JohnCenaFan28
12-22-2008, 02:28 PM
When World Wrestling Entertainment star John Cena traveled to Iraq to entertain the troops, he knew he was heading to one of the most dangerous regions in the world.
Despite the war raging around him, he never felt safer.
The soldiers are “the bravest, most confident group of (butt)-kickers in the universe,” the West Newbury native said.
“It is risky. But like I said, I’ve never felt safer in my life. Those men and women certainly have their act together over there.”
Cena was one of nearly two dozen WWE stars to take part in the sixth annual “WWE Tribute to the Troops” airing tonight at 9 on WHDH (Ch. 7).
Rather than putting on a stripped-down event, the WWE loaded up every camera, staging element, performer and support staff that goes into a full-blown show each week.
For Cena, the Iraq opportunity came just months after successful surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck, and just a year after traveling to Iraq with a torn pectoral muscle. Still, it’s an event Cena said he wouldn’t have missed.
“This is on a completely volunteer basis,” he said. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Obviously, it’s a conflict area and there are risks involved. But we have to turn people away every year.”
Getting all that equipment and personnel to a site in the middle of a war zone was a massive undertaking, the 6-foot-1-inch, 240-pound grappler said.
“A C-17 (aircraft) can fit, I believe, 110,000 pounds worth of cargo,” he said. “So we pretty much pack up our ring, the Titantrons, the ramps, the barricades, all the HD production stuff, our entire crew, all the superstars. We get on one plane. We fly over there. We spend anywhere from three to five days over there. The first two to four days are virtually the superstars trying to meet as many of the troops as we can while our crew is building the set.”
Then came the main event, shot at Camp Liberty. About 10,000 soldiers attended.
“That’s a place where we know we can get the show out to as many troops as we can,” he said. “It’s a central operating base where troops can come in from forward-operating bases or scouting posts on leisure time, and a lot of troops are stationed at Liberty in general.”
While Cena wouldn’t reveal too much about who slammed whom, he did advise fans to watch for one incident in particular.
“We took our giant over there with us,” Cena said. “His name is the Big Show. He runs about 7 feet, 500 pounds. And 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 7-foot, 500-pound giant go crowd surfing on the United States’ finest.”
Source: Boston Herald
Despite the war raging around him, he never felt safer.
The soldiers are “the bravest, most confident group of (butt)-kickers in the universe,” the West Newbury native said.
“It is risky. But like I said, I’ve never felt safer in my life. Those men and women certainly have their act together over there.”
Cena was one of nearly two dozen WWE stars to take part in the sixth annual “WWE Tribute to the Troops” airing tonight at 9 on WHDH (Ch. 7).
Rather than putting on a stripped-down event, the WWE loaded up every camera, staging element, performer and support staff that goes into a full-blown show each week.
For Cena, the Iraq opportunity came just months after successful surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck, and just a year after traveling to Iraq with a torn pectoral muscle. Still, it’s an event Cena said he wouldn’t have missed.
“This is on a completely volunteer basis,” he said. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Obviously, it’s a conflict area and there are risks involved. But we have to turn people away every year.”
Getting all that equipment and personnel to a site in the middle of a war zone was a massive undertaking, the 6-foot-1-inch, 240-pound grappler said.
“A C-17 (aircraft) can fit, I believe, 110,000 pounds worth of cargo,” he said. “So we pretty much pack up our ring, the Titantrons, the ramps, the barricades, all the HD production stuff, our entire crew, all the superstars. We get on one plane. We fly over there. We spend anywhere from three to five days over there. The first two to four days are virtually the superstars trying to meet as many of the troops as we can while our crew is building the set.”
Then came the main event, shot at Camp Liberty. About 10,000 soldiers attended.
“That’s a place where we know we can get the show out to as many troops as we can,” he said. “It’s a central operating base where troops can come in from forward-operating bases or scouting posts on leisure time, and a lot of troops are stationed at Liberty in general.”
While Cena wouldn’t reveal too much about who slammed whom, he did advise fans to watch for one incident in particular.
“We took our giant over there with us,” Cena said. “His name is the Big Show. He runs about 7 feet, 500 pounds. And 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 7-foot, 500-pound giant go crowd surfing on the United States’ finest.”
Source: Boston Herald