John Cena kicked off the Money in the Bank press conference, taking questions for an extended period.
He noted that, although the idea of a retirement run was his, the timing had been a WWE call.
When asked why now, he said:
I think the answer is ‘cause it’s not up to me. I approached the WWE with this idea. And they kind of initiated the talks that this would be a great span of time if we’re ever gonna do it.
This is no thanks to me, but the business is at incredible heights of popularity and awareness.
POST Wrestling’s John Pollock asked Cena the following question about Vince McMahon:
Obviously, when people are reflecting on your career, it’s very hard to separate your career and Vince McMahon. I want to know, now that you have had a lot of time to kind of reconcile what has been alleged against Vince McMahon, can you tell me what he has meant to your career and also how you have processed what has come out over the last two years?
Cena somewhat sidestepped the question, saying:
Well, surely an uncomfortable question. Man, I really would much rather talk about what’s ahead of us, and that’s really important. I’ve been pretty honest, in my opinion, to the answer to that question. And if you didn’t see it, I know you can dig it up somewhere.
But I think we’re on the precipice of something pretty special. And as the business evolves and continues to evolve, damn, it’s in pretty good hands with the TKO folks. So I am happy to be where I’m at. Again, I think if you want that information, you dig hard enough, you can find it. Thank you, though. Appreciate the courage.
When asked about how the future may pan out and whether he saw a future outside the ring with the company, he said:
So here’s where we give you some of the deets of the farewell tour. It’s not gonna end at WrestleMania. WrestleMania will be my last WrestleMania. But hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, we’re going straight through from January to December.
We’re gonna try to do a long list of dates. I think right now, tentatively, it’s hovering in the mid 30s to 40s because I’m still gonna try to juggle a lot of stuff that’s going on. And that’ll be the end of my in-ring competition.
Now, part of this business plan, I guess, that I proposed and they accepted, thank you, “they”, was me remaining in the WWE family in some capacity for an extended time to come.
I’ve always said to the audience that the WWE is my home and I love it. And just because I physically feel I’m at my end, doesn’t mean I need to distance myself from something I love. I have passion for this business…I feel I have some wisdom locked up here that could be of some value. So I look forward to ending my participation in the ring in the best way that I possibly can, and being a member of the extended WWE family for quite some time to come.
