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The rivalry between John Cena and The Rock in the early 2010s was well-documented. While the two WWE icons had an on-screen feud with two consecutive WrestleMania main events, it's well-known that their rivalry spilled off-screen as well.
There was legitimate bad blood between both Cena and The Rock and neither of them has denied it. However, the big question is as to whether the two are friends. The answer is simple - it depends on who you ask.
Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, reflected on his rivalry with John Cena on Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying:
"In the world of wrestling, it's fictionalized, it's a TV show, but we had our rivalry. Now we can look back on it, it was so real."
However, he went on to state that it's all water under the bridge and even described Cena as one of his "best friends". The following week, John Cena was on Jimmy Kimmel Live and was asked about The Rock's comments.
Cena had a slightly different perspective. While agreeing that his rivalry with The Rock was real and that they're now friends, he didn't seem to think that he was one of Johnson's "best friends". When Jimmy Kimmel asked John Cena whether he had been to The Rock's house, the 16-time World Champion said "10 times" before adding "in my mind".
From the look of things, Cena and The Rock are, in fact, friends in real life. However, it may not be as close as the latter first stated and the two might simply be on good terms and not necessarily very close.
John Cena even revealed to Jimmy Kimmel the following year that The Rock gave him a valuable piece of advice about his acting career. He told Cena to simply be himself - a piece of advice that stuck with WWE's former franchise player.
Why did John Cena and The Rock have legitimate heat in the early 2010s?
When John Cena and The Rock began their rivalry, there were past comments made that added tension to it. For WWE, it was a rivalry between two icons that would inevitably break pay-per-view records.
For John Cena and The Rock, it was a little more personal. Cena had previously bashed The Brahma Bull for leaving WWE in favor of a Hollywood career. At the time, John Cena was still in the prime of his run as the face of WWE, which makes it slightly understandable that he would take a dig at The Rock for leaving in his prime.
The Rock didn't take well to these comments either, causing some real-life heat between the two men. However, Cena eventually followed the same path to Hollywood and later admitted that he was wrong to criticize The Rock for doing what was best for himself and establishing a brand.
It's all water under the bridge now and the two are friends - maybe not very close ones, but friends nonetheless.
