25 Things You Didn't Know About John Cena

13. Shared Nervous Texts With Bray Wyatt Pre-‘Mania

John Cena WWE Title 2025
WWE.com

WrestleMania 36 will forever be remembered as the strangest one in history. Forced behind closed doors at the quaint Performance Center, WWE nonetheless entertained fans across 2 nights as millions watching tried to comprehend an ever-shifting landscape mid-COVID pandemic. Closing the first night with The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles in a 'Boneyard' battle proved to be an inspired decision.

It was also one that had Cena crapping his pants. Sort of.

John once told Chris Van Vliet on the reporter's 'Insight' show that he watched 'Boneyard' with an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach. Reaching for his phone, he sent off a text to Bray Wyatt that he was "nervous" about how their upcoming 'Firefly Fun House' match would come across as a follow up cinematic accompaniment to what 'Taker and AJ had just achieved.

In a sweet moment, it was Wyatt who put his peer's mind at rest. They'd already recorded scenes for 'Firefly', and Bray had supreme confidence that it would all come together nicely during the second night of 'Mania. He was right. John actually had nothing to fret about, but he went into night 2 with trepidation after seeing WWE's first set piece spectacular.

He wasn't 100% sure if fans would embrace the wacky, comedy-laced and frankly odd 'Firefly Fun House' tour that he and Bray had put on. Their match included Cena going back to his humble beginnings as a boots n' tights wrestler, plenty of references to Wyatt's past, and it also saw both men join the nWo before looping back around back into the present day.

'Firefly' is cherished now, but JC thought it might be rejected in 2020.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.