Backstage Heat On John Cena In WWE?
Apologising to China for calling Taiwan a country may have sparked WWE heat for John Cena.
John Cena's decision to apologise to China for calling Taiwan a country earlier this week may have brought him heat in WWE.
This is according to The Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast's Andrew Zarian, who tweeted the following on Tuesday:-
This John Cena apology is NOT going over well at WWE right now...
Advertisement— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) May 25, 2021
Cena had used Chinese social media platform Weibo to issue his apology, doing so in Mandarian. Here's what the 16-time wrestling World Champion had to say, as translated by Tony Lin of VICE News:-
"I made a mistake. I'm so, so sorry for my mistake. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm very sorry. You have to understand I love and respect China and Chinese people. I'm sorry."
Cena has a years-long association with China. He started learning Mandarin with the goal of helping WWE's global reach grow in 2016, then briefly moved to the nation in July 2018, settling in Yinchuan.
China doesn't recognise Taiwan as a nation, hence the issue here. Earlier this month, Cena had remarked to Taiwanese network TVBS that “Taiwan is the first country that can watch ‘F9,'” which has already opened in China, Hong Kong, Russia, South Korea, and the Middle East.
It has now been over a year since Cena last wrestled for WWE, losing a Firefly Fun House match with Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36.