his eyes. And I, I never spoke back to John. It was, I never wanted to speak back. He's, you know, a mentor to me, but it was one of those moments where I thought, buddy, I'm the one doing this. I don't just throw me like I'm not worried about your, your screaming at the top of his lungs. I can't see. I really love your relationship. You guys have a very brotherly relationship. Oh, good. Yeah. Well, I, I mean, I can't think of another guy who didn't need to take the time. He definitely didn't need to. He had, he was the busiest guy on the roster. He took the time. He, I was a, another term, I was, he's not going to agree with this, but I was a job guy. Hmm, what's that mean? I was laying on my back looking up at the lights every night. I was the three second tan as John calls it, you know, um, and he still wanted to, he had a belief in me. Ah, wow. You know, you can speak a little French soup. Yeah, and Mandarin, right? Ah, the Mandarin. I can't. It's so annoying. I was just saying like, it's so embarrassed. I, I can't speak another language. And I don't need somebody to be coming in here and showing off the two that they can speak. Yeah. You know, it's like, keep it to yourself. Not on your turf, you know? Exactly. Not on your turf. We ask the, um, the people we speak to before our guests to, uh, to give our guests a question. Is there anything big or small, um, dumb or serious that, um, you think I should ask John about or you'd want to know about him? Oh, man. What's he going to do with all this knowledge? Right? What's he going to do with it? We, we don't have a book yet, right? There's no book. Does he plan to write a book? And what is he going to do with all this knowledge? And if he plans to do nothing, what was the point? That's a big question. Perfect question. Yeah, I know that's any good, but what's the point? Right? Right. Too short. You're, you're not going to be speaking Mandarin.
You know, it totally speaks to the bigger thing, which is like, I want to know, like, when do we all get to rest? Yeah. When do you finally go down, John? When do you rest? Yeah. What's the thing that's going to take you down? What new thing? Yes. That's the thing. Something he's going to tackle. He won't be able to do. You know, actually, that's a really good question is what can you not do well? He'll give you some excuse my language. He'll give you some BS humble, humble answer. God, he sees so well, he's so well put together. You got your hands full. No kidding. But you know, I do really well with these big guys. Oh, yeah. I don't know what to tell you, but I just, I really know how to handle them. I'm a huge fan of the show, so I know you do. Oh, my God. Thank you so much. It means so much that you talked to us today. And I know John will be so thrilled that we talked. And it's really nice to meet you. Very nice to meet you too. Have the best day. And thank you again. If you need anything and anyone wants to reach out, I got, I can talk about John for days. Oh, awesome. Thank you so much for your time. Such a pleasure. You're a champ. Talk to you later. Have a good one. You too. Uber Eats has all your summer favorites from Alta Beauty, which means your sunscreen can just come to you. Your daily SPF, that new cleanser you've been wanting to try your favorite bronzer, whatever you need to glow this summer, delivered in as little as 25 minutes at the same prices you'd pay in store. And you can connect your Alta Beauty rewards so you never miss out. Get Alta Beauty on Uber Eats and get your summer glow on, Alta Beauty on Uber Eats, terms apply, see app for details. We enjoy a tasty beverage every once in a while. And I want to get you something that was like highly rated, but I didn't want to get you a hundred point wine because with a hundred point wine when you drink, you're like, I don't get it. It was something like 98. Like, oh man, they got jipped. So hopefully it's a good glass. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. This is so nice. A lot of fun conversations happen over wine. I want to talk to you about wine. I know you love wine or you know, and you know a lot about it. I have had a lot about it, but it is like that thing that you can just keep learning and learning and learning. As with most things, you can, you can get deeper in the rabbit race. John Cena is here. I'm so excited that I changed into, I put a suit jacket on for you and a tie. Sort of. I put a suit jacket on for you and a pocket watch for you. And a pop. Is that a personal pocket watch? It is. I can have that. Does it mean something? Of course it does. I know my readers. Wait, let's put our readers on. Let me see yours. Well, I will, I will do the full presentation again. Starts out as a monical. There you are. Now that falls under some habit ashery. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Um, I like that you, do you like to wear suit? Uh, I do. I do. How come? I think, you know, I've, I've tried to reflect on this. I think it has to do with uniformity. Mm-hmm. I do. So like there is the uniformity of knowing what you have, but then the freedom to do cool stuff within that. Yeah. Um, not exactly base suit colors, so there's an aggressive stance with the pins, right? But it's still going to be like, okay, uh, non-low-cut waistcoat, two-button coat, everything fits. Do you get them, get them made for you? And that's another thing, right? So like, I used to hate suits because these would be so uncomfortable. Right. Until people were like, no, no, we make it around you. Mm-hmm. I'm like, uh, say what? And then someone made me a suit and I put it on and it felt like a warm-up suit. Yeah. Are you the same gen as me? Are you Gen X? Yes. I believe so. Okay. So I feel like in our lifetime, we've watched clothing get just more and more and more casual. In our lifetime, I feel we have watched clothing get more efficient. Yeah. You know, this one suit is made of stretch fabric so you can run a mile in it and you never have to wash it. Right. It's more of that. Yes. And this connects to kind of what I wanted to start talking about. Okay. Yeah. But I think it connects to a bigger thing, which is there's something about the way in which you participate in what would almost be considered, um, at times, old-fashioned things, which are professionalism, politeness, uh, like wearing a suit, being, like, being able to be dependable. Although things sometimes feel like, sadly, that they feel sometimes old-fashioned. My experience, I've got a chance to work with you. And I had the pleasure to get to know you a little bit over the last couple of years. And, and like, you're just such a professional, John, like, you're such a hard worker. You do what you say you're going to do. And even the suit, like, feels like a symbol of, like, I'm taking this seriously, I guess. Where does that come from? Have you always had that? Have you always been that person? So there's a lot there. Okay. There's a lot there. You got wine. We're fine. I don't know how simple that, uh, uh, simple, yes. Um, you want me to go to the gym, simple, easy. I don't know. Right. Those things aren't easy. Yeah. Uh, and you equate those things with success, um, success is ambiguous. There is no one recipe for success. Yeah. What I do, uh, is what I believe will get me the next opportunity. But I'm also wrong a lot of times. Where do I get those things through wisdom and experience? If we were doing this interview in 2005, I would have an oversized, uh, sports jersey on. I would have a backwards Michelin nest hat on. I would have come in with more diamonds than I've ever seen in my life, or I need, I would have been wearing a set of Reebok pumps and a set of jorts. And I never would have broken the character of the doctor of thugonomics. You, yeah, you would have stayed there because that at the time I felt was my path to success. Uh, how did I get these things? Good question. So I don't know how to succeed. I don't. I always try to put, uh, odds in my favor, and I appreciate people's opportunity. I'm also not supposed to be here. I'm a kid from West Newberry who didn't train for this. I didn't put in the hours of, uh, improv classes like you. I'm, it's like a happy accident. I'll, I'll say life hands people opportunity and hands people some bad cards. If you get an opportunity card, men try to work to make the most of it. Yeah. I am where I'm at because I know how to fail and I talk to people about this a lot. And I want to try to, I'm trying to expand on this idea to get it out to people. Yeah. The things you do in life, I can guarantee you will fail if you are unliable, unprofessional, uninvested and uncouchable, those four things. And I don't mean like work, I mean like life. It's so, it's so interesting. You say that because sometimes when I, when people ask about like succeeding in, in the stuff, kind of stuff that I do, I always say something that it feels like almost simple, but it's like just be fun to work with. And it falls under that category, which is when people want you around, you get more opportunity. Like the, the, the, the, it's, the final product of what's going to happen in your life to your point about what you're going to be successful at. You never know. You don't even know if it's going to be what you want. It always changes. Sure. But the experience, the way people feel around you, it, they remember, they remember. I liked working with that person. I had a good time. Or I liked seeing that person, I liked being entertained by that person. I had a good interaction. Yeah. That doesn't necessarily guarantee success. I'm not, what I'm not saying is if you're coachable, professional, reliable, and passionate, you will succeed. Because there's still a level of magic dust and ambiguity and luck and things beyond our control. I can't tell you how to succeed. What I can do is if you are unprofessional, uncoachable, uninvested, and unreliable, you will fail. 100% guaranteed. I want to talk to you about your thoughts about winning and losing and about collaboration. And I feel like it goes back to probably the fact that you grew up in a family with four brothers. Five boys. Amazing. That is, that is a feat. Your mom. Well, I mean, she had a, albeit she had probably, she had probably a tough 30-year run, I would say. We, we got a chance to, so John and I got to work together a few different times in different ways. And you told me a story about your brothers and you and crayons. Yeah. Can you tell that story? Yes, sure. So the house was wonderful and not too many safety guards. So if helicopter parenting is like constantly looking over your kid, my parents were submarine parents. Like, I don't, I'm trying to find the exact opposite. They were hiding in the basement. I think, I think the only safety concern was at night. We do like a 10 and 10 inspection. You got 10 fingers. You got 10 toes. Go to sleep. That was such a cool thing to have as a young person because we essentially could have an idea and do the idea. Amazing. So because there were so many of us and my dad would work and my mom would stay home. We would just do stuff like in a box of 64 crayons, if one kid was behaving and coloring in the lines. Three other kids grabbed as many as they could and just ran on the walls and did whatever. Just to be like, this is great.
because at the time doing that as a kid, that is great. - Yeah. - But my poor mom would be like, "Oh, man, Matt, what a great. " What the fuck? - I can't even imagine. - Meanwhile, like laundry for an army is pulling up. And she's like, "Oh my God, now I gotta feed everybody." Again, I just fed you guys three hours ago. - Taken years off for life. - Man, but honestly, she, she had enough hill climb for three decades and now all of us collectively as a group are like, "Man, we need to make sure she's doing all right always." So these last four plus decades have been a different chapter of my mom's life. And especially like the last 20 between all of us and her have been real special. - I want to ask you about that because I know you've done some very special things for her. But growing up in Boston in the '80s, not like, "Were you guys, was your family, "were you known as like the Cena Brothers?" - Oh my God, yes. - And they all came walk together. - So this, I grew up in West Newberry. We got to take Boston out of the equation. - Well, we all say Boston. - Yes, because anything around no one cares. So West Newberry is, if you keep going northeast of the state of Massachusetts to the New Hampshire line, there are some old maritime towns that are quite beautiful. And inland, there are some even smaller farming towns. And that's West Newberry, 1200 people. And in 1985, you're a neighbor as acres away. And you got to ride bikes everywhere. It was like out of a movie. Like out of, it was like goonies. - Yeah. - And you were your own. - That was awesome. So yes, we were the zeniths. And we could show up in a basketball game with ensue because we've brought the team. It was an incredible place to grow up. - Yeah. - And I'm so glad it didn't stay there because it is not a diverse look at the world. - Right. But man, what a, what a cool place to grow up especially. - Especially because when you're a young boy, like boys, young boys are sometimes like dogs. You have to kind of like run them out. You have to run them. - Yeah. - They need like a yard and you should throw the ball. - Man, we had acres. And like, we could go out in the forest and try to burn the forest down. (laughing) Thank you, West Newberry Fire Department. Or we could have like pick up football games that would end in brawl for alls. Where parents are just pulling up in their cars and ripping. That's my kid. But it was great. - And it was great. - And did you learn how to, like, - I learned how to lose a fight. - Yeah. - Which I think is really a, like man. - And any tips. - That's why I'm a diplomat. Like you get your ass kicked a few times. And you're like, "Yo, that sucks." - Yeah. And what are some rules to lose a fight? Like what did you learn by losing a fight? - Humility, embarrassment, physical harm. And another thing is like, winning a fight also sucks. It doesn't feel good. - Yeah. - Especially when you're like, "Man, we just fought over like, who gets to play basses loaded next?" Like, what? And that kid's hurt. - Right. - So you get on both sides of that equation. - Yeah. - And I don't think people realize that, you know, and when we grew up, in my high school, there was a fight every day after school. - Yeah. - And it was like, "Oh, who's gonna fight today after school?" And women too, young. - It was common. - It was very common. And in fact, when I went to college for a while, I would go to parties and I would just kind of stand there. - It's like an episodic three clock high. - Yes. And people, and people would be like, "What are you worried about?" I'm like, there's too many people here from different towns. Like, this is gonna go down. - The different town thing. - Different town. - Someone showed up at your party from a different town. Forget it. - Yeah. - But as, you know-- - Can you show up in a more spot, but if the havel kids show up-- - Exactly. - Yikes. - Like, kids from Wooburn show up, like, it's gonna be a bloody mess. But, do you have to like, as a big guy growing up as a tough guy with brothers, like, but also you felt like you were-- - It's crazy that little bit too, right? - I was, I got to shit kicked out of me every day. Every day, 'cause I was a scrawny kid. - Yeah. - And dressin' like MC Hammer. And Bellevue de Vaux. It was like, if Bellevue de Vaux and MC Hammer ran into each other. (laughing) Yeah. - Yeah, you got-- - Rayon and Airbrush denim. - And you got picked-- - High top fade. - Beat up by your brothers or by people at school? - Oh, by my peer. So, it was a multi-town high school with a junior high, is it one place in the high school? It was at one place. And Merrimax buses were here, and Groven's buses were here, and West New Bray's buses were over at high school. And I'm in junior high. And you have to like, I see the walk down the sidewalk as if it was yesterday. I'm walking down the sidewalk, and I'm passing the kids who are like 15, 16, who can't drive yet and still have to go to the bus. And I'm the one SOB wearing like Rayon polka dots in an 80s rock, country music, combat boot denim. - Yeah. - All it's, like, you can paint the picture. I stand out like a sore thumb, and I was an easy target. And like a scrawny, skinny kid. So even something as simple as like, boom, down the hill I go. - Right. - Shitty comment. Like, that was on the daily. That was like the daily. - That's but that's trauma. - So that's traumatic, John. - I appreciate you saying that. - That means traumatic. - Life deals us all hills to carn. - Yeah. - I doubled down. It was a great experience for me. Here I sit dressed loudly. - Yeah, yeah. - As myself. - Right, right. - I don't have a stylist. I prefer to do these things without makeup because I want people to see me as me. - Now I understand the food. - If I'm creating a character. - Yeah. - Put as much shit on me as you want. - Right. - But this is me. - Right. - And this is how I feel comfortable. And when those kids picked on me for how I dressed, I would go straight to Liberty Tree Mall and be like, "What is worse than this?" - Yeah. - I'm turning it up. - I got the Liberty Tree Mall. - And then I found weights. So I didn't learn to fight. I wasn't like, "Yo, I gotta learn to fight. I'm just gonna project the art of like, the math isn't so much in your favor anymore." And by the time I got over to the new building, I was 15. I'd been working out for two and a half years. And I was stronger than everyone. So I was like, "Ah, I may get 'em, "but if I catch a stray, I'm gonna get my teeth knocked out." So it hedged, like it worked. - So what's it like to go home to Boston? - It's wonderful, actually. - Yeah, yeah, they must feel like they really, 'cause the one thing I'll say, or one of the things about Boston that's really lovely is your hometown really embraces you. Like if they feel like, if they have some pride in you, you really feel it when you go back. Like people really feel like, hey, they share, like look, you always know from Bostonians how they feel. They tell you to your face. You're good, you're bad. I like you, I don't like you. - It's weird, they do, but I don't elaborate on that, but continue. - Yeah, no, but do you think I'm wrong that they're more passive-aggressive? - No, no, they'll tell you how they feel about you. - Right. - They'll never tell you how they feel. - Oh, no. Feelings? - And that, like so that's why, that's why recently going home has been way better. - Yeah. - Because my brothers are all hitting that like late 40s approach in the half century now. And they're all, we all have wisdom of like, - Yeah. - Man, it's kind of a shitty mindset. If somebody's like, "Hey, I was life." You're like, "Ah, it's taken forever." (laughing) Like that. - Yeah. - But that's also West Newbury. - Totally. - And man, as beautiful as the landscape is, sometimes there's a lot more anchors than sales over there. - Yeah. - You know, and I love the pride you write. Like when someone from a community makes it, the community has made it. - That's right. - I like that. - That's right. - Because that's a win for everybody. Hopefully it gets everybody's spirits. - Yeah. - And I don't mind that. It's just sometimes hard to get anything real at anybody. - Oh, babe. The idea of figuring out your feelings and saying them in real time, that was not what we grew up with. - Yeah. - I mean, I still kind of can't believe sometimes when people are able to locate their feeling and then say it. It's like, "How did you do that?" Because we just, it's a skill. It's a skill to figure out what you're actually feeling. - Yeah. - Feel it and then express it. That's like a lifetime of work. And when you're around culturally this thing and it's feeling of just like to your point, there's a lot of like, a lot of comedy. - A lot of self-deprecation. - And a lot of self-deprecation. And a lot of action. - A lot of doom and gloom and pessimism. - A lot of pessimism and a lot of action over words, right? So someone's not gonna say, necessarily say like, I love you, but they're gonna like, fix your tires. - Oh, that's like the mass hole. - Yeah. - What the fuck you broken down for? Do you fucking idiot? Let me fix your tire. All right, get the fuck out of here, fuck off. - Yeah. - That's literally their way of saying like, "Oh man, tough day, right?" - Yeah. - Let me help you out here. - Right. - I hope everything goes better for you. But it's not that. - It's not that. - Yeah. - No. - That's all you can't even fucking roof a house. I'll get up and fucking roof it in two hours. - You told me a story though about and I want to get to wrestling because I have so many questions about it. And as a person who, the Bostonian and me had an early experience with it, but it's changed so much. - We've kind of lived in the same world though. - I know. Okay, your mom, you bought her a house. - My mom earned a castle. (laughing) - But that story is such a good story. - You settled on a house. - Okay, just tell a little bit of that story how it went, if you don't mind. There's never any land for sale in West Newberry. And there came a large plot for sale in the height of development and it was heavily overpriced. I don't know if anyone was following the financial ticker, but something happened in 2008. (laughing) And that same person. - Everybody made good decisions. - Well, the culmination of all those good decisions
happened and they stopped, they stopped pouring the champagne. The person who was selling the property came back and said, hey, we just want to recoup our engineering costs. Would you still be interested? So a value opportunity came up of like, I don't need this, but I have an idea of what I can do with it. And my brother Dan just so happened to be in really good graces and working for a contractor at the time. And he's one of the most respected individuals in like our small building community met with him. And I kind of spec'd out like, what would this idea take in real time? He's like, less than the cost of what they offered you to buy the place for. Like, when you can do all this, he's like, I can't. It's like, I'd like you to put your name on this place and make it something you're proud of. He's like, I still can do that. Okay. Do it. And like a secret meeting like this. And it was like, everyone wearing suits, every lot of smoke, everybody's scotch. It was 8 a.m. It was like, Dan, we're doing this. Don't fucking say it works. The story is I'm moving back home. So building a house takes a long time. And it's a beautiful plot on the hill where like from three towns over you can see what's going on. So now we got a clear land and we're digging trenches and we're building this nice, beautiful New England home that exposes itself to the river. It's got view points. It's got this crazy copper dome and all this stuff. Everything is settled for like creatively, everything's on the first floor. And there are multiple floors, but everything you need to get in and out of the access is on the first floor. And everybody's watching the project and everybody's like, when are you coming home? And everyone, you know, in the family's kind of excited. And meanwhile, I'm still in my residence, happy in Florida. So it finally gets done two years later. And it's around Thanksgiving, which is a great time in New England because everyone like comes home for Thanksgiving. And they go to the bars for Thanksgiving and the Thanksgiving football game. My mom's birthday is close to Thanksgiving. So we throw a Thanksgiving thing. And it's not my mom's birthday. Everybody comes over because we're key in the door to the house for the first time. Place still smells new. And taking everybody for a tour. And I'm bragging about like, ah, this is this and this and this thing. And I built a bar over the garage because I did one space for me. My mom doesn't like that, but she wanted to come see the whole house. And when everybody gets in the bar room, I give my mom a birthday present. And it's the key to the house. And she, she like lost it. Like she abs, she's like, I can't, I can't. I'm like, no, it's already taken care of what the movers are coming tomorrow. My mom was living in the third floor of like a triple family in an attic in 300 square feet with her stuff packed in. And she was just by herself packed in and she was content. And happy that's who my mom is. She's, she's a lunchpale. Blute. Like she'd go to work. She wouldn't accept it. So then I had to negotiate. I'd be a diplomat of like, you don't understand. There'll be trucks there tomorrow. Everyone's on board. We're going to move your stuff over. I'll tell you what, it's it's already here. This isn't for me. Could you please at least give it a try so all this doesn't go to waste? Well, if it's going to go to waste. And that was, that was like 15 years ago. And she's been there ever since. And now it's, it's her place. And we get together there on holidays. And it's her place. And that's what a son should do for his mother. Well, again, yes. She earned it. She absolutely earned it. It's such a beautiful story too, John, because you also included everybody in that surprise, you know, like in, and, and you, I just think, I don't, I just, I just think it's so indicative of how you're always kind of thinking about how can I, how can I extend my gratitude, you're such a generous generous person. And we'll talk about that. But I'm after this, my parents are going to call me and say, why haven't you got me a 100%. Bill and I are going to be like, we're against the wall. John, we heard John on the podcast. And we're wondering why you haven't built us a house. You know, my dad, do you used to take me to wrestling in the 80s? We used to go, see, no, so we used to see Hulk Hogan sergeant. I know you're going to ask me this, I forget. Maybe like the Worcester Central. Or as we would say Worcester. The Worcester Central. So it was Hulk Hogan sergeant slaughter. Yeah. The Iron Cheek. Yeah. High 80s, you know, very. So there, here's a cool thing. There were a lot more performers on the card. But you remember like, yeah. Americana Patriot. Totally. It was, yeah, it was USA all the way. See the phobic. All right. But that's that was totally that was a time. And I remember watching it and being like, um, like, and like, you know, in retrospect, now it was kind of like the closest we could get to Las Vegas or something. Like it was like, it was like how it felt like a like a high level, high energy performance. That's pretty, that's on the bullseye. Yeah. With audiences that were really, really invested. Yeah. And can you explain wrestling to me feels like a combination of dance, choreography, writing and story and like magic that you will never know the secrets too. I'll take that. Okay. Is that fair? I think that's very fair. So when you are performing and you are in that arena and the audience gets to interact with you and you are how much have you prepared for that day because the difference is like any other performance, there is such skill needed for the physical. I mean, you like search a survey doesn't wing it. No. But you there is a there's a amount of improv in wrestling that I've noticed when I would see it and also in watching it now that is like I can can't always tell how much is prepared. How much is actually prepared and rehearsed. I guess it completely depends on the performers. Okay. Yes. I can do that. Some don't some heart. What do you like to do? I like to be an improvisational performer. Right. But that is not I don't go out and wing it. Right. I prepare. Right. I ask off. Right. So I start with the creative part. What is the story? Yeah. So if we're fighting over the fact that you stole 10 grand from me. Right. Everything I do is going to relate back to your theft and everything you do is going to defend that you never took it and the thing that WWE is different than SNL that is different than sketch. The audience is the act not observing the act. The audience is the act. So as a performer the way I approach it is. Okay. I have 25 minutes. We have a match together and we've been telling the story of you've stolen something from me. $10,000 for three weeks. This is a lot of money. You needed it for your. I was going to pay off my mom's house. And now she can't get in. And now she's going to be addicted. Yep. So just by what are you going to do about it? You've kicked my mom out of her house. Yeah. You did. You did. Yeah. And I almost this is the last payment. And I got the keys and I'm just swinging them right in front of you. Yeah. So now you being a creative mind, we could have that wrestling match right now. Right. Give us 25 minutes. I'll take 35. Okay. I love that. And then you're right. So the all the moves are kind of connected to that. Right. Like everything goes back to that theme. And here's where it gets very interesting. If the story dictates in this match, it dictates. You stolen something from me. We're going to ring the bell. I'm going to show that I'm more skilled and I've earned this the right to make this payment. You're going to cheat just like you stole and be like, no, I'm better. Right. And then there's going to come a point in the story where the crowd is like, would you do something? It's the typical Hulk up. Yeah. It's called the comeback. So what I do is we have our why. What we need to really rehearse is from the comeback to the finish. Okay. And that's what I see. We need to rehearse the physical part of that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The third act needs to be ad nauseam. You need to have it. Right. Because you're doing dangerous things. You are doing dangerous things. But there's a fundamental trust between performers that you know ex-skill. I know ex-skill. And the conversation we can have before is do you do anything specific that's outside of the fundamentals that I should know about? Right. And the person who leads gets all that information and stores all these things in their card catalog. The third act needs to be prepared because it can also change. Right. Basically, you use the first two acts to go out and improvise. Right. And if we get out there in the Worcester Center, which I believe to be a rowdy crowd, but slightly different than Boston at Hartford, but they change. And they're like, we're for you. Right. We don't want that mom to have her house. But keep in mind, we need to be the Worcester Center. We need to gear for that moment where they're like, John, do something. Right. So immediately a piece of line that I would throw one of the waters, punch me in the face. And they might cheer. You would say that to me, punch me in the face. I would say immediately punch whatever we had planned. If we talked about something. And they came out and we're like, yeah, I mean, I'm like, punch me in the face now or like, I'll go out. I will go out in term I show you the. the crowd is if I'm confused. And when I come back, hit me in the face. Bam, so we did two things there. You threw the first punch, which is not fair. It's not virtuous and you did it when I wasn't looking. - Right. - So they see subconscious things of like, "Therefore, Amy, but this is my mom." Bam, oh, geez, get on me. Come here. And then I would have you just beat the target. And they might like that. And then I would just have you lean into that. - Yeah. - Where it becomes like, oh man, it's like watching a bad fight. And then I would just listen to be like, well, come on, do something. Do something. No, screw you. Do something. Okay, duck, here we go. And then we go into it. Now we have now the audience is working with us rather than against us. - But there have been instances where the people behind the curtain will tell the ref to tell you like switch the finish. (laughing) So we've decided that the other person is gonna win. So if you're super prepared, you can change things and change in real time. Now keep in mind, as I'm saying, when I turn around, punch me in the face. I'm listening to the crowd. I'm hoping you're gonna be there. I'm also listening to my ref. So sorry. That is, I thought that was real. - No, it's fake. (laughing) - So real ruse. Anyway, I have the ref being like, you have 17 minutes left. You have 16 minutes left. So like it's all happening in real time. And there are coaches watching you from behind a curtain that will tell the ref what they think you should do. - Right. Oh, you're getting notes. You're getting notes in real time. - In real time. - But that's why live TV is so-- - It's crazy. - That's why I wanted to do it forever. And I just physically, I can't do it anymore. But that's why when anyone says like, what do you like more, wrestling? - Yeah. - Wrestling, that's why I got run out of Hollywood the first time. - You talked about that. I love what you said, which is like-- - Look at what we just talked about. - That's crazy. - Right. - You can feel the excitement. - I want to be the moment. - It's the noise. - And then when you get, like when you get fluent at it. - Yeah. - When you're like, oh, I kind of understand this. I'll do this and then the challenge becomes like, oh man, the UK crowd is throwing a beach ball around. How do I work that into the act? Go and get that thing and pop it. When you come back up, when you come back, I'm going to give you my finish. Real time. This stuff I've had people get married. I've had people start fights and stands. And we work it all into the act. - That's amazing. - Just 'cause you're prepared. - It's the opposite of like it was doing stand-up and not wanting a heckler basically. You want that feeling that people are listening and participate. - Here's the thing, it's not that we want it. It's just, it is. - It is. - Stand up. The kind of protocol is like, enjoy the comedy. Don't heckle. - Yeah. - Here, it's like, you have paid your money to heckle. - Yeah. - And there's 12,000 of you. All right, good luck. - And you can heckle unmasse. - Yeah. - Chance start out that are too hot for TV, that Netflix is turning us off and turning us off. - I don't know, I don't know. - The audio goes out. Like it's crazy. And you can't, the more you try to be like, calm down everybody. - Yeah, of course. - You don't want to be the calm down character. - I understand that you're working with them. - That would be my character. - Part of the act. - I would be like, you guys calm down. Stop. I'd be like, guys, it's so loud. That would be my thing. Guys, it's so late. I mean, like, it's so lit, it's so loud. - I mean, why are we fighting? - Why are we fighting? This is crazy. That would be my character. - Did you hear that? - Let's take a nap. - Do you hear that off in the distance? It's the mind printing machine. - Take a nap. - Take a nap. - Take a nap. - Oh, man. Calm down, sure. Let's just calm down your tea. Oh, this is amazing. - That's actually great. - I hear the money. - I can hear it. - I can hear it. - I go. And all of my moves are like, should just be like, quiet. - Just kidding. - Like, and I just, I snap and they go down. - Just be quiet. - Quiet. - Just calm down. - And then everybody brings their blankets in. They're like, shh. - Nobody calm down. - Wait. - What's up? Big form hands? Wait. Calm down, Amy. - Calm down, Amy. - One when the entire place is quiet. - C-D-A. - Calm down, Amy. C-D-A. It's, instead of CBD oil, it's C-D-A. - C-D-A. - Oh, yeah. - It gets you that brand partnership work in this. - This is fucking genius. - We did this here. - We just did this here. - And here's what's also so crazy about the WWE. You might see that character. (laughing) They'll maybe watch me. Mmm. Yeah, they're on something. (laughing) Get the C-D-A. - But I love what you said in your transition acting is that it was confusing to not have the show. You know, like, the super long hours, lots of waiting around for your time. - Different mindset. - Totally. - And you spoke about how in the beginning, it was really confusing. - As a young 20-something. - Yeah. - I want it to be there. And I want to go to the bar afterwards. - Yeah, right. - And then do it in the next time. - Right. - And then the next time. - And get instant feedback. - It's the best. - Yeah. - And I'm not saying, like, crushing it is awesome. It's the best when you bomb. - Yeah. - It's the best. - Right. - Because then you're like, whizzing to be like, I got another performance in 24 hours. What do I do? - Yeah. - It's the best. - Yeah. - And I just hope. I mean, you do from the director, it's different. - It's a different mindset. - Yeah. - And it took me appreciation of the mindset to really apply. - Yeah. - And people like you to bet on me and know that like, oh man, I'm getting an opportunity here. What can I do? Show up early and fucking be prepared. - Yeah. - Be ready to go. - I mean, okay. So we worked together in a movie called Sisters. Me and Tina, the great Paula Pell. And it was so fun. - Tons of comedians, great cast. - Great cast. - You're a stack that. - It was so fun to work with you. And you and Paula Pell fell in love. You love each other. - Oh, she's great. - And I mean, to me. - If you, if you conversations over wine. - You and Paula had a few wine. What, what did you guys do? You guys hung out and drank wine? - A lot. - What, I mean, what's so great about Paula? What do you love about her? - I like her, her perspective. I love her courage. Man, like I just like that energy. I like, again, I say anchors and sails. She's a sail. - Yeah. - You know, like always curious, always creative off the wall. - Yeah. - I just know, I know any idea is gonna have like, that whimsy, that magic in it. - Yeah. - And I want to be with those people. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you, were, were you a big comedy fan growing up? 'Cause you've done a lot. What were you watching? What we were all watching, SNL and what were you watching? - At a young age. - I was watching stuff, I shouldn't be watching. So my dad was the only person in my only male in New England that didn't care for sports. Not kidding, like we never grew up at the Red Sox, the Sells, 'cause that stuff all happened when I got to junior high. - Right. - And I had to fall in a peer group. So like, I got to, I got to start caring about sports. - Right. - My dad liked old 80s, titty comedies and pro wrestling. Like, Benny Hill, he loved this. So I'm watching like. - You, Benny Hill. My, people don't understand how important Benny Hill was. I mean, unless you're my dad. - It's, it's, it's, and now you watch it now and you're like, Jesus Christ, this is a terrible show. Like, Benny Hill is a talk about predator. - It just didn't age well for the time. - But at the time, I remember being a little kid being like, what? - This. - Yep. - A lady standing behind a bunch of melons. - Yep. - And Benny Hill is like, he, he, he, he, like a cartoon character. Try to grab it. - There's always a chasing and a physical comedy. - And it was like, what, what is this? Like, and, and so in our psyche, Benny Hill. - Yeah, the chase with the music has become a meme. - You know, it has to do the Benny Hill style when you do chase the music and it's, it's a meme. - Yeah. - And did they watch like, did they? - We watched like Kentucky Fried movie. - Yes. - Animal house, caddy shack. - Yes. - Anything Rodney did. - Yeah. - I mean, you name it. I mean, all those comedies, we talked about Mr. Mom. Like, it, it just 80s comedies. - Yes. - My dad would literally fast forward through the romance. Like the rom-coms. Got into the jokes. But they were great. - Yeah, but dude, some of them like, you go back and you're like, oh my God, porquies like. - Porquies was a, she, that was on. - That was on the rotation. - And when you were a young woman watching porquies, it was not good. - So, John, it really fucked, it really fucked with our heads. - I get it. - It did because it was like, what is going on? It's like, like, there was so much like, you know, I remember watching weird science and being like, so incredible movie. And then a couple of years later, I'm like, you two teenage boys create a sex robot. It's Kelly LeBrock and they're like, come sex robot. Come meet our friends. And I'm like, that did, that does fuck you. (laughing) It does. We saw, I'm sure this has happened where you look at an 80s movie. You're like, this is hilarious comedy. And then you paint and you're like, oops. There's a lot of that. But you have a, like, you have a real knack and love, I think, for comedy, especially, but you do all different kinds of acting. What do you, like, what's your relationship to acting right now? Like, what, you know, you're, you're, you're, you're retired. - I'm a retired physical performer. - We'll see. - No, no, no, no. - Okay. - So I have stated that speaking in absolutes is impossible. - Yeah. - If I were to use the term, it would be financial suicide for someone to be like, here's what it's gonna take. And I'd be like, you did it. I'm a liar. Financial suicide. - We know that Judge Judy negotiates her contracts. She slides over a number. - That is, so she's such a G. - Such a G. - Yes. - And then she goes, and if you don't want me to do it. - Guess what? - And go home. - Guess what? - I got,
I'm good. I got a, uh, I got a 315. It's 307. She's like, she slides, she slides and they look and then they go, welcome back or whatever. Um, so never performing physically again. Okay, I got it, got it. And there's, there's multi tears to that. Uh, I, I need to stop because physically, I want to be, I want to enjoy a long good life. I don't want to have a bunch of crusty years and punishing my body. The math isn't in my favor for the good years. What is the part of your body that barks the most when it's low back. But so, so I'm, I'm male or I'm a human at 50. That's everyone. Yeah. Aside from that, I did really good. That's great. You do like Pilates and yoga and like stretchy stuff. Heavy stretchy stuff. Yeah. And I hate it. And I do it a lot all the time. Can you touch your toes? I can. Fuck it. Maybe I can't touch my toes. The suit is tough. John is doing it. He's touching his toes. Yeah, I actually can't then farther than the suit. Whoa. Yeah. But that's really good, John. I can go hands on the floor. That's my stretch. Hands flat on the floor. That's my stretch every day in the shower. And if you walk in on me, taking a shower, you'll see me in a different POV. Man, I was just all the funky bits spread open. That is every morning full spread. Start with that full spread. Man, I was, I was really hoping that you would be not flexible because that's I have to work. I have to work at it. That's incredible. I want to move around. Yeah. So I can talk about it or do it. Okay. And sucks. I hate it. And I do it. Oh God. And it's great. You do, you're good at doing things you don't like to do. But I like to do them because I like when it yields. Yeah. And and forced austerities are a luxury because life gives you stuff that you really don't want to do that you didn't get to choose. So it's a lot of times to choose like, I want to do this. I want to be good at this. All right. It's going to be a lot of things that are going to be tough. Yeah. Okay. So I'll fucking stretch more. Jesus. You got to. I know. I mean, it's just a, it's like a crusty rubber band. You got to, you got to make sure don't, don't let it get too weird. Oh God. Okay. So physically I'm good. So you're physically good and you're feeling good in your relationship to acting now feels like what? What have you learned about yourself as you've become, as you've acted more and more? What have I learned? Yeah. Acting and wrestling are the same. The same. Interesting. I don't run the company so I don't control who wins and loses. Right. I get a chance to make choices within my story, but I can't change the finish. I should be prepared. I should hit my time. I shouldn't ask for more than I'm given and I should be grateful what I have. If you do good work and you are professional, it increases the math of people calling back. Right. And also I got to say, John, you are such a softie. You were like, you're really, really, I talked about earlier, such a generous person. You're the person that's given the most, you know, you've, you've fulfilled more make-a-wish wishes than any celebrity over 650 at this point. You do incredible amounts of charity work. I know that about you. Giving that amount of time to people is expensive. It's a lot of energy. And even that sometimes I'm sure you walk away feeling like I wish I could have given more. How do you kind of go when you approach people who are sick and ill because a lot of people are very scared of reaching out when people are in a tough place? You know what I'm talking about? It's not easy to be around especially young people who are having perhaps like who are perhaps close to the end of their lives. Remember, you're why. Why am I there? Am I there to be scared? Right. Am I there to be sad? No. I am there to be the hope. And that is my why. And now I'm retired. People like Cody, people like Rhea, people like Roman, it's their time to be the hope. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Those experiences renew my faith in humanity. Yeah. They give me gratitude for life. Yeah. I'm so grateful for the people I've met. Yeah. Like and man, when people are just raw, emotionally excited, you see it. It's real. I like when I'm learning about you. John is like, you're chasing, you're chasing emotion. Like you're looking for it. You like want to have real connection. Don't we all? No. I disagree. Well, I mean, I guess. I mean, I guess we do. So, but yes, we do. There is no one hundred percent certainty. I guess it's just that people don't make it a priority, right? Like they might want it, but they, but it feels like you prioritize connection. That's what matters. I'm just, I'm just saying, like, I get what I'm just trying to, I'm trying to do me the best, the best I can. You won't take a compliment. You won't take a fucking compliment. I will say at this moment in life, I've got my connections for swinging them around in the ring. And I'm going to give you a compliment before the finish. Now, everybody calm down and get quiet so I can compliment you and now take it out. CDA, CDA. It's too late. Okay. And so the other thing is you, you brought up Cody. Yeah. So we do a thing on the podcast where we talk to someone who knows our guest. I did this for Idris. Oh, yeah, that's right. It's where I gave you the, it's where the mythology behind that bottle of wine. You've pounded during this show. Oh, my God. And forgot that I did your show. Yes. Yes. Remember you did it. What was the, what was the mythology? What is the, I told you the next time I see you bring you bottle of wine. Oh, I did forget that. I wish I'd let you know we forgot that way. I wouldn't have had to carry that in my bag. No, I can't. Okay. Thank you for doing that for Idris. And it's Idris. I know. My guy. And Cody talked to us today. I'm so glad you talked to him. Cody Rhodes. First of all, because I will say not a lot of wrestlers aren't good hang. Try, you try to have a diverse portfolio of people in entertainment space. Not a lot of WWE superstars. Oh, good hang. I think I might be numerically new. Yeah. Well, we like to today. It's right. See, there we go. She'll out. We've reached her. I think this is a great day. You know, we've increased your population by 100%. You're right. And I do want to talk to more wrestlers. You know, that's why I started the podcast. You don't, but you will out of guilt. You're like, we got to, could somebody get the number of that guy? Cause we'll have, that'll be crazy. But, you know, I love talking to Cody. And, um, that's good. Well, first of all, I found out that, um, the term babyface, which yeah, absolutely love. And, uh, heal to heal. Would I be considered a babyface? So this is another thing. It's kind of, it's kind of ambiguous. If you went out and tried to be liked, you would be a heal. I think if you went out and yourself, babyface, more babyface. And then, uh, do women get different terms in wrestling? Do they? No, the terms are universal. Okay. I love that. Okay. And it was really fun to talk about him noticing how much you not only care about your own work and pay attention to the good work of others, but that you're kind of constantly, um, learning new things. I mean, you taught yours, you learn, you know, Mandarin a little bit. You know, French. I hear a little bit. Okay. Congrats. Um, that, so like, that's like, you know, math. I know a little bit of math. I don't know all of math. Okay. I know. I know. Could you speak, um, could you order in a restaurant in both those languages? Yes. Congrats. That's great. Well, Cody was like, what do you, Cody's question is such a brotherly question, which is like, what are you going to do with all this knowledge? He was like, write a book. And if you don't write a book, what's the point of it all? And then he was like, what can you not do? Well, but Cody was really funny. His question was really the search for knowledge and get it. You really want to know things. What do you, what do you, what, what's, what's behind that search? What's behind, like the drive for those things? Am I honoring life correctly? Yeah, but why do you worry that you're not? Because look, I look at him. Yeah. Like am I, am I doing enough? Am I doing enough? If I'm not moving forward? I'm not honoring the luck. I talk about like earning the sunset. I'm big on like honoring the luck. This is not in my control. This is like the weird mystical piece of the universe from who I am when I was born, where I was born. The opportunities I've been had that are beyond my control just go like hell and try to honor the luck. It's what I do alone. To focus, stay committed, do something hard. Feel good about myself like it is mine. But when you go to my wrestling matches, you're going to be encouraged to just take, take a break and calm down and take a nap. Just, you got it. You are. You want to talk about it? I do think productivity is a, you know, it can be a curse. You're even money on the table. Okay, we get a little quick lightning round. Here we go. What are you reading? Right now, Mania's crisis and crashes, 8th edition. What's that? It is a history of market Mania's crashes and bubbles. Uh-huh. Okay. Great. Because I just want to know about it. You want to know about it? Okay. It's a tough book to read. Yeah. It sells the crisis to the Mania bubble. Yes. Okay. It's an album that you're into right now that you've been listening to. Older new. I'm rocking to some cocktail jazz because I want to try to learn how to play it. But when I'm alone, blues, like a John Lee Hooker, howling wolf blues. Okay. Fun movie you've seen recently or like a, or a comfort movie. Like a
The one that's on, if you see it, you're just like, I want to watch it. - Just watch the Lord Michael's talking battery. - Oh yeah. - Loved it. - Loved it. - Like, reminds me a lot of what we do. And man, when I walked the Howell Halls of Saturday Night Live, like as a single serving guest, the amount of respect I have for everyone. And then him, seeing that, it was awesome. It was awesome. - You're on the thing about wrestling. You know you've made it when everyone has an impression of you. - Totally. - He is what an amazing person. - When I was wrestling in Canada. Okay, are you watching anything fun? - We just got through four seasons. This is gonna be taped, but we're taping it on Will for Today's birthday. Happy birthday, Will. - Oh my God. - And that's death. - Birthday in hell, Will. - That's Tina Fey's. - Tina's the four seasons. Great second season. - So we just got through the second season of that. - Fantastic. - Yeah, so that's that. - And then you're in the new movie Little Brother with Eric. - Yeah. - Congratulations on that. And what was it like working on that in the experience of working on that? - Eric is an eccentric physical comedian. He is awesome. I got to say, I've always been impressed by what he can do. - Yeah. - Give someone the chance to show what they can do. And you set yourself up to be surprised. - Yeah. - He crushed. - Yeah. - Not only, I read the script and it came from him. And I'm like, dude, this is your vehicle. I will gladly do this because you're gonna shine. There's also parts in there that are really heartfelt. - Uh-huh. - And he crushed those as well. - Yeah. - And like, what a moment. I think it's gonna be a great movie. It's gonna be a great movie for people to see it on Netflix. I'm very happy to be a part of it. I got to do a comedy. - Yeah. - Where you know with comedies, you're like laughing all the time. - Well, this is my last question, which is like, what I know you love to laugh. And you love comedy. What's making you laugh right now? Like, what do you-- - It could be anything. - Yeah. - A video, a scene from a, what's something that you, like-- - No, you never know. I think, okay, X makes me laugh. - Yeah. - I rule out everything else. A lot of it is me, like the jokes on me. - Uh-huh. Right, being self, like, yeah. - Allowing yourself to be a soundboard for humor, not only like, eases the tension. - Yeah. - Never know what it can lead to. - Right. - A lot of it is like, the big bull's eye and the fuchsia pinstripe. - Right. So if you open that door, it's kind of cool. And then it gets like, you don't want to be too crazy 'cause sometimes ball-busting can be bullying. And you always want to, you know, cool, cool F-T-Cab. - But a little bit of teasing is like-- - Or just holding my door that like, hey. - Yeah. - Look at me, I'm such an idiot. - Yeah. - And then like, hey, let's talk. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - You know? - See, you're trying to get connection there. You're back to connection. - Laughter helps connection, doesn't it? If we're laughing about something, we're talking about something. - It's so true. - So I folks are going to love a little brother. We're going to laugh, then we're going to wake up next million. We're like, what's your favorite part? - Yeah, yeah, awesome. Well, Sina, I love-- - She's a good hang. - It's such a good hang. I love seeing you. You're so fun to talk to and fun to work with. And such a considerate, nice person. Thanks for doing this pod. - Thanks for the kind words. - I probably will never wear a tie again for anybody, but you never know. - You weren't well. - Oh my God, thanks. I literally just ran out and got it across the street. - You look great. - Oh, thanks. just put this together. Like a lot of those just put together looks are really trying hard. Well, I realized halfway through I was like, he's going to show up in a suit. I'm like, we got, and we were like, we got to get our shit together. We got, let's go here. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. And the hatchers. It looks great. Thank you. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Thank you so much for doing it. Yeah. Thank you so much, John Cena. It was so fun having you here. And I can't wait to take this tie off. You get reg, get back to my regular sticking it to the man. But no, it was so fun talking to you. And such a pleasure always to hear your perspective and POV. And for this polar plunge as we wrap up, you know, we talked to John and I talked a lot about comedies, 80s comedies, those like big dumb funny things that we grew up on. And speaking of big dumb and funny, I just want to remind everybody that wet hot American summer, a film I did 25 years ago is celebrating its 2050 year. And there's going to be a million different ways to go back and watch what is really genuinely a funny dumb movie with a lot of cast members who are at the beginning of their careers. So check that out if you can and check out John Cena's new movie, a little brother and continue to support the arts and wrestling because if we learn one thing, they are the same thing. Bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weissberman, and me, Amy Poler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paperkite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spalane, Kaya McMullen, and Alayah Zeneres. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weissberman. Original music by Amy Miles.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
John Cena discusses his upbringing in West Newbury, Massachusetts, with four brothers, emphasizing a "submarine parenting" style that allowed freedom and creativity.
Cena and Cody Rhodes share a mentor-mentee relationship, with Cody praising Cena's guidance and recalling humorous in-ring moments, like Cena yelling cues during matches.
Cena explains wrestling as a blend of improvisation and preparation, where the audience is part of the act, and the third act of matches is heavily rehearsed for safety.
He shares a heartfelt story about building and gifting his mother a house, highlighting his generosity and family values.
Cena reflects on success, noting that being unprofessional, uncoachable, uninvested, or unreliable guarantees failure, while success requires luck and hard work.
He discusses his love for suits, comedy, and his acting career, including his role in the new movie "Little Brother" with Eric Andre.
Cena touches on his record-breaking Make-A-Wish contributions, emphasizing his role as "the hope" for sick children.
The conversation covers Cena's drive to learn (e.g., languages), his fitness routine, and his current interests, like reading about market crashes and listening to blues.
Summary:
In this episode of Good Hang, Amy Poehler interviews John Cena, covering his life, career, and philosophy. Cena opens up about growing up in rural Massachusetts with four brothers, where his parents' hands-off approach fostered independence and led to childhood mischief. He credits these experiences, including getting picked on for his flashy style, with building resilience and humility.
Cody Rhodes, a WWE champion, joins via Zoom to share stories about Cena's mentorship, including his loud in-ring communication and their brotherly bond. Cena explains wrestling as a unique art form combining improvisation and rehearsal, where the audience drives the performance, and the final act is meticulously planned for safety. He also shares an emotional story about surprising his mother with a custom-built home, reflecting his deep gratitude and family devotion.
Cena discusses his approach to success, emphasizing that reliability, professionalism, and coachability are essential, though luck plays a role. He talks about his love for suits as symbols of professionalism, his transition to acting, and his work on "Little Brother" with Eric Andre. Known for his record 650+ Make-A-Wish wishes, Cena describes his role as bringing hope to sick children.
The episode ends with Cena sharing his current interests, including reading about economic bubbles, listening to blues, and enjoying comedy, while Amy promotes her film "Wet Hot American Summer" and Cena's new movie.
FAQs
John Cena prepares by starting with the creative story, then rehearsing the third act or comeback-to-finish portion ad nauseam for safety. The first two acts are more improvisational, allowing him to read the crowd and adjust in real time.
John Cena says you are 100% guaranteed to fail if you are unreliable, unprofessional, uninvested, and uncoachable. He emphasizes these apply to life, not just work.
Cena likes suits for the uniformity they provide—knowing what you have—but also the freedom to do cool stuff within that. He also appreciates that tailored suits feel comfortable, like a warm-up suit.
Cena grew up in West Newbury, a small town of 1,200 people, where he and his brothers had acres to explore and often got into trouble. He was a scrawny kid who got picked on for his loud clothing, which led him to start working out at a young age.
Cena bought land in West Newbury and secretly built a house with his brother Dan, then gave his mom the keys during a Thanksgiving gathering. He negotiated with her to accept it, and she has lived there for about 15 years.
Cena approaches Make-A-Wish with the mindset that he is there to be hope, not to be scared or sad. He says these experiences renew his faith in humanity and give him gratitude for life.
Chat with AI
Loading...
Pro features
Go deeper with this episode
Unlock creator-grade tools that turn any transcript into show notes and subtitle files.