All language subtitles for Hart to Heart s03e02 John Cena.eng

-My guest today is huge
in every way possible --

Huge body, huge personality,
and a huge career

with the WWE.

And guess what
that translates into?

A big box office career
as well.

Guys, he's doing it all --
comedy, drama, action.

And who am I talking about?

Well, you should know by now.

None other than John Cena.

Did you see that?
Did you see what I did?

-I -- I didn't see you
for a second.

You became invisible.
It actually works, yeah.

-Did you see me?
You can't see me.

-No, I didn't see that.
I didn't see you.

-Huh? You can't see me. Huh?

Dude, thank you man.
-No, no. Thank you, man.

First of all, it's great
to see you again.

-Great to see you.
-I love the format of the show.

So I, you know, I want to tip
back some wine,

talk a little bit,
have some fun.

-Well, I'm not going
to let you start talking

without addressing
how good you look, man.

Clean up well, you do.

You look like a star.

You look like you belong
where you are.

-What does --
What does that mean?

-When people say
you look like a star?

-Yeah, what does that mean?
-It means you actually do

look like a star.
You know this.

-Because these are my PJs.
I slept in this.

-Well, now I don't believe that.
And if you do,

then do I need to start
doing the same thing?

Is that what we're doing
right now? Is this what --

Is this what the stars
are doing now?

Uh, look, you said it. You said
what the show's about, right?

It's a comfortable format.
-Yeah.

-We sit, we talk.
-Yeah.

-But we talk over a glass
of wine.

That's what makes the show
special. Right?

So with that being said,
let me get my somm out here.

-I know you got some caffeine
in you.

It's time to balance it out.

It's time to go uppers
and downers.

-I don't have any caffeine
in me.

I don't what you're talking
about.

-It seems like you
might be revving a little high.

Let's slow it down.
What do we got?

-Mr. Hart, Mr. Cena.
-Yeah.

-Single-vineyard, exquisite
Syrah from the Edna Valley,

not too far up the road.

SLO, the cool kids call it.
-Not the SLO.

San Luis Obispo with a wonderful
Slide Hill Vineyard Syrah.

I think you'll both love it.

-Excellent.
-An Obispo, huh?

-A little bit of whole cluster
in here, too.

Wonderful texture. Balanced.

-Nothing better than a little
a whole cluster.

-Absolutely.

-How do you make your choice?
-How do I make my choice?

-No, no, no. He's got the skills
in this department.

How do you make your choice?
Is it dependent on the guest?

-Well, first off, it's always
dependent on the guest.

But Mr. Hart has
a directive here.

The wine has to be Black-owned,
Black-made, Black-run.

-Hm, okay.
-Very, very few,

but the producers that are out
there, of color, are exquisite,

so I craft the best wines
for this show.

This Syrah happens to be
one of them.

Less than 100 cases made.

-Well, cheers to you for
knowledge, Kevin. Thank you.

-Cheers to you.
-Appreciate you.

-Gents, enjoy.
-Man. Hey. Hey.

Let me tell you something.
-Cheers.

-Me and you, okay? Me and you,
talking about a team.

-Seems, yeah.
-I may --

I may try out
for that Somm thing.

-You got it.
-As you see,

my knowledge is getting more
in tune as we do more. Right?

John, to you, man.
-No, no. Cheers.

Thanks for having me.

So, less an interview,
more of a discussion, right?

-Yeah. What are you talking --
-What's off --

-There is no interview.
-What's off limits?

-Nothing's off limits.
-Are you sure?

Because we've talked before
behind the camera,

not too, much.

I mean, you were kind enough
to take, like, the one minute

that you do have in between
doing everything.

Um, we had a few conversations,
shared a few wonderful moments.

-Nothing is off limits.
-Are you sure?

-Listen, this is not
an interview, right?

-I know, it's a discussion.
-It's a discussion.

What I was going to say earlier
is that when I got a chance

to talk to you
when we worked together, dude,

you are intelligent as hell,
but you were such a --

you were such a, like,
sponge for information.

And our -- our conversation
that we had, like,

we were both giving so much
information to one another.

And I found that we --
we were more interested

in each other's story than
we probably thought we would be.

-Well, thanks, man.
I appreciate that.

And likewise, you were extremely
open and extremely gracious

about kind of showing myself
and whoever was around

pages from your playbook.
-Mm-hmm.

-And not just your story, I mean
your playbook operations now.

-Yeah.
-Where you are. You --

You are -- I think people
understand this about you

because you do document
your life,

and you share a whole lot.

But there's no way,

unless you're standing
in your orbit,

to understand exactly
how hard you go.

I was amazed at how hard go.
-Thank you. Thank you, man.

-You -- You are on
another level.

-Well, let's start --
let's start there then.

-Sure.

-Let's start in a place of
hard work, right?

Like, I don't know if everybody
truly understands

the machine of the WWE.

And what blew me away the most
was how committed you have to be

to a schedule that never seems
to die, right?

Like, in the WWE,
you are a part of almost,

what I would call a 365, right?

Like, you're part...
-Sure. Sure.

-...of a 365 work regimen.

And in that 365 place
and space of work,

you're committing to the --

to the world of your progression

as a wrestler, as a talent.

And in -- in the orbit of WWE,

all of the personnel
that comes through,

everybody that wants to touch,

that wants to be the biggest,
the best, or whatever,

sometimes a lot of these things,
you know,

they don't pan out the way
that some would want them to.

Um, in your case, you know,
you're talking about,

how many years?

You -- You have --

How many years
do you have in there?

-It's been a lot.
I started in 2002.

-And the beginning of it,
what I found, like,

to be crazy was you coming in
on the, I guess you could say,

the old generation,
the old-school generation...

-Yeah.
-...of legends...

-Yeah.
-...Hall of Famers.

You know, you kind of had
to earn your stripes,

for lack of a better word,
right?

Your comfort in that space,

it wasn't immediate
with those guys.

-WWE, they run all the time.

But I think that's kind of
where we might have,

and I'm thinking for you
at this point,

but I think that's were we might
have found common ground.

What -- What was the first time
you hit the stages of stand-up?

-First time I hit the stage?

-What was the first time
you hit the stage?

-2000 and --

No, 1998.

And that was
in the space of amateur night

and me just falling in love
with amateur night

and competitions.

Small stage,
but from '98 to '99,

was where I was just performing
on things, right?

Like, whether it was a stage,
whether it was a cabaret,

whether it was a lounge, we had
to create our environments.

They weren't -- They weren't all
set up for comedy.

They weren't all, like,
entertainment-like environments.

-But it's a nonstop grind.
-Yeah. Yeah.

-And you're always on stage.
-Yeah.

-And it's a different city every
night and you're hustling.

I went through the same thing.
-Yeah.

-You know, it's the same thing.

And the business has changed
so much since I started.

-For the better or the worse?
-I think some --

I think a whole lot better.

And I'm -- I'm just, again,
I'm thinking for you,

I bet you comedy has changed
since '98...

-Absolutely. Absolutely.
-...until now.

I bet you a lot of it's changed.

-I mean, the times --
the times have changed,

which in return have caused
comedy to change.

Right? So comedy has changed

because we had no choice
but to change.

-I hear you there.
I hear you there.

-Now, in your side when you say
it's changed drastically,

I feel like it's grown, right?

-And I think that's the biggest
thing that's changed.

-Okay.
-It has grown exponentially.

-Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
-Like, exponentially.

To the point where, you know,
I always preface the NBA

and the ABA in the '70s...
-Mm-hmm.

-Major League Baseball
in the late '70s and '80s,

pro football in the '80s.

Like, pro football now,
it's an -- it's an operation.

-Mm-hmm.
-The NBA now is an operation.

Major League Baseball's
an operation.

WWE's kind of followed
the same trajectory

where it is this massive,
globally reaching

entertainment juggernaut
that can show up anywhere.

-Mm-hmm.
-I've been to --

You know, we've been to
AT&T Stadium in Dallas,

and I've performed
in Afghanistan.

-Yeah.
-And everywhere in between.

-Yeah.
-And, uh, I think as --

as you have more success,

and especially
they cast a PG net,

the program is PG, but it also
changed from TV-14 to PG.

-Mm-hmm.
-See?

And it's also
a generational product.

Like, I'll talk to older folks
and they'll be like,

"Oh, I grew up with Hulk Hogan
and Ricky Steamboat

and Ric Flair
and 'Macho Man' Randy Savage."

And then there are
people that'll be like,

"Ah, the Attitude era
was the best with Rock

and Steve Austin and DX
and The Undertaker."

And there are folks
that grew up watching me,

and then there's
the current generation

that watches the current
superstars and --

and, you know,
comments and critiques

and appreciates that product.

So if it's not your generation,

you always romanticize
about the performers,

the comics before.
-Yeah.

-I liked Richard Pryor.
I liked George Carlin.

-Yeah.
-I dig these comics

instead of what's --
what's up there now.

I don't -- I don't understand.

The same can be said for
styles of music.

You know, I --
I love hip-hop music,

but I correlate to, like,
'90s boom-bap style music.

And I just don't understand
a lot of the other stuff.

But it doesn't mean
it's not bad,

it's just that I have,
like, kind of my --

my sweet spot, the stuff
that I romanticize about.

And as the company grows,
it's trying to --

it's trying to gain
more of a following.

It's trying to gain more of
a fan base,

a general fan base,
so you have to --

you have to act accordingly.

The -- The great news is,
I feel, the talent,

the performers are better
taken care of.

They're more professional.
They're more understanding.

They're not -- not as wasteful.
They're a lot smarter.

-Yeah.
-They're a lot healthier.

-I mean, that's from seeing
the mistakes of others, right?

-It's -- It's wisdom.

-John, I don't want to stop you,
but I have to.

Guys, I want to take a quick
break.

Please don't go nowhere.
We've got John Cena,

and he's talking about his road,
his journey.

You don't want to miss it.
Stick around.

We've got more "Hart to Heart"
when we get back after this.

-Alright, well, I've got
a refill, which means that

the conversation is going to
continue to flow.

John, so dude, right now, you
sit a place of success, right?

You've been in the war though.
-What -- What does that mean?

-Well, when I say
you sit in a place of success,

meaning that the WWE
that you entered

is not the WWE
that you sit in now.

How was wrestling, like --
How was it the go-to?

Like, was it -- was that --
was that the journey all along?

Was it...
-No. Not even close.

-..."This is what I want to get
to. This is what I'm gonna do"?

-My -- My whole existence
is, uh, an accident.

-What is that?
What the fuck does that mean?

What?
-Well, it's --

My whole existence is based
on a series of fortunate events

that kind of lined up
with each other.

-Okay.
-I did not know

that wrestling was even
a career option.

-Mm-hmm.
-I watched it as a young man.

Kind of fell out of it
as an adolescent, a teenager,

because you're like,
"Oh, you've got to study hard

and maybe play sports or go to
get a real job or whatever."

Went to college, got a degree,
tried to apply my degree

out here in California.

Now, I didn't move out to LA
to -- to pursue entertainment.

I moved out to apply my degree

in Exercise Physiology
and Kinesiologies,

so all the...
-Goddamn!

-It's basically just a degree
in working out.

So I like--
-Kinesiology?

-Yeah.
-Kinesiology?

-The study of
movement of the body.

So I -- I, uh, I was passionate
about that at the time.

I started working out at 13,

so it's kind of
something I knew.

And, like, I didn't -- never
felt like I was going to class.

Came out here to try to apply
my degree and really failed.

But, uh, my dad,
in a brilliant --

-Why do you say failed?
-Because I --

I couldn't get, um,
any sort of validation

for that piece of paper
that I paid for.

-Wow.
-That 4-year certificate

from Springfield College saying,

"We think you know
what you're talking about."

-Mm-hmm.
-And then I go out and try to,

"Well, I got this."

It was like,
"I don't give a shit."

-What do you think --
What do you think that was?

Like, when you say
you couldn't get a job,

I mean, having a degree,
having a diploma --

-I don't know. I don't know.
Uh, may--

You know,
knowledge is one thing.

-Mm-hmm.
-Life experience,

wisdom is another.
-Mm-hmm.

-Maybe I just didn't -- Maybe I
rubbed the people the wrong way.

Maybe I didn't know how to
carry myself in interviews.

Maybe I didn't
search the right places.

This is, uh, 1999,

so we're not as interconnected
as we all are now.

-Mm-hmm.
-Um, but I'd failed

to the point of like, man,
I'm, like, living in my car.

-What?
-I love it out here,

but I think I've got to --
I've got to go back.

I took the California
Highway Patrol exam, failed.

So I was going to be a cop --
failed.

-Goddamn it, John.
This is getting sad.

-Every avenue of fitness...
-Yeah.

-Failed, closed door,
closed door.

I remember bouncing
at a place called Sharkeez

in Hermosa Beach.

And there was a pizza place,
Zeppy's Pizza,

right next to Sharkeez.

They had a deal where --
They had a challenge

if you could eat their whole
pizza, you got it for free.

I used to eat there every night,
a whole pizza,

so I didn't have to pay
because I didn't have money

to pay the guy.

So I had to, like,
Joey Chestnut...

-Hold on, John, Goddamn.

I'm-a need another one
just to --

just to deal with the weight
of this discussion.

Wait a second John.
-But it --

You know, through -- through
uncomfortable situations,

we find out who we are.

And I really had to take a look
at, like,

"Okay, what do I feel
I have to offer and..."

-Well -- Well, just let me --
let me just make sure

I'm grasping, okay, correctly.
-Yeah, sure.

-My guy. Okay.
-I'll take a little bit.

Looks like I'm out of it.
I'm going to need some, too.

-Yeah, no, this is --
this is good, by the way.

And this is what I mean about
our conversations, right?

And this is what is was on set,

but on set, we didn't go here.

So, um, homeless?
-Uh, well,

a Lincoln Continental's
a big car.

I lived in the back of a '91
Lincoln Continental for awhile.

-How long?
-But it was a --

Uh, 3 or 4 months, and then
I moved into a garage.

-That's fucked up.
-So the garage

I actually stayed into for,
that was, like, 6 months.

But it was --
And here's the thing, like,

often you hear stories
of hard times.

-Mm-hmm.
-I'm very fortunate for my story

because it was my choice
to have hard times.

-Define that.
-Uh, my father always said,

you know, "You're my son.
I love you.

You're -- You're always welcome
back home."

I had -- If I could get to
West Newbury, Massachusetts,

I would be fed, I would have
a roof over my head,

I would be able to regroup.

I chose to stay out.

-You said your father, uh,
not your mother.

What -- Is there --

-Oh, well, uh,
I think at that point my mom --

I've got four brothers.
-Okay.

-I think my mom was just happy
we were all in one piece.

-Okay. Okay.
-You know, like, it's, uh,

traditional -- My -- My parents
are no longer together

but as they raised us,

it was kind of the traditional
father is the spokesperson.

Mom is just...
-Four brothers,

same mom, same dad?
-...crossing her fingers --

Yeah. Hoping that we don't
kill each other, you know?

-And they are all aware
of your hard times at this point

or this is your battle?
-No, because, again, my choice.

-Wow.
-Like, it was --

And I -- I look back on those
days not with any regret.

I -- I loved it.
I was, uh --

I had a front desk job at
Gold's Gym Venice at the time.

I had my degree in Kinesiology.

I'm in the center of, like,
body-building fitness industry.

All the equipment manufacturers
are there.

I've got pretty much

the best gym in the world
at my fingertips.

I would show up early for work,

go to the locker room
take a shower,

work my shift...
-Wow.

-Work out,
take another shower,

and go sleep in my car.
-Are you seeing at this time,

I mean, you're talking about
'99, right?

-Yeah.
-'99, even going into 2000.

-Yeah.
-Gold's Gym has always been,

especially in Venice, it's
always been a highlight of --

of your action stars of tomorrow
or the future of --

-WWE superstars.
-Yeah, everybody. Your --

I was going to say,
action stars, your WWE.

-I got my picture
with The Rock.

-There?
-Yeah.

-Holy shit.
-Me in my Gold's Gym

Nutrition Club store polo.

-Is it when he had
that dumbass hair?

The -- The stupid ass hairdo?

-I -- I thought it was
quite nice.

-When he had that dumbass
hairdo.

-I think if you look at our
picture together --

-When he looked like
a fucking idiot.

-I remember myself having a
blond sort of golf tee flat top.

-I'm not talking about you.

I'm talking about The Rock
early on.

-So I'm just saying I can't --
I can't really throw stones...

-He had that piece.
-...because I was in

a papier-mâché house at that --

-Well, he had that piece that
hung down.

-You know?
-That stupid-ass piece.

That dick piece.
-I -- I think you have a --

-Right on his fucking forehead.

-You got anything else you want
to unload?

It feels like you're
holding on to something.

-Yeah, I'm just telling you
I remember. I know the per--

I know the guy that you're
talking about at that time.

-Okay.
-I've seen the pictures.

-Alright.
-Now you don't have to say it.

But you can look at me...
-I didn't say it.

It's your words.
-You can look at me,

and if you blink twice --
-It's your fight.

-If you look at me
and blink twice.

He looked like a dick.
-I'm just --

I'm remembering my hairdo
choice.

-You blinked three times.
That's a double dick.

Ha! We got him, John.

I'm going to find the picture.

Okay. Guys, we're going to take
a quick break.

We'll be right back with more
"Hart to Heart" after this.

-And we're back.
We're still here with John Cena.

And oh, my God, uh, the gems
that are being dropped.

So, John, you're in Venice.
You're at Gold's Gym.

These people are coming in
and out.

You're seeing these people,
right?

Um, although, hard times
you're in, is this --

is this amplifying the idea
of your future?

Where did the idea of wrestling
come from?

When did that start?
-So when I began to be,

like, "Well, what do I
have to offer?"

-Mm-hmm.
-"I believe I'm disciplined.

I work on my strength
and fitness.

I take care of myself.
I'll join the Marines."

And Camp Pendleton's
down in San Diego.

I'm, like, "Man, I'll just go
down and join. Like, I'll --

They'll probably take me."

-By the way,
do you know how dedicated

to fitness you have to be
to be homeless and fit? Goddamn.

-But like I said,
once again, it was --

-That is a --
-I wasn't --

I wasn't, like, thrown out
of anywhere. I was --

You've got to understand
I was choosing to do this.

-Yeah, I know. But you're still
living in a garage,

and you're like, "Ah, let me get
my workout in."

That's tough.
-No, to me it was --

It was like clarity.
-Shit.

-That's -- That's my --
That's kind of like my church.

-Your mental,
that's your mental.

-Yeah, man. That's the place
to go to lighten my backpack.

-Okay.
-Always has been. Uh...

-So the Marines.
-So I'm about to go to enlist,

and a buddy of mine --
Like, that was '99.

-Mm-hmm.
-And so, like, WWE,

WWF, WCW head --
like, going head to head.

Like, they're doing
massive ratings.

Everybody's watching
sports entertainment.

-Mm-hmm.

-And us in Gold's Gym
were no different.

We always had it on.
We were always talking about it.

But literally the weekend
I'm about to go down,

a buddy of mine says,

"Yo, you know we train to be
wrestlers over in Orange County.

You ever thought about
going down?"

I was like, "Motherfucker,
there's a --

What?! There's a school?
We can do this?"

Yes, of course.

-"I was about to go
to the Marines."

-Literally.
-"I was going to go --"

-I was like -- I was like, "Yo,
I'll go with you this weekend.

I'll see what it's about."

We went to a place called
LA Boxing in Orange County.

It was a one story, like,
glass house,

sweat shop gym.

I remember pulling up

and seeing the ring
through the window.

And being like, "Yo, I'll do
whatever it takes to get --

to get in there
as long as I can."

-I mean...
-So it wasn't --

It wasn't like a, um...

When I saw it and I was like,
"This is what I'm going to do,"

It wasn't like
I'm going to be The Rock.

It was like, "I'm going to work
my job during the week,

so I can work flea markets
on Saturday and Sunday

because I fucking love this."
-Yeah.

This was your light bulb.
It was your light bulb.

-And as soon as I --
As soon as I got in there,

it was amateur nights.

It was working at male --
It was like wherever.

"Hey, we've got a show in the
middle of the street."

-Yeah.
-"I'm there, no problem."

"I don't even think
we have a show."

"I'm there, no problem."
-It doesn't matter.

When the light bulb goes off,
your immediate --

your immediate ability
to turn on your work switch

is like nothing else.

-Because you talk to anybody
it's like entrepreneurs are --

It's kind of
a running philosophy --

"If you love what you do,
you never work a day

in your life."
-Mm-hmm.

-And I don't --
-Say that again, John.

-Well, the philosophy
or the mantra

is "If you love what you do,

you never work a day
in your life."

I disagree with that.

I think that every person,

even, like, anyone out here,

anyone hiding in the oak cellar
you have behind...

-They're in the back working.
-...behind the barrels

or anything...
-They're back there.

-...everybody you meet
is going through a struggle

that we know nothing about.
-Mm-hmm.

-So there -- there is hard work
at every turn for everyone.

-Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
-But if you love it,

and it's wonderful conversations
I've had with --

with people close to me
and people that I love,

If you love it, it makes
the hard times more memorable,

more valuable.

You can gain from them.

You can learn
from your mistakes.

If you don't love it, it --
it is hard work.

It sucks.

You know, I tell a lot of young
people that are in the WWE,

"If you're in this
to make money,

go somewhere else."
-Mm-hmm.

-"This is a hard living
to make money at."

If you love it,
sky's the limit.

You stop counting the money
and just go -- go out and do.

And the money will show up.
-Mm-hmm.

-But I saw it, and I was like,

"I'm going to exist out here

and do this as a long as I can
as a weekend hobby,"

and never thought
it would be anything.

So, like, it happened
by accident.

I'm about to go
join the military,

and a buddy is like, "Hey, man,
we've been doing this forever.

Where have you been?"

Let's do it.
-I relate to the accident.

Because I didn't know that

the comedy club
was around the corner.

I didn't know that
the amateur nights existed.

It was a recommendation
of a friend.

-Yeah.
-And the discovery of the thing

that you end up finding
some of the most passion for

sometimes is an accident, right?

And I think people
can definitely relate

to what you just said.

I mean, as you said it, I'm --

As you see, I'm engulfed.
I'm listening.

You said you met The Rock.
-Mm-hmm.

-You also said he looked
like a dickhead.

You said...
-I -- You know, that's, um...

I don't know. I think
you're bending some things.

-I'm not sure.
-Yeah.

-We can look at it in the edit.
I remember --

I think I remember you said
he was a dickhead.

Um, either way,
let's just throw that out.

That's neither here nor there,
okay?

The point that I'm about to make
is there was a connection.

"Wow, I saw him here."

In that world that you were in,
who were some of the, like,

the person to person contacts
early on

that were a representation
of the high level in --

in this space, right?

Did you -- Did you have any --

Did you have any, like,
moments where it was like,

"Oh, shit, that's...

Oh, fuck, that's --
Right there is..."

-Sure, right now
with Kevin Hart.

-Well, I don't --
I don't wrestle

so I'm saying in the WWE job...
-No, but I --

I can have those moments
all of the time, like...

-Okay, John. I understand that,
but I'm saying --

I'm asking you about that time.
-So --

So anyone who was doing
what I loved as a hobby.

-Yes. Yes. Who, like in other
words --

-And making -- No, the --
Anyone.

-You -- You now said,
"I'm doing wrestling."

-Yes.
-"That's what I want to do."

-Yes, and my answer to it is

anyone who was doing
what I love...

-Mm-hmm.
-...and calling it their work.

-Ah.
-Like to me...

-I got you.
-...they were cheating.

-I got you.
-They had it figured out.

-Like, they -- You know,
"The joke's on them,

I do this for free."
-They cracked --

They cracked the code.
-They cracked the code.

-Yeah. Mm-hmm.
-So you could be,

what we call in the business,
you could be an op--

opening act, opening match guy.
-Mm-hmm.

-You could be
an intermission guy.

You could be the main event.
It doesn't matter what you do,

if you -- like,
if you're getting paid to do

what I'm going to do for free...
-Mm-hmm.

You did it.
-You did it. You figured it out.

-Uh, guys, do me a favor.
Stick around.

We've got more "Hart to Heart"
when we come back after this.

-Alright, well,
I got a a refill,

which means that
the conversation is going

to continue to flow.

Uh, John, so dude, my next
question to you is a doozy.

You've endured
the world of hardship,

and you welcomed it.

You didn't bitch and complain.

Like you said,
you strapped your boots up.

It is what it is.
I'm going to figure it out.

-Again, I chose it though.
-I know, that's what I said.

You -- You endured it, like,
you said,

"Alright, this is what it is.
I'm not bitching about it.

I'm not complaining about it."
-The good outweighed the bad.

-"I'm going to make this --
I'm going to make it make sense.

I'm going to figure it out."
-Yeah.

-Upon figuring it out,

what's the conversation
with Mom, Dad,

and the brothers?

-Uh, so, my dad is a life-long
wrestling fan.

-Really?
-And I remember...

-Are you really close
to your dad?

-Not as -- Not as much as
I should be.

-Okay.
-Not as much as I should be.

Um, and you?
-We weren't --

We weren't close, but we were --
We were okay.

I love my dad, but we weren't,
like, close-close. Right?

We were okay,
but my dad was in and out.

And that distance is probably

the reason for
not being close-close.

Um, but his trials
and tribulations

ultimately became lessons to me

and my reasons for not doing
certain things

came from the bird's-eye view

as to what was right
and what was wrong.

-I think this is why
our conversations --

We -- We run
very parallel paths.

-Okay.
-And I don't --

I don't know the circumstances
of what's your relationship

with your dad --
-My dad was a crackhead.

-Mine was not.
But when you --

When you describe your relat--

-I thought you said
they were similar.

I just threw myself out there.

I threw myself out there
based off of you saying

we're on similar paths
thinking you were going to say,

"Mine's, too."

And now
one of us look like a dickhead,

and one of us don't.
-No. No.

-No? Well, it's kind of --

kind of how I took it.
-Okay.

-Maybe I'll go back
and take that out in edit.

-First -- First of all,
I'm sorry about that.

-Yeah? Well, are you?
-Sorry. Sorry to --

-Are you? Because you set me up.

You fucking set me up good,
John.

You sat there,
with your beady eyes,

you looked me right in mine.

You said, "I think we run
very similar paths."

And I said, "Alright,
here it comes."

-Yeah.
-"He's a fucking crackhead."

And you go,
"Well, that's tough."

-I didn't -- I didn't say exact.
I didn't say exact.

I said very similar.
-You said --

Your exact words after I said
it was, "That's tough."

-Mine --
My dad was not a crackhead.

-Okay.
-But when you described

the relationship you had with
your father,

I have a very similar
relationship with my dad.

-Okay. Okay.
-The in and out and, you know,

not -- not ideal in --
in my mind but a lot that --

a lot of that's my fault.
-Okay.

-You know, a lot of that
rests on me.

-Okay.
-Um,

but what I will say
is he was ecstatic.

Like, I don't know
how much he cared

when I did graduate college.
-Mm-hmm.

-I don't know how much he cared
about accolades I had

before I was hired by the WWE.
-Mm-hmm.

-My first contract for the WWE
was $12,000 a year.

I quit my job
the day I was signed.

-What year?
-2000.

-Wow. Okay.

-So I think my rent
was 1,000 bucks a month.

So, like, all my money
is now rent.

-Yeah.
-12,000 bucks a year,

quit my job, like...
-By the way, you're in debt.

You have to pay taxes.
-Yeah, exactly.

-Yeah.
-Yeah, exactly.

Uh, but when I told my mom,
she's just like,

"I hope you're okay."

Um, my brothers, it's a very --

I grew up in a small town
in New England.

It's a very, uh...

It's a very -- like, you --
you have an edge.

You don't talk about anything
except sports.

Like, if -- if you're
really hurting inside,

it's, "Yeah, fucking Red Sox,
huh?"

You know, and that look
says everything.

-Mm-hmm.
-And that's it.

And that's -- that's, like,
that's the end of it.

-Mm-hmm.
-But they also won't let you

grow too big for your britches.

And I love my brothers,
and I love my family for --

for desperately
latching onto my feet

and stapling them to the floor.
-Okay.

-When -- When I wanted,
you know,

if I wanted to think
that I was looking at life

from a different perspective,
they always kept me level

and looking at people
eye-to-eye,

and I love them for that.

Uh, but they didn't give a shit.

-Okay.
-My dad thought I was like --

It -- It -- I could have told
him any other position,

he'd been like,
"Yeah, whatever."

"Dad, I just got a job
with the WWE."

"Oh, my son!"

Like, the one time he was like,
"Yeah, this is unreal.

You're gonna do --
It's gonna be great.

I can't believe it."
And he's --

Still, to this day,
he's extremely proud of that.

-Well, you're talking
about validation,

and I want to pause there.

This is an important place

that we should, uh,
that we should spend some time.

But I can't spend time here
if I don't pay bills there.

Do me a favor, guys.
Stick around.

We've got more "Hart to Heart"
when we come back.

-We're back.
I'm still here with John Cena.

And we left -- we left
talking about validation.

John, that's such a good --
It's such a good place.

It's a good place for us
to get into more. Right?

-Yeah, sure.
-Like, when you're talking

about validation -- I don't need
anybody else's.

I got to a place where I found
calm, comfort in myself.

I wanted it from my dad.
I didn't get it.

But I got to a place where I
said, "I can exist without it."

So early on, you cracked the
code of,

"I'm not bothered
with or without.

I'm more focused on the thing
that I have to do

that I'm signing up to do."

You understand what I'm saying?
-I -- I do. I do.

Um, do you remember the first
thing I said to you when we met?

-Uh, "Kevin, you are
a handsome man."

I said, "Thank you, John."
-You did.

Do you remember
the second thing?

Aside from what you thought
I said to you?

-When you told me that, I said,

"I was waiting for you
to say that." Right?

-I -- I saw you
as you got off a plane.

You were on a business call
of some sort.

You were getting wired
to film a television show.

-Oh, I was doing --
I was doing a whole bunch.

Yeah.
-You were --

You were doing 18 things at
once.

-Things at one time. Okay, yeah.

-And this is my first real --

This is my first trip
in your orbit.

-Mm-hmm.
-You hang up. You get wired.

Like, you do, like, a once over
the script in your mind

because it's in there
somewhere.

And I, like, I can see it, too,
kind of.

And I literally asked you,
"Why do you do this?"

-Yeah. Yeah.
-Why --

-The fir-- The first --
That was, like, your first thing

that you said.
-Yeah. "Hi, I'm John."

-Yeah.
-"Why are you doing this?"

-Yeah. Yeah.
-Do you --

Do you remember your answer?
Do you want to --

-No. But I remember,
in my mind, I was like,

"What the fuck is your problem?"
That's --

I remember that.
Because I was like...

-Yeah.
-"Hey, man..."

-"I asked you to be here,
motherfucker."

-Yeah, I was like, "Hey, man,
what's going on with you?!"

But you know, you're too big.
I can't come at you crazy.

-Why --
-You'd bop me in the head.

-Why --
-I remember that.

I swear I remember that.

-Why do you go as hard
as you do?

-As I told you then,

there's a significant amount
of joy

that I find in not just the work

but in the idea of
working towards.

I -- I find joy
in having a reason

to put my feet on the ground
in the morning

and having a reason
to occupy my mind.

I think that's the best thing
ever.

If I go and I say,
"I've made enough.

I've done enough.
It's time to relax,"

that's great for me,

but what have I really done
to --

to put a real, like,
stamp on my want

and change for the culture
or for the narrative

of how we feel
the culture is perceived

or the opportunities are given?

-I'll also take it
one step further, Kevin.

There's not a lot of folks as,
um...

You know, there are -- there are
many paths to immediate --

some -- some immediate success
out there, now.

I think more than ever before.
-Mm-hmm.

-There may be some people
who come into some --

some financial success,

some success where
they can make decisions,

that maybe don't have
your perspective.

-Mm-hmm.
-And I'm saying that I --

I heard Jay-Z sit here,
someone who I admire,

and have a through-line
similar to your through-line,

someone who I admire,
and maybe people at home,

who necessarily, they might have
climbed that hill.

They might have
experienced some success

and want to go out and do
something nice for themselves

or continue to make decisions
based on

just their small bubble.
-Mm-hmm.

-Don't -- don't sell
the nuggets you give away short.

That's what
I was blown away about.

I -- I got to spend three days
with you, just three.

-Amazing three days, by the way.
-And, dude, you --

you set up a learning tree

and you were just, like,
throwing --

just throwing spirals down it.

Like, just -- just,
you were on fire.

It's the first time
I'd heard anyone

talk about themselves
as a vehicle.

Like, I -- You said
nothing's off limits.

I saw you short-sell yourself
to further your company.

-Mm-hmm.
-Like, I saw that.

-Mm-hmm.
-And I looked around,

and we were all like,
"What the fuck?

Who does..."

No. No.
It's like you had some --

It's like I was playing
a grand master

and I just got checkmated
in four moves.

And you were like,
"No, this is how you do it

because this
and this feeds this.

And I'm -- I need to be
the catalyst to feed the thing

because if we feed the thing,
man,

I've got, like, 400 people
on staff, everybody's good,

and maybe they learn something.

And I want them to go out
and do more."

It was a --

It was a level in perspective
that I hadn't seen.

-Here.
I want to tell you something,

and it's so simple,
but it comes off so profound

because nobody else says it.
Right?

The biggest businesses
are the biggest businesses

not because they're the smartest

but just because
they keep the information.

And there's an assumption

that you can't ask
about the information.

Let's just say --
Let's just say in general,

in business in general.
The confidence of going,

"Hey, man, how did you
start this shit?"

Right? Of being someone
that is on par

in the same space
doing the same thing,

you'd be surprised
at how many people go,

"Man, dude, let me tell you
something."

So many people are so happy to
tell you about what they built,

what they did.

So many people have been waiting
to offload this information.

I love fucking cars.
The craziest thing about cars...

-Dude, I was just gonna
ask you about cars.

-...is so -- Here's the craziest
thing about the cars, John.

We go to these little things,

and everybody drives their cars.

But what I look at are the old
men that have these cars.

And they have a lawn chair,

and they sit
in front of their cars.

And they have a book,
and the book is --

every page shows something else
that was done to the car.

They sit there
in hopes that somebody says,

"What'd you do to this car?"

-"Yo, man, is this yours?"

-"What'd you say?

You said is this mine?

Well, let me tell you something
about this car."

-"What year is this one?"

-"Oh, that's a funny thing.
You think it's a '66."

They -- They --
By the way, you're --

you're there
for 45 minutes, stuck,

because nobody's ever
asked them.

Right? So when you ask me
the questions,

I'm excited to give you
the information,

not just because
I want to talk about it

because there's another person
that can become a weapon

in the business that people
assume has to be one way.

The more ground breakers,

the more fucking shakers,

the more that the business
keeps growing.

If it doesn't have those people,
those minds,

well, then, we're in
a plug and play

for the next 30 years again.

-Yeah, but I mean, that's --
By the way, uh, man, you're --

you're hitting on all cylinders.

But that's also very brave
to say because I think --

I think there is a philosophy
of human nature

out there that like,
"Oh, man, I cracked the code.

I've got the secret.
I'm going to --

I don't want to tell anyone
what I'm doing."

You know,
a lot of the times,

I'll use WWE as an example,
we go out there

and it's physically brutal.

But when we choreograph
the physical stuff,

you trust your partner,

you trust the person
you're in there with.

A lot of times,
you make double sure

that everything's gonna
go right.

If you have to
practice something

umpteen million times, you do.

But when it comes
to talking shit,

I always try to say, like,

"Okay, we're gonna go out there
and talk shit about each other.

Do you want to
go in the room together

and figure out
what we're gonna say?"

99 times out of 100,
people will be like,

"Nope. I'll just see you
out there."

And I like that because
I like to be connected.

I like to be present,

but, man, they don't want to
share the secret.

That -- I'll use that as a --
as an analogy of like if --

if you think you have
the code cracked,

of, like, "No, I'm not --

No, because I'm not
gonna tell you my jokes.

Like, I got some shit on you,
man. I'm not gonna --

I'm not gonna give away
my secret."

What astounded me about you
is you operate

at such a high capacity,

and you were like,
"Here's the playbook."

But honestly, in listening to
you give me the playbook,

and watching you over
the three days, I was, like --

I'm like, "Yo, man, I'm --
I am so --"

One, I'm proud of you,
for whatever that means.

Two, I'm astounded, and three,
I'm happy for your success.

I just don't know if I got
that gear in the shifter, dude.

-That's what we talked about
the most.

-You -- You just fucking go.
Like...

-Well, stop there, because
we're talking about a gear.

And before we shift
to another gear,

I want to take another break,
man.

Guys, as you can see,
this car is moving.

Right now we're in third but I'm
about to Goddamn get to fifth.

Don't move because I've got
fucking shots to be made.

-But you said you were moving.
You said we were moving.

Don't move, but we're moving.
-I've got -- Goddamn.

A turbo swift...
-I'll tell you what.

-Fuck me.
-You've got that air cooler.

You've got that --
-Goddamn it, guys.

I told you write something and
put it in the prompter, Harry.

-It's -- It's savory. Savory.

-I said put a car reference
in the prompter!

-Savory.
-Fuck me, man!

Guys, we'll be right back with
more "Hart to Heart" after this.

This is great.
-Thank you.

-Hello?
-The sign says "No soliciting."

Go away.
-Yeah -- Yeah, no,

we didn't see a sign.
There's no sign.

-Who took my sign?!
-We didn't take it.

-Go.
-Alright!

-Hey! Hey! It's me.
-It's Kevin Hart.

-Oh, how do you like your tea?

-Guys, we were talking about
shifting gears.

Uh, jokingly I said that we were
going to get to fifth,

but I was serious, man.

Um, in shifting gears,

there's a real question
that I have for you.

Right? Like, you --

It's the second time
that you've said to me,

you said, "Man, I don't know
if I have that gear."

You said, "I don't know
if I can do that

or if I want that much." Right?

You're very at peace
with your now.

You're very at peace with
understanding the opportunities,

and you're appreciative
of them all.

Um, and it's like this --
this world of, you know,

what's going to happen
is going to happen,

and I'm thankful for all of it.

Is there a "What now?"
Is there --

Is there something else
that John wants to do,

like, before
it's all said and done,

I have to make sure that I do
"X," "Y," and "Z?"

Is there anything like that
for you?

-I think --

I think when you --
when you are young

and you are figuring life out,
you get put in direction

and it might be
a direction of fluency,

it might be something you have
to work hard to achieve.

But when you experience
something

that you may be good at

or, like,
you feel you can excel at,

I remember thinking
about purpose,

and for years -- for --

seeing a ring and knowing
that I wanted to do it.

But then being a contributing
member of the WWE family

and being like, "This is what
I was born to do."

At a young age thinking,

"This is my purpose."
-Mm-hmm.

-And then, of course,
time's undefeated,

so the body
gets a little bit beat up,

and I get an opportunity to
become a storyteller onscreen.

And man,
through reading the news,

through hosting some shows,

just take the things
that I've learned and I enjoy

without the physical aspect

because it's getting tougher
and tougher for me to --

to run that hard,
and enjoy putting on a wig

and letting my balls hang out.
-Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

-And have fun with that,
and then --

and then do it in a --
in another avenue, um,

for "Fast and the Furious"
or for "Peacemaker."

Uh, so I think,

"Well, my purpose on this earth
is to tell stories.

That's what I was born to do.
I was born to tell stories."

And then
you get to look at more

because that's not all I'm --

That's not all that defines me.
I want to --

I want to try to be a good
husband to my loving wife.

I want to try to be
a good friend to those I love.

I want to try to take care of
myself and my health.

I want to try to take care
of my mental health

and stay stable.

I'm not just a storyteller.

So I boiled down
my purpose to just --

to just earning every sunrise.

-Damn.
-Like --

And that's why I don't
necessarily hunt down things.

Um, and if nothing...

And, you know...
So that, th--

I'm sh-- shifting around here.

You've got to bear with me.
-No, you're fine.

I'm honestly following you.
-What, uh --

What is wealth?
What is wealth to you?

-Happiness.
-How so?

-Your personal definition
of happiness

has to be a clear definition
of what wealth is, right?

I mean, but you can only
make that decision sometimes,

and I don't want
to speak for everybody,

after having money and realizing
that money does not

solve all problems.

There's a concept

and idea
that's attached to money,

that it solves everything.

And by the way, it doesn't.

Is money important? Absolutely.

I'm not gonna sit up here
and act as if it's not.

Absolutely it is.

But when you really
start to get down to it,

your foundation,
the people around you, um,

that world that you've chosen
that not only represents you

but that makes your heart beat
the best possible beat

that you can --
that you can deliver, right,

that's when your happiness
really starts

to present itself.

Um, falling in love
with your surroundings

and what you've chose
to give yourself to,

that to me is real wealth.

My happiness, now,

is realizing how blessed I am
to experience life

at the level that I have.

And I understand
that it's not given.

Since we've talked here today,

we both are talking
as experienced,

evolved men that have
overcome obstacles

that better help us appreciate
the world of our now.

So our rewards we hold on to

because we know where the fuck
we've come from.

Everybody can't have
that mind-set.

-Sure.
-So everybody's not going to

have the same answer for wealth.
-Sure.

Uh, that's the reason I asked.
-Mm-hmm.

-Mine is -- Mine is of
a different prospective.

-What is yours?
-We think of the word --

-If you fucking say something
that makes me sound stupid,

John, I swear to God.
-No. No. Kevin.

-I swear to God. I swear to God.
-I, um...

This -- This one took me
a long time.

And my definition of wealth
has changed.

And only recently,

and maybe this would attribute
to how you saw my personality.

It was like, "Man,
you just seem so...okay."

-Mm-hmm.
-We often attribute

the word wealth to finance.

We attribute the word wealth
to economy.

But you can have a wealth
of love in your life.

-Mm-hmm.
-It's a phrase to have

a wealth of knowledge.

You can have a wealth of wisdom.

You can have
a wealth of strength.

You can have
a wealth of money,

which is a wealth of resource.

Wealth is the comfort
to skip to an advanced level.

If you have
a wealth of knowledge,

you don't have to
think about it.

Yeah, I know that from this.

If you have
a wealth of wisdom,

"Let me tell you, young buck,

this is how it is because
I've been there."

-Mm-hmm.
-If you have a wealth

of strength,
not as many warm-up sets

before there are four plates
on the bar.

If you have
a wealth of resource,

"I want to get from here
to there right now."

Because that's
what I need to do.

If you have a wealth of love,

well, you're not searching
for anything else

because you feel
genuinely happy.

If you have self worth
or wealth of self,

you feel that you are enough

and you don't have to go
searching for any angles.

I have adopted
that philosophy of

earning every sunrise
to try to take each day

and make sure that
I spread the wealth.

That it is not just of
economic gain because if --

I spent so long just running

and I'm grateful for it,

just like I spent so long trying
to get validation from my dad.

I'm grate-- My dad was
my biggest driving force

for so long,

but then it was
counterproductive.

I'm never going to get it,

and if I do, then it's never
gonna be the reward that I want.

He'll say, "This is the best
I can give."

And "That's not enough!"

You can do the same with money.

Make hay while
the sun shines in our business

because if you get hurt,
you don't get paid.

I have -- I have a wealth
of wisdom in the WWE,

and I have a wealth of resources
because of my investment,

but, man, was I short on love,

man, was I short on self-worth.

You know, my --
my physical health,

my strength was showcased on TV,

but, damn, I wasn't really
taking care of myself.

So I learned kind of
at a tipping point to, like,

spread the wealth.

And if -- if one bucket
gets too low, where --

where am I in excess?

Where am I going too hard?

Am I chasing too much money?

And I -- That seems, like,
so anti- what everybody's heard,

but, like, man, what are --

like, what are you chasing?

-Mm-hmm.
-You know, like, if you --

if you define
your needs in life,

like, when you say like,
"Yo, I want to shift culture,"

that takes tremendous resource.

So, boy, do I understand
when you're like,

"Yo, I need to do this,

I need to do this,
I need to this."

Because your purpose you feel
is changing culture.

That doesn't happen overnight,
and it -- it ain't cheap.

So I get that. I just --

I lacked a lot of stuff
when I looked in the glass

of like, "Man, you should
have the world by the nuts."

But there were points
where I was so off.

It's like, man, I'm, like,
wondering

what the hell's the point
of it all?

And I -- My definition,

just changing
my definition of wealth,

to just be like,
"Hey, have --

Fill the buckets
of whatever you want

to have proficiency in."

You know, um, I just look at --

I look at purpose a little --
a little different,

and I look at wealth
a little different.

When I got a chance to just work
with you, like, I'm --

I'm still in awe of all this.

I'm still in awe of
every set I go to.

I'm still in awe of
the functionality of every crew.

I should not be here.
-Mm-hmm.

-That doesn't mean
I don't work hard.

-Mm-hmm.
-That means I'm appreciative.

-Mm-hmm.
-And I just think

if you start laser --

To me, if I start,
not if you start,

if I start laser focusing,

chasing one piece of wealth,

that's when I start --

maybe my perspective starts
to get a little skewed.

So I just -- I just try to
spread the wealth.

And, you know, these are
the conversations I have

with the people I love.

These are the conversations
I have

with the closest people
in my life.

And that's why I can use
the word love with them

because we've had these
for years.

And then, we become close.
That's how --

That's how friendship starts.

It's, uh, that's just it.

-I'm-a tell you what you did.

Today you changed the perception
of how some people may view you.

Um, man, your knowledge,
your approach,

your take not just on life
but on your journey, man,

it's, uh, it's refreshing.

You know what this was, John?
-"Hart to Heart."

-This was a "Hart to Heart."

Cheers, man.
-Cheers.

-Ladies and gentlemen,
that's John Cena.

I'll see you next time. Goddamn.

Make some noise for John Cena
everybody.

Goddamn, come on, guys.

This fella deserves it.
Holy cow.

-Alright. Savory.

Savory, you know?

-I told you it would be
one of the best ones.

I knew it. I knew it, guys.

By the way I was able to
navigate that conversation

in every direction.

-He did.
-Have you guys noticed?

Nobody?

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