John Cena is taking a walk down memory lane.
As he nears retirement from WWE, Cena, 48, appeared on the Aug. 13 episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and recalled his early days as a wrestler.
On the show, Fallon told Cena he was going to show him a clip of his first WWE match in 2002. Right before a snippet of it began playing, Cena wanted to prep the audience of what was to come.
“Look at the haircut,” he said.
In the video, Cena is seen standing in the middle of the ring with fellow wrestler Kurt Angle. After Cena announces his name to a roaring crowd, Angle asks what makes him think that he can take on the best wrestlers in the business. Cena replies, “Ruthless aggression,” before he hits Angler in the face and pins him to the ground.
After seeing the clip, Cena joked that he’s gone from “ruthless aggression” to “just kicking it.” He also explained that the clip made him think about his long career in the business.
“WWE was really fast,” he said.
“So very rarely do we have time to look in the rear view mirror. And now that I’m in the farewell tour, the last thing I want to do is start dwelling on moments that might’ve been in January,” he continued, hinting at his retirement. “I’m going to look at the rear view and reflect on all this, but I want to have my feet on the ground and enjoy all the moments that the audience gives me for these last 11 (matches).”
Cena said he has 11 more dates remaining in his professional wrestling career before he retires. When asked if he knows who he’ll wrestle in his last match, Cena said he’s still working it out.
“No, I’ve never operated like that,” he said. “It was weird, because I’ve always just been that guy.”
Cena explained that he tends to do things on the fly, and that the 2002 clip of him proves that: He wasn’t even supposed to fight that night.
“That clip you saw was by mistake. The Undertaker was sick,” he said. “No kidding. I’ve just always kind of been reliable and showing up and doing whatever I’m asked. And I really want this tour to be not only special — it’ll always be special for me because you guys are out there. I want it to be special for the business. My goal has always been to leave WWE better than I found it.”
At another point in the conversation, Fallon asked if any part of Cena wanted “more time on the clock” when it came to wrestling.
“Oh, of course. Every part of me,” Cena responded, but that physically, his body is “screaming” at him to retire.
