Rapping, wrestling, and titles that spin
February 18, 2005

It's rare when a wrestler struts to the ring and can floor you with either a punch or a punch line.

Rowdy Roddy Piper comes to mind, then there was The Rock.

The next man to pickup the mic, and possibly the torch, is Smackdown's John Cena, a man who can spit rhymes faster than you can say A-B-C, and can knock any opponent cold for the 1-2-3 (this rap thing is contagious).

I caught up with Cena as he prepared to play one of his biggest fans, Carmelo Anthony, in a celebrity pool tournament up in Denver as part of NBA All-Star Weekend.

With Kurt Angle as his opponent in this weekend's big pay-per-view, Cena might be bringing one of those pool cues back to Pittsburgh with him. You never know when a shot at the title might come down to a shot to the former Olympian's bald dome.

IGN Sports: Where did you get that spinner belt? Did you get Latrell Sprewell to make it for you?

John Cena: Sprewell definitely had heavy influence on the design, but it was actually made by the guy who makes all of our belts over at J-MAR. He did a great job with it. I really thought that WWE was going to have to go outside and find somebody else to contract it, but the guy at J-MAR really hooked it up. I guess he was taking a lesson from Spree.

IGN Sports: It puts you in a pretty high category when you think of it. They made special belts in the past for wrestlers like The Ultimate Warrior and Stone Cold. How does it feel to see your name up in that category?

John Cena: It makes me feel really good, not only that they made a custom belt for me, but they did it out of a title that before that, really didn't mean that much. With The Ultimate Warrior and with Austin, they did it out of the Heavyweight Championship belt, the main trophy everyone fights for. But for them to do it, to take a chance like that for the U.S. title, that shows how passionate I am about the title, and that the WWE isn't afraid to take risks with your boy.

IGN Sports: So what's next, you gonna get some Lamborghini doors on your Escalade?

John Cena: Low pro so look like I'm riding on blades. [laughs] Yeah, I'll put some Lamborghini doors on the Pinto station wagon I've got, hopefully I can get Xzibit to mess with it and pimp out my ride.

IGN Sports: You're the U.S. champ, you have to be rolling in something more than a Pinto.

John Cena: I stick to the classics. I have a Chevy Impala that I roll around in and a '89 Jeep Wrangler, which is the first car I ever bought. It has 180,000 miles on it, and that is my daily whip. I take that everywhere. Don't forget where you came from, that's why I'll never get rid of that Jeep.

IGN Sports: Speaking of not forgetting where you came from, you're fighting Kurt Angle this Sunday at the pay-per-view. What in your mind makes this a special match, a special event for you and your progression toward that next level?

John Cena: First of all, he's an Olympic gold medalist. Second, he's one of, if not the best sports entertainer to ever put on a set of boots and step between the ropes. Thirdly, the winner of the match goes on to Wrestlemania to main event against the WWE champion, whether that's The Big Show, JBL, or maybe Batista will be up in that mix. Fourth, this is Kurt's hometown. Number five, like you said about where I came from, I had my first match against Kurt and this is a feud that has been two-and-a-half years in the making. Kurt is one of the best performers, sports entertainment has ever seen, and this really is one of, if not the biggest match of my life so far.

IGN Sports: Are you going to bust out a special Franco Harris or Lynn Swann throwback?

John Cena: I was thinking about that, I have some love for the Steel Curtain, but I have a lot of love for those old Pirate teams, so I might have to go with a Dave Parker, Willie Stargel, or Kent Tekulve jersey.

IGN Sports: Kent Tekulve would be awesome. Then you could hit Kurt with a sidearm punch.

John Cena: Exactly. The Kent Tekulve low blow or something. [laughs]

IGN Sports: Do you collect a lot of throwbacks?

John Cena: Oh yeah, I'm a sports fan just like a lot of people, so when I started doing the whole retro jersey thing, it just so happened that that's when it started getting really popular in hip-hop and everyone was wearing them. I actually met a lot of adversity from the WWE at first, because it was me advertising other sports on our sports entertainment program. But at the same time, me being a fan of sports and a fan of the different athletes from all of the cities, every time I come to a city I have a different throwback on to remember an athlete who made a big impact on that city. I remember Franco Harris and the Immaculate Reception, I remember that Ted Williams hit .406, I remember how L.T. redefined the position of outside linebacker…all that stuff mad a big impact on me and all of the sports fans out there, and it's a great way to honor those memories and accomplishments.

IGN Sports: And every time you head to the ring, you always have your signature freestyles. Are these still coming from the top of your head, or do you have to get them cleared beforehand now?

John Cena: It started out straight-up freestyles, saying whatever I wanted. But then the networks stepped in and were like "Who the hell is this kid saying all of this crap on the air?" A lot of the stuff was really heavy, and really up in your face, so now there are like three committees that I have to run everything by, but at the end of the day, when I get the mic in my hand, it's all up to me. A lot of the stuff that I say doesn't even make TV because it gets cut out. So if you're at the live events you get to hear what I have to say, but if you're watching on TV, you're only getting about 50% of it.

IGN Sports: How long have you been freestyling for?

John Cena: First thing you have to understand is that freestyling is much different than making hip-hop music, there's another whole element to being a hip-hop MC. But I've been freestyling and messing around with rhyming since I was 13. That's when I really started listening to hip-hop music. I was at an age when hip-hop embodied rebellion and embodied what not to do. Your parents wouldn't let you listen to it, watch the videos, or dress like the hip-hop gangsters. I'm from a small town in northern Massachusetts, so that was like a gateway for me to express myself. So not only did I listen to hip-hop and dress hip-hop, but I messed around with rhyming myself.

IGN Sports: You touched on how the winner of your match against Kurt goes on to Wrestlemania to fight for the belt. I was curious what are some of your favorite Wrestlemania matches of all time?

John Cena: Number one on the list has got to be Wrestlemania III, Hogan vs. Andre. That was something that, as a kid, we got the whole family together and watched it on pay-per-view. That was really something special. As far as other Wrestlemania moments, something for me personally, was Wrestlemania XX, being a part of the event and beating The Big Show for the U.S. title. That match helped pave my success here in the WWE. Those are the two that stick out in my mind, one from a fan's perspective, one from an athlete's, looking back at an event and a sport that I never thought I'd even be able to make it into.

IGN Sports: So if you could headline a Wrestlemania against any opponent, current superstar or legend, who would it be?

John Cena: No brainer, Hulk Hogan. There are a bunch of guys right underneath that, but Hulk Hogan is the reason I started watching wrestling, the reason why I kept watching wrestling, and he hooked me as a young boy in a way that really transcended the sport. There are other guys like Undertaker, Rock, Austin, Triple H, pretty much anybody who is a "superstar" in our business, but Hogan would be my number one pick.

IGN Sports: A few years back, I remember seeing you in a documentary when you were first learning the business…

John Cena: Yeah, old-school Prototype. [laughs] It was 1999, and man, the timing was perfect. I had just started, and they did a special on what it takes to become a wrestler. It was crazy because I didn't even know how to become a wrestler, and I wish they would've done the documentary earlier so I would've known something going in. I really fell into wrestling school by chance. This person I was working with told me that they were going to become a wrestler, and I should think about doing it as well. No sooner did he say that he was going to become a wrestler that I was all over him about how to do it, where do I go, what do I do. I just wish I would've known about this stuff earlier, but that documentary really set things off for me.

IGN Sports: I couldn't believe how much you ate during the documentary.

John Cena: [laughs] Yeah, I used to work at Gold's Gym like 90-hours a week. I used to load up on all that food, pre-cook it, then I was eating like every two hours. I was working 90-100 hours a week, then go down and train for wrestling. They even showed me eating on one of the buses in the documentary, sitting there just eating all that steak, and that's exactly how I would do it.

IGN Sports: I hear you're also big into playing video games. You even went to E3 last year, right?

John Cena: Yeah, that was hot over there. I want to go back again this year. I went over as a guest of THQ and spoke at one of their investment presentations. It's a trip, because not only have I grown up with hip-hop and with wrestling, but I grew up in the video-game generation. It was awesome to be at E3.

IGN Sports: What games are you playing now?

John Cena: I'm a big Madden fan. I'm still playing '04, though, because I'm big into playing my Dynasty, and I'm 21 years deep right now. I play every game, 10-minute quarters, and I'm into every little facet of running my organization. It really takes up a lot of my time. I'm actually a fan of all of the EA Sports titles like Tiger Woods, Madden, and I'm really looking forward to buying NBA Street V3. I loved the first two games, so I can just imagine that when I get V3, it's going to be the end of my life. [laughs] I'm also very impressed with the way THQ stepped up with Smackdown vs. Raw, and I hear that Wrestlemania 21 is going to be an amazing game as well.

IGN Sports: What's your video game setup like at home?

John Cena: I'm big into the PlayStation 2. From what I've heard, the Xbox is the better system, but I can't get used to that controller. I don't have time to relearn how to ride a bike, and I love that PlayStation controller, so I'm PlayStation through and through right now. I also have the old-school 8-bit Nintendo hooked up. I can't stop laying that Tecmo Super Bowl. I play as the Chiefs with Okoye and Word in the backfield, then the defense is amazing with Neil Smith, Derrick Thomas, and Dan Saleaumua. That's a crew you don't want to mess with right there.

IGN Sports: You've got a lot of big things coming up besides wrestling, including a movie called The Marine.

John Cena: I have a full-length album coming out on May 10th. The John Cena album is going to drop May 10th, finally. Then the feature film, The Marine is coming out late summer/early fall of this year. It's a classic adrenaline-pumping, rugged and raw action flick straight out of the 80's. It's going back to the days of the real, get your hands dirty action hero, pushing everything to the limit, and there aren't any gimmicky special effects tricks that make it unbelievable. This movie really goes back to the days of grit and ass-kicking fun.

IGN Sports: Did they let you rap in the movie?

John Cena: No, it's a completely different side of John Cena. It's a good thing you saw the documentary, because that's one side of me, the WWE John Cena is someone else, but in the Marine, it's a totally different side altogether. You're going to see an ex-Marine trying to put his life back together, and I think you're going to be blown away. You're going to spend your money and not even know that that's the same guy you watch on Smackdown.

IGN Sports: I just read that the WWE is bringing Rowdy Roddy Piper back and inducting him into the Hall of Fame this year.

John Cena: Yeah, they have a bunch of guys: Sheik, Volkoff, Piper, Cowboy Bob Orton, Mr. Wonderful, Jimmy Hart, it's going to be big. The Hall of Fame is like Wrestlemania, it just gets bigger and bigger every year.

IGN Sports: I would pay good money to see you step in the ring with Piper, especially if you both had live mics.

John Cena: [laughs] Ah man, you should hear him when the camera isn't on, he's just as good. Piper is priceless. Once he starts on one of his rants, it's hard to keep a straight face. I just hope I can follow in his footsteps and say some things that stick out in people's minds. It's all about entertaining the fans, and it's fun to be able to hear the crowd go crazy before even throwing the first punch.