Crave Online: Since you did The Marine, do you have an extra special connection with the troops over there?

John Cena: Of course, although The Marine was just a movie and very little of it was about actually service in the Marine Corps. One of the added bonuses that I got was actually touring a bunch of military bases. We premiered the movie at Camp Pendleton in front of the Marine Corps. I got trained for two days at Parris Island which is my description of hell on earth.    They whipped me up pretty good over there. Those two days showed me just such a newfound respect for what these men and women go through just to get in.  Then when they’re in, the sacrifice they make for their country, that really put me on par as to what it takes to wear that uniform.

Crave Online: But do they look at you differently since you did that film?

John Cena: They certainly all have positive things to say about it, but a lot of the Army guys wish it was called The Army instead of The Marine. But no, there is a little bit of a gateway to a mutual respect, them knowing that I did spend a couple days over there certainly helps.

Crave Online: When you do the fights for this tour, do you have to worry about staying in canon with the stories going on or is it really a standalone?

John Cena: No, when we go over there it is pretty much all hands on deck. We’re not there for us. We’re there for the soldiers so we kind of leave our differences stateside and go over there as a group to spread a positive message.

Crave Online: But that doesn’t mean you could give up the championship over there, right?

John Cena: I mean, you certainly can win and lose matches. We definitely have a show and we do have winners and losers. But as far as when we meet the troops and do these handshake tours, it’s all in good fun.

Crave Online: How hard is it to wrestle with that kind of jet lag?

John Cena: Oh, it’s not at all difficult. We have such a packed schedule over there, you really only sleep a few hours a day. It takes a long time to get over there on that C-17, so you certainly catch up on sleep on the flight.

Crave Online: Who else can we look forward to seeing on the show on December 20?

John Cena: You can look forward to seeing not only the best of the WWE, but the best of the US military. We traveled to so many forward operating bases. I think collectively we hit over 20 this year. So you’ll see holiday greetings from a bevy of troops over there. You’ll see the WWE Superstars doing what they do best and that’s entertaining and you’ll see celebrity messages as well as a message from the Commander in Chief.

Crave Online: Do the soldiers get more excited about you or the pretty girls?

John Cena: The Divas hold the number one spot. I don’t care how many championship belts I could bring over there. I could bring fireworks. I could bring anything. Those girls certainly hold the number one spot. They are saints for going over there. They are so beautiful and so great to the troops and the guys just absolutely love them. They are the Superstars on that trip.

Crave Online: Do the troops ever get involved in the show?

John Cena: Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. You never can tell with us. The WWE is a very spur of the moment, live broadcast. This year, I don’t mean to give away a little piece of the program, but we took our giant over there with us. His name is the Big Show. He runs about seven feet, 500 pounds. I don’t know if it’s going to be in the program or not. I really hope it is because he decided to go crowd surfing.  I told him it was a bad idea, but those soldiers held him up, and I saw a seven foot, 500 pound giant go crowd surfing on the United States’ finest. They certainly got involved in the show this year.

Crave Online: Why was it so important to be part of this after you just had such a serious injury?

John Cena: Yeah, I broke my neck. I guess me being part of any event would be pretty important but I actually went over there last year as well with a torn pectoral muscle. That was the first time I had been seen on television since my injury last year. And going over there fresh out of surgery, a spinal fusion surgery was I think it’s just a testament to how much, not only I hold this trip in regard, but the entire WWE. This is a very special event for us. We’re privileged of the fact that this year it’s on NBC and even this year the Commander in Chief himself has given us the opening of the show. So more people are getting on board with this thing and it’s a very special trip for us as a company. Obviously, me going over there pretty much injured the past two years, it shows how much I really am motivated by the trip.

Crave Online: What did you see over there that we’re not seeing on the news?

John Cena: Well, just honestly, it’s real positive over there, man. I mean the biggest drawback is the fact that these guys and gals are doing the same thing everyday. They’re just so proud to be making gains and to be making progress. It’s visual progress. It’s like not running into your friend for a year and then seeing them a year later. You notice the changes right away, if there are any. Going back every December, you can see the changes every single year and every single year it gets better. Not only can you visibly see the changes, when you hear statistics like casualties down in the division in Camp Liberty by 75%, it just goes to show that it’s coming together over there. It’s a tough situation because you never want to be in conflict, but it’s always a positive idea to know that what they’re doing over there is actually working.

Crave Online: Have there been any close calls while you've been over there?

John Cena: Yeah, nothing with IED’s which is a big problem over there right now, which is like a landmine device. We’ve been shelled a few times with mortar fire. That was very early on, 2003 to 2005. The conflict down there really is calming down. I talked to Major General Hammond for a bit. He’s in charge of the 4th Infantry Division. He was explaining that casualties are down about 75% for his deployment which that speaks volumes to the progress that everybody is making over there, that they’re not only acting as police they’re acting as administrators and setting up a network where the Iraqis can take that over themselves. They’re really doing a heck of a job over there.

Crave Online: Are you ever worried?

John Cena: No, even the first I went over there in 2003, I’m surrounded by, I call them the bravest, most confident group of ass-kickers in the universe. I’ve never felt safer in my entire life. They certainly take great care of us. I mean, stepping outside of your house is always a risk. There’s a risk in everything and I know certainly that I’m in a combat zone but they put our safety first and foremost, even when we travel to the very front lines. They always brief us on what to do in case of an emergency, what to do if something happens. These men and women certainly have their areas protected. A lot of the conflict comes with when they bring their parties out on search parties or patrols. IED’s are a big problem, which I said, which is an explosive landmine device. There’s not much incoming fire. They’ve done a good job of suppressing that but it is risky. Like I said, I’ve never felt safer in my life. Those men and women certainly have their act together over there.

Troy Rogers: On your DVD box set that you have a collection of military souvenirs. Where did you get them?

John Cena: I think the word has gotten out over there that I’m a little bit of a stooge for military souvenirs because one thing I always try to get for myself is a combat fired shell of munitions, whether it be a 762 or 50-caliber, or whatever I can find that’s actually been used. I kind of fill it with dirt from Iraq. So I got five of those at my house, one for every year that I’ve been over there which is kind of something that I take for me. But the biggest thing over there is military coins and combat patches. Units, divisions have certain military coins that represent their division or their unit, or their operation, or whatever they do. You’re given these coins by usually ranking officers. So generals or commanders or colonels, or people in charge, soldiers will often give me their combat badges which is a pretty esteemed honor because you’re not supposed to have them unless you’ve served in combat over in the war zone. So it’s an honor when somebody hands you a coin or a patch because it’s almost like you’re accepted into the group. And that is the utmost form of flattery.

Crave Online: Now what do you expect coming up for this weekend’s Armageddon?

John Cena: I expect that Chris Jericho is going to get a whipping. I don't know. I honestly think there’s a lot of great matches. This certainly is a Pay-Per-View that vaults us right into the New Year. It’s WWE’s late Pay-Per-View in December and I think for me I’m really, really happy to be back. I don’t like sitting on the sidelines. I’m glad I could go on this Tribute to the Troops trip. I’m glad I could come back for Survivor Series, especially and win the World Heavyweight Championship. For me, this being my first Heavyweight Title defense on Pay-Per-View, those are always really, really important matches for us. So I just want to show the WWE fans that I haven’t lost it. I haven’t lost a step. I’m as healthy as I ever was. I’m as strong as I ever was. I just don’t want them to have any doubts about me. I’m going to show them that they don’t need to at Armageddon.

Crave Online: What’s going on for your movie career? I know you finished 12 Rounds with Renny Harlin.

John Cena: Well, 12 Rounds is wrapped. The release date will be March 27, so it’ll be available in theaters March 27. Hopefully, if everything goes on schedule, maybe I’ll start filming another movie hopefully sometime in May. I don’t know. That’s still kind of in the works.

Crave Online: How about your music career?

John Cena: Music is kind of fly by night. I’m like a verse on demand type of guy. People call me up for a verse here and a verse there. I certainly have no solo projects in the works. But I’ve done some work with Back40 Records which is owned by Carl Edwards. I’ve done some work with Snoop Dogg. I’ve done some work with Freddie Foxxx. Just here and there, you know, kind of on demand.

Crave Online: Your new shirt, the Hustle, Loyalty and Respect shirt, sort of looks like an AWA logo.

John Cena: I don’t know where you would ever get that notion. I think it looks more like a John Cena logo. No, I’m kidding. That was completely an idea that I’d been messing around with for a bit and I wanted to get it right. It kind of debuted at the right time. It’s amazing. We’re sitting here talking about our Tribute to the Troops episode. I’ve taken a lot of my catch phrases and I guess stuff that you see on T-Shirts from military discipline. I try to put it on the shirts because that’s what people buy. That’s what people relate to you when they see you on television. That’s just how I conduct my life.  I’ve always tried to work my butt off, respect everybody, respect me and be loyal to those who are backing your play. So it is a cool T-Shirt and if you look at it is a rendition of the AWA logo. With that shirt and with all my other stuff, I really try to send what I consider as a positive message out to anybody buying stuff.

Crave Online: Did the military aspects of your ring persona, the salute, the dog tags, etc., did that come before you got involved with Tribute to the Troops?

John Cena: No, that was just a gradual development of my character. Certainly those overseas trips helped me in really displaying that because, like the salute certainly is a personal thing for me to everybody defending this country. The dog tags, they have the names of all my family members and I wear them around my neck because I don’t have any tattoos. The shirts, like I said, are just any slogan that I really want to put on front street. I really want to make sure that it’s a positive motivational message. A lot of that ideology I take from the military. So it was a general slow development of my character, but those trips certainly did help in molding that.