"An iconic moment in WWE history" - John Cena amazed by face-off between two former World Champions
WWE legend John Cena recently opened up about the importance of understanding the audience in the art of pro wrestling, and one match he used as an example was The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan from WrestleMania 18.
The iconic clash between The Rock and Hulk Hogan is considered to be one of the greatest matches in WWE history. The match felt like a meeting of two generations, and you could feel the energy in the arena as the two legends squared up face to face.
During a recent interview with Corey Graves on the After The Bell podcast, John Cena brought up the iconic match. He explained why the bout between The Rock and Hulk Hogan was so special and what younger WWE stars can learn from it:
An iconic moment in WWE history is 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan and The Rock looking at each other down and looking at the audience. How many times have we replayed that back and why? These are two guys looking at each other, then looking away, then looking at each other. If you look past it, if you look in the background, it's insanity, it's excitement... it's the craziest thing and a lot of the time that anticipation for 'I know these guys are going to do something... do something already'. [From 21:56 to 22:26]
John Cena on why improvisation is important in pro wrestling
While discussing the iconic Rock-Hogan matchup, John Cena explained why it's important for wrestlers to feel out the audience. He stressed that if every moment and move is choreographed, the performers won't be able to adapt to what the fans are feeling in that moment:
When you play jazz you lean into that anticipation. You can lead that excitement and the audience gives you that opportunity. If you just have everything memorized and choreographed, you don't give yourself any chance for an impromptu solo in the jazz reference. [From 22:27 to 22:45]
While speaking on After The Bell, John Cena also discussed one thing that frustrates him about some current WWE stars apart from Roman Reigns. You can check that out here.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit After The Bell and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.