John Cena Recalls Feeling He Got When First Laying Eyes On Wrestling Ring At Gym

John Cena is the rare pro wrestler who was pegged as a future superstar from the beginning and also lived up to that potential. From the moment that he got his first national exposure, in a documentary about the wrestling school he attended that aired on Discovery Channel in August 2000, the guy with the look, the drive, and the verbal skills was seen as someone with limitless potential. 

Recently, Cena appeared on Kevin Hart's "Hart to Heart" interview show on "Peacock," where he explained how he broke into the wrestling business at that very wrestling school, and in particular, how seeing the school's ring in person motivated him.

"Literally the weekend I'm about to go down [to enlist], a buddy of mine says, 'Yo, you know, we train to be wrestlers over in Orange County. You ever thought about going down [there]?'" Cena recalled. "'Motherf***er, there's a WHAT? There's a school? We can do this? Yes, of course!' Literally, I was like, 'Yo, I'll go with you this weekend, I'll see what it's about.' We went to a place called L.A. Boxing in Orange County. It was a one-story, glass house, sweatshop gym. I remember pulling up and seeing the ring through the window, and [being] like, 'Yo, I'll do whatever it takes to get in there as long as I can.'"

Cena added that he had no illusions about starting training and immediately becoming a star at the level of The Rock. He loved wrestling and was going to work a regular job during the week so he could take indie wrestling bookings on the weekend, and he took every booking he could get.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Hart to Heart" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.