Rumors of behind-the-scenes discord between Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel on the ‘Fast & Furious’ movies date back to 2016

John Cena is weighing in on the longstanding feud between his Fast & Furious costar Vin Diesel and fellow WWE wrestler Dwayne Johnson.

During Cena’s appearance on the April 8 episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Shepard, 49, made mention of the longstanding rumors that Johnson, 51, and Diesel, 56, made for “a tough pairing” after Johnson joined the Fast movies with 2011’s Fast Five.

“There’s certainly rumors about that. I can’t deny that. You have two very alpha, driven people,” Cena responded. “You get two, there can only be one.”

Johnson costarred in five films within the Fast & Furious franchise between 2011 and 2019 as Luke Hobbs, originally introduced in Fast Five as an antagonist toward Diesel’s Dom Toretto, though the pair team up in the movies that follow. Rumors that Johnson and Diesel do not get along well behind-the-scenes date back to a now-deleted 2016 Instagram post by Johnson, in which he called out his “male costars” on the franchise. Johnson later claimed in 2021 that he would no longer appear in the franchise; he did cameo in last year’s Fast X, though.

Cena himself joined the franchise for 2021’s F9: The Fast Saga as Jakob Toretto, Dom’s estranged brother. While speaking to his place in the series on Armchair Expert, he noted that he has experience joining complicated environments from his wrestling career.

“Man, you gotta remember I got dropped into a locker room where [we have] generational vets,” Cena said. ” ‘What’d your dad do?’ ‘Wrestle.’ ‘What’d your granddad do?’ ‘Wrestle.’ I’ve been in that environment; know the room and just kind of adapt to what’s going on.”

“I’m being invited into someone’s home, into someone’s family. And regardless of how they look physically in comparison to another human being, this is one IP that has had nine installments and it’s an action movie — that’s rarefied air,” he added. “At the very least, there has to be respect for that.”

Cena’s character appears to die during the climax of Fast X. Johnson’s cameo during the film’s credits sequence has left room for a larger return in the movie’s 11th and rumored final installment, set for a 2025 release.

While speaking to the Diesel/Johnson feud, Cena added that he remained aware that he was simply “a guest” in the Fast & Furious world while acting in those films.

“I’m not trying to get the sandbox. That’s not my thing,” he said. “I’m grateful for what you’ve given me, I just want to be be the best firetruck I can.”