John Cena acknowledged he feels "shortsighted and selfish" for starting a feud with Dwayne Johnson a decade ago when they were both prominent WWE stars.
Cena claimed on Thursday's episode of the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast that he "would like to think" the duo - who went on to become massive Hollywood stars, sharing screen credits in this year's "Fast X" - "always have been good, except for one little patch where I messed up."
Cena was referring to the period in 2011 when Johnson, who was already a bankable Hollywood star, returned to WWE after nearly a decade away. Cena saw it as a provocation and an opportunity to "call him out" for returning and challenge him to a fight at the time.
The "Trainwreck" actor added that he "got selfish, and me living WWE at the point and not having any concept of growth or someone else's perspective" led to the feud.
Did you read this?
"In my opinion, if you love something, you should be there daily." I am a hypocrite because I still enjoy WWE, but I can't go every time.
The muscular duo's conflict resulted in two buzzy WrestleMania encounters, including "WrestleMania 29" in April 2013, which drew large crowds.
"I wanted a main event marquee match because I thought it could be awesome for the business." "And that's so selfish and shortsighted," Cena pondered.
"It worked," he added, "but it came at the expense of two people who communicated and almost jeopardized it."
Since then, he and Johnson have put their old feud behind them. Cena appeared as himself in Johnson's 2019 film "Fighting with My Family," Johnson features Hobbs in this summer's "Fast X," which also stars Cena.
On Thursday, Cena said of their feud, "It was nearly at the cost of our relationships, which I would like to say is now in a really good place."
