WWE: John Cena says new talents need to step up, possible Hogan match, more

Hulk Hogan and John Cena

Former WWE World Heavyweight champion John Cena and WWE Hall of Famer were interviewed by Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald during the SummerSlam PPV weekend in Los Angeles. The full article can be found at this link.

Below are some major highlights.

Hogan on his recent birthday segment on RAW

“I got rattled when they played the package because I didn’t know what they were going to do. Vince [McMahon] likes to do the sneaky stuff without telling me. I was rattled when I saw the package and really fell apart reflecting on that time. Everybody from Flair to Piper to Orndorff was supposed to come out and say stuff. Nobody got to say anything. When Hall and Nash got to the ring WWE was saying no promos. No promos? I thought you had to have Hall’s ‘Hey Yo.’ Then, there had to be the transition to sing the birthday song to lead to [Brock] Lesnar coming out. The whole thing wasn’t going down the way we thought it was, but we had some old pros in there to pull it off. It was very emotional.”

Hogan on Vince McMahon making an appearance after RAW went off the air

“I didn’t expect that. Nobody told me that was going to happen. I thought Vince was for sure going to throw the cake at me, and I was going to dive into the cake, but he was cool. He gave me a big hug. It was just a great night. It really was.”

Cena on new talents having the chance to step up

“This is their moment. They have to do their best to capture it…It’s been interesting to see the change in the business and how we recruit talent. The money and resources WWE has put forth with the Performance Center shows they are absolutely serious about finding talent, recruiting them and making them the best they can be. This way when they are called up to appear on ‘Monday Night Raw,’ they are ready to go.”

Cena on a possible match against Hogan

“I do what I love, so when you wake up everyday, it’s not a job… A dream opponent for me would be Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and Sting. I’m not sure if I could ever get in the ring with any of them, but you have heard Hogan say in the past if he had one last match, he would want it to be against me. I say as a Hulk-a-Maniac growing up that would be the biggest honor I’ve ever received.”