John Cena has offered his take on the historic feud between his Fast and Furious co-stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Vin Diesel.
During a recent appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, Cena weighed in on the longstanding tensions between Johnson and Diesel. He couldn't deny that there have been several rumors about the duo's behind-the-scenes tussles but also identified their similarities as a probable cause for their butting heads.
"There's certainly rumors about that. I can't deny that," Cena said. "You have two very alpha, driven people. You get two. There can only be one."
Cena officially became a member of the Fast family in 2021 when he appeared in F9: The Fast Saga as Jakob Toretto, the estranged brother of Diesel's Dom. He admitted that the experience of joining the well-established film franchise was not too dissimilar to the environments he encountered during his wrestling career.
"Man, you gotta remember I got dropped into a locker room where [we have] generational vets," Cena said. "'What'd your dad do?' 'Wrestle.' 'What'd your granddad do?' 'Wrestle.' I've been in that environment; know the room and just kind of adapt to what's going on.
"I'm being invited into someone's home, into someone's family. And regardless of how they look physically in comparison to another human being, this is one IP that has had nine installments, and it's an action movie — that's rarefied air," Cena added. "At the very least, there has to be respect for that."
Cena himself had a years-long feud with Johnson after the latter pivoted from WWE's squared circle to Hollywood's red carpet, even though he later followed the same career trajectory. Cena, however, publicly apologized and took ownership of his role in the falling out, admitting last year he had "violated" Johnson's trust.
The beef between Johnson and Diesel came to light in 2016 when Johnson took to Instagram to call out his "chicken s**t" and "candy ass" co-stars on the set of The Fate of the Furious. The drama appeared to end in 2019, but Johnson later revealed he wouldn't return for Fast 10 or 11 after Diesel's "tough love" comments.
Diesel extended an olive branch in 2021 by sharing an Instagram post urging Johnson to "show up" for Fast X (aka Fast & Furious 10). However, Johnson declined the invitation the following month, saying there was "no chance" he would return, but that turned out to be false, as Hobbs showed up in a Fast X mid-credits scene.
Original announcements positioned Fast X as the first of a two-part finale, with its sequel slated for 2025, but Diesel has since hinted that the ending could become a trilogy. First, though, Johnson says he will headline his own Hobbs spinoff film, marking a "fresh, new chapter" for the franchise that will "set up Fast X: Part 2."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
