A little under a decade ago, John Cena went after Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for abandoning the WWE for Hollywood. They traded words in the press and social media and according to both, it was a legit feud and not one fabricated to create a buzz. Now, the two have mended that fence and become very close friends. So what changed? John followed suit and went Hollywood. But it isn’t as simple as chasing a buck, though. While promoting his new film Bumblebee John explained that he was completely oblivious when it came to what making movies entailed. Now that he’s making them himself, he gets why Dwayne made the choices he did and apologized for his ignorance. So now, when those in the WWE accuse John of being a “part-timer” and “going Hollywood,” John tells them they “are absolutely right.”

I say they’re 100% right… I selfishly in a very tunnel-vision feud I would say — or grievance with Dwayne, I tried to do whatever I could to harken him back to the WWE. Thank goodness he listened because we had some of the greatest entertainment…because of it. But from a genuine standpoint, if you’re taking it for more than entertainment. If you’re taking it as it was personal, I’m sorry, I was wrong. I spoke out of ignorance. When you do a movie you are not allowed to do anything else…. I spoke from ignorance I wasn’t in the movie making business, I was in the WWE business. And I’m like, “Man you love this why aren’t you here?”

[Transcribed by Buzzfeed]

The thing that impresses me about John’s comments is he’s not making excuses simply because he wants to be a movie star. He explained that he did not understand if the star, like Dwayne, goes out and gets his nose broken in a wrestling match, the consequences of that choice affects every single person working on the film and jeopardizes the chances of the film succeeding enough for a sequel. He’s conscious of the fact that the John Cena’s and Dwayne Johnson’s of the world can take that hit financially but some poor key-grip or boom operator is scrambling to put food on the table. Mainly, I’m really impressed to see someone say they were wrong and apologize sincerely. And further, he’s forgiving of those lobbing the same criticisms at him because he knows where they are coming from. It’s refreshing. This isn’t the first time John has addressed it publicly, either. John told Sport’s Illustrated in February 2017 that he was wrong in their feud. So good for him for being a big enough person to admit his mistake and good for Dwayne for forgiving him.

But he wouldn’t be The Rock if he didn’t milk it a little bit. Last April, when Jimmy Kimmel asked Dwayne if he had a message for John, who was appearing later in the week, Dwayne said, “Just say, ‘Listen, DJ always wants to remind you that if he ever acts up, he will knock his teeth so far down his throat that he’ll stick a toothbrush up his ass to brush them.’”

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