A handful of WWE wrestlers have commented on the shocking allegations against Vince McMahon included in or revisited as a result of the Janel Grant sex trafficking lawsuit. Today (Feb. 21), we’re hearing from two of the company’s biggest stars of this century: John Cena and Randy Orton.
Cena was asked about the allegations and his relationship with McMahon by Howard Stern on Stern’s eponymous show for Sirius XM. Cena’s response isn’t terribly surprising. That’s both because it’s not much different from his comments about the 2022 hush money scandal that involved Grant (but not the graphic details of what she says McMahon put her through), and because it’s delivered in the kind of affirmational therapy-speak Cena often uses that’s — at least for this writer — difficult to parse.
“I can say this: I’m a big advocate of love and friendship and honesty and communication. But in the same breath, I’m also a big advocate of accountability.
“I think you (Stern) explained it well, if someone’s behavior lies so far outside your value system that the balance shifts, of like, ‘I can’t operate in a world where this works,’ that’s the end result of being accountable.”
Asked how he plans to address the situation moving forward, the 16-time WWE World champion devoted most of his answer to McMahon before also expressing his desire to help WWE itself (the company is named as a defendant in Grant’s suit):
“Right now, what I’m going to do is love the person I love, be their friend. And by that it means like, ‘Hey, I love you, you have a hill to climb.’
“There’s the saying of, ‘You don’t know who your friends are until the shit hits the fan or your back’s against the wall’. That doesn’t make any of what’s going on any easier to swallow but just telling somebody like, ‘Hey, I love you. Man, this is going to be a hill to climb. We’re going to see what happens and that’s that.’
“It sounds so cliche but it has to be one day at a time. But at the same token, I’ve openly said I love the guy, I have a great relationship with the guy, so that’s that.
”It’s largely my construct of operating with honesty and communication. Those are strong leads to handling any problem or achievement. The whole thing is super unfortunate and it sucks. It deals with an individual I love and an entity I love. I want everyone to have the experience that I have.
“Not only do I tell a friend that I love them, but I switch to the entity and say, ‘How can I help?’”
The difference between this answer and the one he gave last year is that while Cena is still standing by someone he loves, he now seems to be entertaining the possibility he could alter or end his relationship with McMahon depending on how Vince “climbs this hill”. Personally, I’d have preferred to hear some empathy for the alleged victims instead of framing their accusations as a challenge for McMahon to overcome, but Cena may have avoided mentioning them on the advice of legal counsel. And it’s his answer, not mine.
Orton’s came in an interview with SI’s Justin Barrasso:
“I’ve got to say this — I wouldn’t be where I am without Vince McMahon taking a chance on me a handful of times. I would not be where I am today without Vince McMahon. But, f—, I’m reading this sh—. What you’ve seen and read, I’ve seen and read. As far as commenting on that, it f—— hurts my heart. It hurts my heart.”
From there, the 14 time WWE World champion switched gears to talking about he “believes that WWE President Nick Khan and Chief Content Creator Paul “Triple H” Levesque are cultivating a safer culture and climate within the company, one that is altogether better across the board.”
“So much happened while I was out,” said Orton. “When I left, the old guard was still doing its thing. Vince was still around. TV’s were getting rewritten over and over again. The writers were being held up until all hours in the morning. And all that changed.
“I am excited to work for WWE. Nick Khan is amazing. Triple H being in charge of creative is amazing. I’ve had a relationship with him for over 20 years. I went to his wedding back in ‘03. We’ve been at odds before when I was a f— up when I was young, and I won him back. He’s seen me go from an adolescent assh— prick who didn’t know what I was doing–I was an insecure punk, that’s what I was. I’m the oldest sibling in my family, but he’s like an older brother to me in many ways. He’s always been there and had the best of advice.”
Orton talked about how the current WWE regime has allowed him to take it easier on his body since returning from spinal fusion surgery last November, comparing it to the past when he couldn’t even get permission to miss an episode of television once every few months:
“I’m very happy with the changes, and I’m very happy that Nick Khan, Triple H, Bruce Prichard and all those guys are proving they mean what they say. The company changed, and they care about the talent. I think everybody feels the same way.”
That part of the interview is very much in line with reports of how WWE’s new owners at Endeavor & TKO are approaching the allegations: as a problem that was largely solved by McMahon’s resignation, despite signs continuing to indicate the issues were larger than just one man.
Whether we believe it or not, for the sake of the people currently working at WWE we do hope Orton is right.
Please share your thoughts on Cena and Orton’s comments below.
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