John Cena ‘learned excellence’ from The Rock in WWE

John Cena has reflected on the invaluable lessons he gained from working with The Rock.

Cena revealed that he “learned absolute excellence” from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson during a recent WWE interview with Tom Rinaldi. Speaking about his experiences facing and working with Johnson, Cena described the lessons he gained from the former champion.

“I learned excellence. Absolute excellence. I learned what a good golf shot feels like when you go out and make 60 of them and hand in your scorecard,” Cena added. “That’s what I learned. I learned the noise every time. Even in your heart of hearts, maybe he thought he could have given more, the noise is still there. There is not a moment we shared without the noise. That is very rare when you’re paired with somebody that you always have that. There is usually some dead air. Not with him.”

Cena and The Rock faced each other twice in the ring, at WrestleMania 28 and WrestleMania 29, with both men scoring one victory each.

Both Cena and Rock are two of the biggest stars in the sports entertainment business. Their bond was highlighted when Cena turned heel on Cody Rhodes at Elimination Chamber 2025 with The Rock by his side.

The 48-year-old is now set to hang up his boots when he faces Gunther for the final time on December 13th, 2025, at Saturday Night’s Main Event.