John Cena appeared on the UK talk show The Graham Norton Show this week to promote the upcoming Bumblebee movie, and wound up bonding on the show with Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey over their shared love of old-school pro wrestling.
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During an interview segment, McConaughey asked Cena if he remembered a few famous Texas wrestlers such as Hacksaw Jim Duggan, King Kong Bundy, Skandor Akbar and the Von Erichs. Cena did, which led to an interesting story from the Dallas Buyers Club star.
Remember when you guys were talking about what wrestlers old people always loved and talk highly of and it was Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks? Well Jamie Oliver brought em up at 1:57. 😂 @OSWreview //t.co/hLnJ6Tfeym
— John O’Connor (@IssacYakemDDS) December 11, 2018
“I got kicked out of Hirsch Coliseum in Shreveport for pelting Skandor Akbar with a bag of tomatoes from the eighth row,” McConaughey revealed.
Cena then turned to the audience and explained who Akbar was.
“Skandor Akbar was a man dressed as a sheik that used to throw fire,” Cena said.
“And he managed King Kong Bundy, who was like 484 pounds.” McConaughey added. “And then there was The Missing Link from ‘Parts Unknown.’”
Elsewhere in the interview Cena discussed his early days in the wrestling business as “The Prototype,” as well as where the “You Can’t See Me” taunt came from.
Cena has been a number of talk shows in recent weeks to promote Bumblebee‘s release. One of his most notable quotes came from his appearance on Ellen in early December, where he broke down how he hated his much-maligned new haircut.
“Why not embrace the uncomfortable for once?” Cena said. “It’s totally uncomfortable. I just want to go get my eight dollar haircut and now I’m throwing product in my head. I don’t know what I’m doing. I went to film a movie in China and the movie was six months long, and I left with a buzz cut and came back with this,” he revealed. “And everyone was like…’You ruined my childhood’. So I’m just trying to figure my life out and my haircut and it’s like… ‘You ruined my life’. So it’s kind of weird. It was a great exercise in embracing the uncomfortable because apparently I’ve altered the space/time continuum and it’s cool to be able to just try something new.”
Cena’s appearances on WWE television have been few and far between ever since he lost to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 in April. He faced Triple H at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia, then teamed with Bobby Lashley (before his heel turn) to beat Kevin Owens and Elias at the Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia in September. He was booked to appear at the Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in early November, but backed out due to the controversy surrounding the show.
