John Cena Recalls Breaking Vince McMahon’s Trust Over Business Opportunity

John Cena is reflecting on a rare moment when he says he broke Vince McMahon’s trust during their long working relationship in WWE.

Having spent the majority of his WWE career working closely with McMahon, Cena said the two developed a relationship built on communication and trust. However, he admitted there was one occasion when he pursued an outside business opportunity without first discussing it with his longtime boss.

Speaking in a recent interview with Wild Card (see video below), Cena recalled exploring involvement in an entrepreneurial social networking startup, acknowledging that using his name for the venture would have carried implications beyond just himself.

“One time, I tried to get involved with an entrepreneurial social network startup and I didn’t tell my boss and we talk about everything. This wasn’t like, man, we’re going to do this together. In potentially being a part of the startup, my name’s John Cena, so I would essentially be leveraging intellectual property. That’s a team decision. I love and trust my boss, he’s far more than my boss.”

After McMahon learned about the situation, Cena said the two had a conversation that quickly changed his perspective. Rather than reacting angrily, McMahon calmly explained the potential ramifications of the decision, leading Cena to immediately back away from the deal.

“I was just trying to get more money, simply. I have my own philosophy on social networks, some very limited in my use by design. So it’s not something I’m interested in. Not too fond of limited access stuff. This was a curated idea that seemed nice but I looked at the projections. My boss found out and to be honest, he was great. He walked me through it, like okay, this is the choice you’ve made, let’s walk through all the tentacles of what might happen. In a moment, it was a direct violation of trust to somebody I had worked for years. He invested years in trusting me too. It was a moment where he could’ve just got nuclear, because trust takes years to build and moments to destroy. He didn’t. He had patience, tolerance, and I think possibly as an entrepreneur himself, he tried to put himself in my shoes and walked through it. It took five minutes or less to realize, ‘I’m such an idiot.’ I immediately called the company back and said, ‘I’m out, this isn’t for me.’”

Cena said the experience served as a reminder of the value McMahon placed on trust and communication, adding that it only took a few minutes of discussion for him to realize he had made the wrong decision.