John Cena reveals popular video game was secretly dominated by WWE Superstars
John Cena signed his WWE developmental contract in 2001, so needless to say he's seen a lot of backstage happenings over the years. The multi-time champion is preparing for his in-ring retirement and is now revealing anecdotes from the past twenty-three years, such as a surprising video game-related story.
The 16-time World Champion has covered ten video games including WWE 2K23, with appearances in a total of thirty-eight titles since GameCube's WrestleMania XIX in 2003. Cena recently revealed that one of the favorite games among superstars is Clash of Clans, which is a popular mobile strategy title released in August 2012 for iOS and October 2013 for Android.
Gamers playing Clash of Clans from 2015 to 2018 were likely beaten by a member of the WWE locker room, according to Sports Illustrated. Cena spoke with the publication and revealed there was a group of 15 superstars, who were ranked in the top 150 players worldwide, without anyone knowing.
"There were probably about 15 of us that were on the team. We were under the top 150 in the world, and it was all at the time we were playing. It was all WWE Superstars. So it was really cool that we were hiding in plain sight," John Cena said.
The gameplay became a favorite backstage activity. Cena was hesitant to reveal which superstars were in the group, but he confirmed that The Undertaker was not among them.
"Every other name I’ll keep on the board, but Undertaker was not in our Clash of Clans faction," John Cena said.
Wrestlers in the modern era began playing games backstage during downtime. This inspired Xavier Woods to launch his UpUpDownDown brand in March 2015. The WWE-endorsed YouTube channel has featured top names playing various games, including Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, and Alexa Bliss.
The Undertaker on gaming in the WWE locker room
The Undertaker is unapologetically from the old-school era of pro wrestling. The Deadman appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience in 2021 and noted how he missed the locker rooms of the past.
Taker mentioned how you see wrestlers play video games backstage these days as if it were a bad thing. The 37-year industry veteran said he liked it better when men were men.
"In that era of guys too, men were men. You go into a dressing room today and it's a lot different. I remember walking into my first real dressing room... half of them had knives and guns in their bags. S**t got handled then. Now you walk in and there's guys playing video games and f*****g making sure they look pretty. It's evolution, I guess. I don't know what it is, but I just like those eras, man. I liked when men were men," The Undertaker said.
The Undertaker's comments on video games backstage went viral and were seen as controversial by many. Miro fka Rusev was among the wrestlers that publicly responded to the WWE Hall of Famer.