JohnCenaFan28
12-18-2008, 06:49 PM
Although John Cena is a superstar inside the wrestling ring, the popular WWE champ knows there are even bigger superstars overseas on the battlefield. Over the years the WWE has tried to lend a helping hand to the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan by boosting morale within more than 200 military installations, military hospitals, aircraft carriers, and submarines by heading overseas to spend time with the troops.
Picking up Bob Hope's tradition of entertaining the armed forces overseas, John Cena and the WWE Divas touched down in Iraq in early December to spend some one-on-one ring time with the troops, which will be airing as a special WWE Tribute to the Troops on Saturday, December 20 at 9pm on NBC. Helping Cena on his morale boosting tour of duty was Art Myers, the head of Armed Forces Entertainment, which arranges entertainment tours for the military.
How passionate is John Cena about supporting the U.S. troops? Surprisingly, Cena and the WWE Divas are the only entertainers who took to the unfriendly skies over the holidays to perform for the troops.
A couple of days prior to John Cena's flight to Iraq for the WWE Tribute to the Troops, we managed to get a few minutes with the WWE superstar and Art Meyers to find out how they're paying tribute to the troops and why it means so much to show their support during the holidays.
THE DEADBOLT: I noticed on your DVD set that you have a collection of military souvenirs. What did you pick up over there this time?
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 little [key tick] that I have, myself, is a combat fired shell of munitions, whether it be a 762 or 50-caliber, or, you know, whatever I can find that’s actually been used. And 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 - Generals or Commanders, or Colonels, or people in charge. Soldiers will often give me their combat badges. That’s 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.
THE DEADBOLT: So it would be the same idea as getting a real green beret.
CENA: Yes, it would be very much equivalent to that. And it’s the utmost show of respect. I have a ton of them from this year. They came pouring out. There was a portion where they were raining down on us in the ring on the show, so it was pretty good.
THE DEADBOLT: In addition to all of the things that you’ve accomplished in your career, where does this work rank for you?
CENA: This is the most important trip of the year for me. I think the WWE is really on to something. I thank Armed Forces Entertainment for letting us even do this trip. We get better and better at it every year, from organization to execution, the whole way through. And, you know, it’s the trip of the year for us. It certainly speaks volumes of how we feel as a company towards the military.
THE DEADBOLT: Have you ever entertained the idea of joining the military?
CENA: Yeah, absolutely. Believe it or not, I fell into this gig kind of by mistake. A friend of mine, just in passing, asked me if I wanted to become a wrestler. And of course I had always wanted to, but never knew how to do it. But I was working a dead-end job, going nowhere, and I was going to try my luck at OTS, Officer Training School for the United States Marine Corps. I don’t know if I would’ve made it, because I got a chance to spend two days over at Parris Island and they whipped my butt pretty good. But it certainly was - that’s where I would’ve ended up. I would’ve ended up in one of the branches.
THE DEADBOLT: What did you see over there that we’re not seeing on the news?
CENA: Well, 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.
Every single year it gets better. And 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. I don’t know. 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.
THE DEADBOLT: Do the soldiers get more excited about you or the girls?
CENA: [laughs] 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.
THE DEADBOLT: Art, you take these guys out of the Green Zone, right?
ART MYERS: We went to the Green Zone the first time. But when we actually land, we actually land on a main base in Iraq.
THE DEADBOLT: When you’re going to the forward operating bases, what are the logistics involved in that?
MYERS: Well, what we do is we arrange it with the commanding General and we use a Blackhawk for all transportation. I need to tell you - the first year we were down there in 2003, we actually took a bus from the main base to the Green Zone, and actually toured part of Baghdad. Of course, we haven’t done that since but the mode of transportation throughout Iraq is Blackhawks for us. So that’s mainly what we’ve been using.
Source: The DeadBolt
Picking up Bob Hope's tradition of entertaining the armed forces overseas, John Cena and the WWE Divas touched down in Iraq in early December to spend some one-on-one ring time with the troops, which will be airing as a special WWE Tribute to the Troops on Saturday, December 20 at 9pm on NBC. Helping Cena on his morale boosting tour of duty was Art Myers, the head of Armed Forces Entertainment, which arranges entertainment tours for the military.
How passionate is John Cena about supporting the U.S. troops? Surprisingly, Cena and the WWE Divas are the only entertainers who took to the unfriendly skies over the holidays to perform for the troops.
A couple of days prior to John Cena's flight to Iraq for the WWE Tribute to the Troops, we managed to get a few minutes with the WWE superstar and Art Meyers to find out how they're paying tribute to the troops and why it means so much to show their support during the holidays.
THE DEADBOLT: I noticed on your DVD set that you have a collection of military souvenirs. What did you pick up over there this time?
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 little [key tick] that I have, myself, is a combat fired shell of munitions, whether it be a 762 or 50-caliber, or, you know, whatever I can find that’s actually been used. And 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 - Generals or Commanders, or Colonels, or people in charge. Soldiers will often give me their combat badges. That’s 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.
THE DEADBOLT: So it would be the same idea as getting a real green beret.
CENA: Yes, it would be very much equivalent to that. And it’s the utmost show of respect. I have a ton of them from this year. They came pouring out. There was a portion where they were raining down on us in the ring on the show, so it was pretty good.
THE DEADBOLT: In addition to all of the things that you’ve accomplished in your career, where does this work rank for you?
CENA: This is the most important trip of the year for me. I think the WWE is really on to something. I thank Armed Forces Entertainment for letting us even do this trip. We get better and better at it every year, from organization to execution, the whole way through. And, you know, it’s the trip of the year for us. It certainly speaks volumes of how we feel as a company towards the military.
THE DEADBOLT: Have you ever entertained the idea of joining the military?
CENA: Yeah, absolutely. Believe it or not, I fell into this gig kind of by mistake. A friend of mine, just in passing, asked me if I wanted to become a wrestler. And of course I had always wanted to, but never knew how to do it. But I was working a dead-end job, going nowhere, and I was going to try my luck at OTS, Officer Training School for the United States Marine Corps. I don’t know if I would’ve made it, because I got a chance to spend two days over at Parris Island and they whipped my butt pretty good. But it certainly was - that’s where I would’ve ended up. I would’ve ended up in one of the branches.
THE DEADBOLT: What did you see over there that we’re not seeing on the news?
CENA: Well, 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.
Every single year it gets better. And 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. I don’t know. 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.
THE DEADBOLT: Do the soldiers get more excited about you or the girls?
CENA: [laughs] 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.
THE DEADBOLT: Art, you take these guys out of the Green Zone, right?
ART MYERS: We went to the Green Zone the first time. But when we actually land, we actually land on a main base in Iraq.
THE DEADBOLT: When you’re going to the forward operating bases, what are the logistics involved in that?
MYERS: Well, what we do is we arrange it with the commanding General and we use a Blackhawk for all transportation. I need to tell you - the first year we were down there in 2003, we actually took a bus from the main base to the Green Zone, and actually toured part of Baghdad. Of course, we haven’t done that since but the mode of transportation throughout Iraq is Blackhawks for us. So that’s mainly what we’ve been using.
Source: The DeadBolt