John Cena has finally come around on Dwayne Johnson!
"I will say that any time that I can be put in the same conversation as The Rock is a blessing," John said of his onetime rival while chatting about his new comedy, "Blockers," with Wonderwall.com.
The duo memorably faced off against each other during WrestleMania 28 and 29 in 2012 and 2013, and though they've had their differences in the past, these days they have more in common — especially when it comes to their reputations — than either of them probably ever could've imagined.
So who would win the title of Nicest Guy in Hollywood if there were such a thing?
"If there is a competition, he has won," John told us. "He has flat-out set the standard for any person in the WWE to aspire to, and not only that, he has crushed that ceiling and has now set the standard for anyone in Hollywood to aspire to."
"I think maybe I've stolen a few things out of his playbook because on many occasions, he's been overly nice to me when he didn't have to [be], and he's given me time," he continued. "Now in my life, I realize how valuable time is."
In the past, the "Trainwreck" actor — who rocked a Dwayne Johnson T-shirt as part of a bit during the 2018 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards — has called Dwayne a sellout and suggested that the "Jumanji" star used professional wrestling as a launch pad for his acting career and then turned his back on the wrestling community.
"I often had a poor perspective on what his goals were," John said of The Rock. "But now to see what he's accomplished is flat-out amazing. So if there is a competition, at this moment, I concede. He is one of a kind."
The two wrestlers have a complicated history: The Rock had just dipped his toes in Hollywood back in 2000, which is when he first met John at a Gold's Gym where the "Blockers" star was working as a low-level employee. The duo posed together for a photo — something John has never forgotten. But over the course of the next decade, they'd become fierce competitors.
In September 2016, John blamed their feud on their overactive imaginations.
"I said some things that were less than nice. He said some things that were less than nice," he explained during a Salt Lake Comic Con panel (per Wrestling Inc.). "And I can assure you, in our line of work, there is a gray area where imagination becomes very real, and we were right in the sweet spot of that gray area, each watching the other's every move and not too happy with the other party."
During an early 2017 interview with Sports Illustrated, John further explained why he was so disappointed with The Rock when the "Fast and Furious" franchise star made the transition from the WWE to Hollywood: "My thing was, 'Hey, man, as a fan, I loved you performing in this venue all the time, you left us high and dry, why aren't you back here? It's obvious you're still healthy and obvious you're still capable,'" he said, adding that he "just wanted [The Rock], selfishly, on 'Monday Night Raw' and on 'Smackdown Live.'"
We're glad to see the beef is all water under the bridge!
Catch John in "Blockers" starting April 6, 2018.