A handful of fans at WrestleMania 34 got more than they bargained for when John Cena sat beside them – and began downing beers.
The veteran wrestler turned movie sensation was back with WWE for a short period ahead of the blockbuster event in 2018.
4
78,000 fans packed into Caesars Superdome in New Orleans to watch, among other big attractions, Cena’s planned match with The Undertaker.
The Ricky Stanicky star’s storyline at the time had been his badgering of the iconic Deadman for a match at 'Mania.
Over various weeks prior to the event, he’d appear on WWE TV to challenge, berate and goad Undertaker into a response – only for no reply to be forthcoming at all.
While the match had likely been planned and set in advance well before WrestleMania, the storyline played out in showing Cena give up on his shot at wrestling on the show and instead saw the multi-time former world champion attend as a fan instead.
He played that role to perfection, too, later revealing on the Pat McAfee show that he’d genuinely blended in with fans in the seats, even necking a drink or few, before going on to tangle with Undertaker after all.
“Everybody is chilled and watched the show,” Cena recalled.
“Then I made great friends with some people who travelled from Australia, people who travelled from across the US, buying each other beers.
“Literally, I crushed three tall drafts before they told me The Undertaker was there and I'd to hop the barricade and go wrestle The Undertaker.
Most read in Sport
4
“That was a great experience for me because I got to be something I admired, something I am, I got to be a fan.”
Cena clearly showed great smarts in enjoying a beverage or two with fans at ringside ahead of his match, knowing well in advance that his actual work on the night would be a short stint.
The Undertaker beat Cena in just 2 minutes and 45 seconds in what’s known in wrestling circles as a squash match.
But while the leader of the Cenation got to fulfil two wishes in being a fan at WrestleMania and wrestling The Undertaker, his opponent on the night was less than happy.
‘Taker’ later revealed he’d trained for months for his match at that year’s WrestleMania, expecting to take part in a lengthy bout.
Told only on the day that he’d barely be working for three minutes in the ring, the Deadman was furious with then-boss Vince McMahon.
4
McMahon seeing the funny side didn’t help matters, either, with The Undertaker at one point even threatening to not wrestle at all over the row.
He told Chris Van Vliet: I didn’t know it was gonna be short until I got there that day.
“I’ve trained for a 45-minute war [and] I felt good.
“Vince calls me into his office and he goes: ‘Okay, it’s just gonna be about five minutes… you’re gonna squash him.’
“I’m like, ‘What? What?’ And, you know, Vince, he just thought that was the funniest [thing], because he knew how hard I’d been training.
“I’m like, ‘No, no, no… I’m doing 30 or I’m not going out.’ And he’s like, ‘Mark, that’s not what we need.’”
4
Undertaker revealed he demanded Cena be brought into the conversation to try and restore reason – only for him to side with McMahon.
The Deadman went on: “So John comes in, he goes: ‘Oh no… I talked mad smack about you dude. Yeah, you need to beat me quick and get this over with.’
“I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?... This is WrestleMania, give me a break here. And they both, they ganged up on me.
Read More on talkSPORT
“I threw my hands up. I was like, ‘I can’t believe [this], and Vince just thought that was the funniest thing because like I said, I trained like an animal.
“I get there and yeah, five minutes. And it was like that was it.”