Dwayne Johnson and John Cena’s rivalry, which kicked off a full year before WrestleMania 28, was one of the best WWE storylines of all time. Johnson returned to the ring in 2011 after taking a break from WWE for his Hollywood career. He went up against WWE’s poster boy John Cena and hurtful words were exchanged between the two.
While Johnson is known for his slander talk, it was Cena who surprised everyone with harsh remarks and comebacks. Cena called out Johnson for abandoning the company and later called him out for writing promo notes on his wrist. The Rock completely lost his cool and his reaction was less than cordial, even when he did not have the mic on him.
Dwayne Johnson’s 2-word remark off the mic to John Cena proves their feud was real
Dwayne Johnson was thrown off his game when John Cena called him out for writing promo notes on his wrist. While the stars had quite the war of words between them ever since Johnson appeared at WrestleMania 27, this incident turned things intense between them. Cena managed to get under Johnson’s skin by exposing his secret.
In the next promo a few weeks later, The Rock confronted Cena with some angry words. Cena proved too quick-witted for Johnson. The Rock told him, “At his core, The Rock is 6’4” 260lbs of man that will rip your throat out”. He also called Cena “The Rock’s b*tch.” However, Cena kept staring at him, with a smile on his face.
Johnson was probably triggered and shared off the mic to Cena, “F**king punk.” Cena pulled off another stunt by pulling down his wristband and writing what The Rock said on his wrists. The interaction was the perfect setup for the ‘Once in a Lifetime’ match between them at WrestleMania 28.
Cena opened up about the incident during an appearance on A&E’s WWE Rivals, where the rivalry between The Rock and Cena was covered in Season 2 Episode 3. The Peacemaker star recalled how the storyline took another direction when an unnamed star pointed out Johnson’s secret notes on his wrist. He shared on the episode:
Rock doing his thing with me going out to interrupt him. And 90 seconds before my music hit, someone to not be named said, ‘yo, do you see that?’ I said, ‘see what?’ [the other person said] ‘I think Rock has something written on his wrist. Everyone was like, ‘Yooo!’ because that’s just not allowed.
Cena decided to use it to his advantage, which many considered to be a bold move. After the promo, Big Show told Cena backstage, “Hey. Big set of balls on you, buddy.” He also received praise from his other fellow wrestlers. Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz shared in the episode that it created a “disconnect” between the two stars.
The Rock vs. John Cena feud timeline
Dwayne Johnson and John Cena’s rivalry started way back in 2011 when The Rock returned to WWE after a seven-year hiatus to host WrestleMania 27. Johnson made fun of Cena and his catchphrase “You Can’t See Me” during the event.
Johnson and Cena first fought each other in the WrestleMania Go Home episode of Raw, where Cena defeated The Rock with an Attitude Adjustment move. Johnson would return his due in the WrestleMania 27 main event, when he interfered in the match between The Miz and Cena, costing the latter his WWE Championship.
Their rivalry led to the duo booking a headline match at WrestleMania 28 almost a year before the event. They took their feud to Twitter and other interviews, which all created a huge hype for the event. Since it wasn’t a title match, WWE gave it the title of Once In A Lifetime singles match.
While Cena brought some great punches in the ring, it was a match that belonged to The Rock from the beginning. However, their feud was far from over. Cena took back the WWE Championship from The Rock at the next year’s event, which many fans thought was an unnecessary sequel match.
The popular rivals returned to WrestleMania 40 last year. Johnson, who appeared to support Roman Reigns, easily took out Cena, who made a guest appearance to back Cody Rhodes. However, the match and the title eventually went to Rhodes.
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