By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWE top star John Cena spoke in-depth about WrestleMania 28 and the Mania hype with "Busted Open" radio show hosts Dave Lagreca and Doug Mortman at Friday's WWE Axxess media event in Miami. The following are highlights.

-- Cena said he felt a sense of relief after Monday's final Raw episode completing the WrestleMania build-up after being "mentally drained" from promoting WM28 one year out.

"It’s been extremely hard. Especially on me, it’s been a lot of pressure," Cena said. "But, after the last Monday in Atlanta, I took a deep breath, thought about it, and realized that I couldn’t possibly do anymore to build up April 1. I think it is the biggest it can be. People realize what’s at stake. Not only do they realize it’s a marquee matchup - we have a lot of those - but they realize that I really don’t like the guy that I’m facing, which, in our business, is becoming more and more rare. It’s everything that a big fight is supposed to be."

-- Cena played to the insider crowd by using the term "turn heel" when addressing why he won't turn, and why he believes he's one of the first wrestlers to not go with the flow of a vocal portion of the crowd.

"I’ve never been one to shun people feeling negative, and I think that I’m the first guy to do that, to not 'turn heel' when they boo you. I kind of embrace it as," Cena said. "And just as we’ve seen the waves go one way, they go crashing back another way. It’ll change, it’ll go back and forth, but the one thing that’ll remain constant is who I am and what I stand for."

Besides the merchandising and top-star ambassador status for why he hasn't turned heel, Cena noted for every vocal Attitude Era fan, there is a parent or kid who supports him.

"I know there are mass majority from the 'Attitude Era' that will want me strung up and burned as a witch. But for every guy who says, 'Cena sucks! there is a mom or a dad who will come up to me privately and say, 'Thank you for being a good role model for my kids.' ...As long as we have those families showing up, I’m gonna be who I am. And, I think that’s most important, and that’s why I don’t care that there’s a split in the crowd."

-- Cena peeled back a few layers of the onion on how he's a "company man" who takes pride in the product after trying to get people to come back to WWE following the Attitude Era.

"I was the first to beat the drum of, 'Guys, we may need to switch the content' because I would watch the people coming into the building every night. Go to a live show, see the audience, tell me I’m wrong. I’m on top of this stuff. I’m the guy walking through Axxess at 5:50 a.m. to make sure the set-up’s correct. I’m the guy who’s in the crowd somewhere that you can’t see when people file into the Garden for a live event. I’m on top of this, this is what I do. When I say I love the business, I don’t just love hitting the ropes and falling down in the ring; that’s beautiful. But I love the business, and I want it to be the best it can."

Regarding criticism of the product, Cena added, "As frustrating as it is for some, I still think the program is unbelievably entertaining. We still have an unreal stable of Superstars, and we’re able to go more places and more people can enjoy it."

-- Cena addressed the "Super Cena" label on his character, notably that he doesn't seem to lose matches or lose big matches, which has fueled some of the anti-Cena resentment from portions of the audience.

"I’ve also lost a lot. And, I think that’s another thing that critics tend to savor their own flavor of soup. You can look at my win-loss record. It’s as good as an average Superstar. I mean, I’ve won a lot of marquee matches, but I’ve lost a lot of marquee matches," Cena said. He added to his argument by pointing to his WM27 loss to The Miz last year.

Caldwell's Analysis: Cena's loss to Miz at last year's WrestleMania does not dispel criticism. The outcome was overshadowed by The Rock's involvement to set up this year's WrestleMania, which gave Cena his "out" for losing a match that no one was paying attention to. It's like Hulk Hogan's empty argument of "I lost to Billy Kidman in WCW" when the match and outcome were irrelevant in the broader context and circumstances. The key for Cena should be whether that loss to Miz actually meant something for Miz's career. Right now, Miz's career is in a tailspin and he's lost 20 matches in a row on TV/PPV, so the win for Miz hasn't meant much. That's the real issue.

FYI: Busted Open airs from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EST on Sirius 94, XM 208, and Sportszone 860 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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