‘Pretty drunk’ – WWE rookie got ‘hammered’ with John Cena after debut before joining circus
John Cena is no stranger to jokes around his ‘You can’t see me’ catchphrase – but the statement may be true for his drunken pals. The wrestler-turned-Hollywood star downed beers with fans at WrestleMania but offers in-ring rookies an even grander experience. Mason Ryan took out John Cena on his main roster debutWWE The record 16-time world champion regularly takes sporting stars under his wing and has been a role model to those in the business. One of the grapplers he’s inadvertently left his biggest mark on was retired Welshman Mason Ryan who was once WWE’s next big thing. The 42-year-old pivoted to a career in wrestling after his promising football career was curtailed due to a knee injury. In 2009, the same year Ryan appeared as Goliath on Brit TV sensation Gladiators, he also signed his WWE contract. Ryan, whose real name is Barri Griffiths, exploded to the top of the company with his memorable Monday Night Raw debut in 2011. He instantly aligned himself with CM Punk by tackling Cena – but behind the curtains, the latter’s character was completely different. The-then 28-year-old was in the locker room when he was told Cena wanted to see him on his private bus as the star exited the arena. Ryan told the Metro: “I just threw my clothes quickly after showering and left my bags there because I just thought I’m just going to see John, and he’s going to say congratulations, or welcome to the team, or something like that. “So I hop on the bus and he says, ‘Hey, take a seat’. And then he started bringing out some drinks. I’m thinking, “Okay, we’re going to have a beer or two.” “Then after an hour, he starts bringing out the whiskey. And then he starts bringing out the moonshine.” Cena was filmed drinking a beer in the WrestleMania crowdWWE The WWE icon is always up for a good timeGetty Cena soon added another assist when the former New Nexus member confessed he needed to be up by 4am the next morning. “Cena said, “Oh, don’t worry!” I had a connection, and the connection was only an hour away or so. We got my bags and instead of catching the first flight, we drove to wherever that second flight would be,” he laughed. “And I’ll be honest, he got me pretty drunk! At one point, we were drinking a beer, a shot of whiskey, and then and washing it down with a moonshine. So it was quite the blur! “That was one of the craziest things about that [debut], getting hammered on John Cena’s bus that night.” Cena later admitted he thought he was ‘in trouble’ during the boozy session when he was ‘starting to feel it’ but Wales star Ryan didn’t outwardly appear to be under the influence. Upon exchanging stories the following week, Ryan added: “And then he said I got up to go to the bathroom, and he saw me nearly fall over!” Cena is set for his wrestling retirement tour in 2025Getty Ryan almost worked with Cena for an extended run on live events but another ill-timed injury slowed his momentum. He was released from WWE in 2014 and returned to the independent scene before hanging up his boots for a fresh career change. The musclebound star is now flourishing in Cirque Du Soleil after being touted for a role as a ‘big, tall, imposing figure’ in Las Vegas. He beat out fellow wrestlers Chris Masters and Lance Hoyt in auditions and now resides in Sin City to play the chief archer in KÀ. View Tweet: https://twitter.com/hashtag/ImmerCirque?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Speaking to the Metro, Ryan continued: “I’m still 6’6″, about 260, whereas when I was with WWE – I was still 6’6″, I’ve got a little bit older, hopefully, I haven’t lost much height. “I was about 290, on average, when I was with the WWE.” Pointing out that WWE and Cirque Du Soleil are both ‘art forms’, he added: “It’s a little bit of a different world. Of course, I’ve performed for a long time in wrestling, but it’s a different type of performing.”
John Cena is no stranger to jokes around his ‘You can’t see me’ catchphrase – but the statement may be true for his drunken pals.
The wrestler-turned-Hollywood star downed beers with fans at WrestleMania but offers in-ring rookies an even grander experience.
The record 16-time world champion regularly takes sporting stars under his wing and has been a role model to those in the business.
One of the grapplers he’s inadvertently left his biggest mark on was retired Welshman Mason Ryan who was once WWE’s next big thing.
The 42-year-old pivoted to a career in wrestling after his promising football career was curtailed due to a knee injury.
In 2009, the same year Ryan appeared as Goliath on Brit TV sensation Gladiators, he also signed his WWE contract.
Ryan, whose real name is Barri Griffiths, exploded to the top of the company with his memorable Monday Night Raw debut in 2011.
He instantly aligned himself with CM Punk by tackling Cena – but behind the curtains, the latter’s character was completely different.
The-then 28-year-old was in the locker room when he was told Cena wanted to see him on his private bus as the star exited the arena.
Ryan told the Metro: “I just threw my clothes quickly after showering and left my bags there because I just thought I’m just going to see John, and he’s going to say congratulations, or welcome to the team, or something like that.
“So I hop on the bus and he says, ‘Hey, take a seat’. And then he started bringing out some drinks. I’m thinking, “Okay, we’re going to have a beer or two.”
“Then after an hour, he starts bringing out the whiskey. And then he starts bringing out the moonshine.”
Cena soon added another assist when the former New Nexus member confessed he needed to be up by 4am the next morning.
“Cena said, “Oh, don’t worry!” I had a connection, and the connection was only an hour away or so. We got my bags and instead of catching the first flight, we drove to wherever that second flight would be,” he laughed.
“And I’ll be honest, he got me pretty drunk! At one point, we were drinking a beer, a shot of whiskey, and then and washing it down with a moonshine. So it was quite the blur!
“That was one of the craziest things about that [debut], getting hammered on John Cena’s bus that night.”
Cena later admitted he thought he was ‘in trouble’ during the boozy session when he was ‘starting to feel it’ but Wales star Ryan didn’t outwardly appear to be under the influence.
Upon exchanging stories the following week, Ryan added: “And then he said I got up to go to the bathroom, and he saw me nearly fall over!”
Ryan almost worked with Cena for an extended run on live events but another ill-timed injury slowed his momentum.
He was released from WWE in 2014 and returned to the independent scene before hanging up his boots for a fresh career change.
The musclebound star is now flourishing in Cirque Du Soleil after being touted for a role as a ‘big, tall, imposing figure’ in Las Vegas.
He beat out fellow wrestlers Chris Masters and Lance Hoyt in auditions and now resides in Sin City to play the chief archer in KÀ.
Speaking to the Metro, Ryan continued: “I’m still 6’6″, about 260, whereas when I was with WWE – I was still 6’6″, I’ve got a little bit older, hopefully, I haven’t lost much height.
“I was about 290, on average, when I was with the WWE.”
Pointing out that WWE and Cirque Du Soleil are both ‘art forms’, he added: “It’s a little bit of a different world. Of course, I’ve performed for a long time in wrestling, but it’s a different type of performing.”
