John Cena addresses Vince McMahon’s WWE status
Vince McMahon’s WWE status is something that John Cena views as far above his pay grade.
On the media tour to promote his WWE retirement match, Cena stopped by The Joe Rogan Experience for a new interview that was published on Friday. Rogan asked Cena if McMahon — who resigned from WWE in January 2024 following the lawsuit filed by former company employee Janel Grant — is still involved with WWE.
“No. He’s out,” Cena responded.
Rogan then said he sees McMahon as someone who might be out of WWE at the moment but will eventually return.
“Nah — well, I don’t know,” Cena said. “All that stuff is so far above me. But I know, now, he’s out. In my eyes, I’d like to think that, like, time heals everything. And I believe in forgiveness. I also believe in looking at the body of work, but I also know there’s a lot of fragile stuff going on there. I don’t know, man. I don’t know.”
The lawsuit that Grant filed, which is still ongoing, accuses McMahon of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault, and sex trafficking. WWE as a company is also named as a defendant in the suit.
Since the allegations emerged, Cena, when asked about McMahon in interviews, has expressed his love for McMahon and said how much he values their friendship. But Cena knows that how he feels about someone does not mean they don’t have to face accountability for the things they’ve done.
“Just because I feel a certain way about a person doesn’t exonerate them from being accountable for their actions,” Cena said. “Just because he did start [quoting what comedian Tony Hinchcliffe said on the podcast] ‘all this gangster sh*t’ that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need to be accountable for his actions. So, let’s figure out what that means and then figure out if we can move forward and bring that back in the fold or if it stays the way it is.”
Whether McMahon could be in attendance for Cena’s final match has been a talking point among fans. Our Bryan Alvarez reported this week that McMahon being there is looking “increasingly unlikely.” The match is happening at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C. on December 13 and will pit Cena against either Gunther or LA Knight.
During another stop on the media tour, Cena appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast and named McMahon as the biggest mentor he had in his WWE career.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.