John Cena comments on his feelings toward Vince McMahon despite the sexual misconduct accusations, whether he handpicked Austin Theory to work with at WrestleMania

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

John Cena spoke with Dan Gelston of the Associated Press. The following are among the highlights of the interview that can be read in full at APNews.com.

-Why he came back to WWE to feud with Austin Theory: “You would be surprised at my answer. Because that’s what I was told would happen. I don’t do that. I don’t say, I want to do this. I want to work with that person. I don’t ever do that. I’ve never done that. I just try and do what I’m told to do and do it to the best of my abilities. Instead of dictating my terms, I often just try to make the performance the best it can be. What I don’t do and what I’ve never done is curate the direction of the narrative. I don’t pick opponents, but I love to tell stories. I didn’t pick Austin Theory but I certainly spoke from the heart (on Raw).”

Whether it’s tough to reconcile his feelings toward Vince McMahon given the sexual misconduct accusations made against him: “No. I mean, everyone has the right to have their perspective. I have the right to have mine. When you love somebody, you take them as imperfectly perfect as they are. We all make mistakes, we all have poor decisions. Lord knows I’ve made my collection of poor choices. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to love somebody. There’s no way I can go on record and say I don’t love Vince McMahon.”

Powell’s POV: Cena was among the attendees of Vince McMahon’s most recent birthday dinner, and reports indicate that McMahon attended last week’s Raw in Boston to visit Cena. The interview also touches on Cena’s role in the WWE 2K23 video game, his pick for greatest of all-time, and he clarified his Twitter comment that “it might be the last time” coming out of last week’s Raw.