John Cena opens up on his biggest WWE rival: "I've tried to break you"

There's no denying that John Cena has had a lot of rivals during his WWE career, including Randy Orton, Edge, CM Punk, and AJ Styles. Cena recently opened up about who his biggest rival ever was, and the answer was a surprising one.

The Cenation Leader is in the final stretch of his farewell run, which is set to end in December. He had a heel run from Elimination Chamber 2025 until before SummerSlam. He faced former foes like Orton and Punk, with a bout against Brock Lesnar on the horizon.

Speaking on WIRED, John Cena answered the internet's biggest questions as part of the promotion of the second season of Peacemaker on HBO Max. One of the queries was about his biggest rival in WWE, with Cena naming fans in a shocking twist.

"That one's simple. The audience. My goodness, we've been going back and forth for almost 25 years now. You're tireless. You have an energy of a battery. I've tried to break you. I can't. You got me on the ropes. This is my last nerve. I've said I'm gonna retire and I will go down swinging trying to crack your resolve but dammit, you guys are tough. You are my biggest rival," Cena said. [5:03 - 5:26]

John Cena did have a love-hate relationship with the WWE Universe during the peak of his powers in the second half of the 2000s and the early years of the 2010s. He has been more appreciated since he became a part-timer, and he's now less than four months away from in-ring retirement.

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John Cena reveals his real-life best friend

In the same interview with WIRED, one of the questions to John Cena was who his real-life best friend was. Cena had a very simple answer: his wife, Shay Shariatzadeh, whom he also called his "boss."

"Well, I do have a close crew, but I gotta put the boss first and foremost. That is my wife. I love her, and she's my best friend," Cena said. [5:30 - 5:36]

Cena and Shariatzadeh have been married since October 2020. She was born in Iran and was raised in Canada. She currently works as an engineer.

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Please credit WIRED's YouTube channel and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you take quotes from the article.