John Cena and Dwayne Johnson 'Put Their Egos Aside' to Help WWE (EXCL)
Dwayne Johnson and John Cena put their well-known feud behind them a while ago and now they’re going a step further by teaming up to help with the big picture at WWE, continuing with the Fast & Furious franchise where they both have played antagonists-turned-antiheroes in previous installments and proving that they are stronger as allies than adversaries.
“With WWE getting off to a somewhat wobbly start in its big-money move to Netflix, this is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Dwayne and it’s also given him a chance to reassess some of these long-held relationships that cross over from the wrestling world to the movie business,” a source close to the Moana star’s world exclusively tells Life & Style.
According to reports, WWE Raw saw a decline in its viewership after its move to the streaming giant earlier in 2025, despite having less sports competition on the platform compared to the previous format. The downtrend highlighted the need for the organization to pull its big-name talent together and make magic happen for audiences who usually wouldn’t be invested in following wrestling. Most importantly that means making sure their two heaviest hitters, John, 47, and Dwayne, 52, friends outside of the ring and willing to cooperate with each other — especially now that The Rock is a board member of WWE’s parent company — something the source notes has gone well so far.
“[Dwayne] and John Cena have feuded in the past, but wrestling still matters to both of them and John is trying to be helpful at this pivotal moment for WWE and for Dwayne, who is calling a lot of creative shots for WWE as a member of its board of directors.”
The collaboration may have seemed unlikely before the two decided to squash their beef and focus on the future of their mutual business interests. John has previously publicly criticized the Jumanji star for making the transition to acting and claimed in a 2008 interview Dwayne “never gave anything back” to the company that gave him his start. Though, he would later apologize after pursuing the same goal as he ventured into on-screen roles, insisting he had the best intentions for the sport in mind at the time.
“Publicly and personally to Dwayne Johnson, I’ve stated that although I thought I was trying to do what’s best for business, I went about it the wrong way,” the Matchbox star said in October 2024.
“When WWE is working, it’s a real force in pop culture and for that to happen, you need both of these guys engaged and working as ambassadors to the mainstream on behalf of the sport,” the source explains. “You could say the same thing about the Fast & Furious franchise, and Dwayne and John both have plans to return for the 11th movie in the series, which is set to start production in the next few months.”
“What’s impressive about these guys — and I’d also include Vin Diesel in this group — is that when it really comes to crunch time, they actually can put their egos aside and work as a team toward a common goal instead of behaving like bickering schoolchildren!”