By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

If WWE top star John Cena is surrounded by three layers of "WWE corporate speak," Cena pulled back one layer in a new podcast interview with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin recorded last Monday prior to Raw in Los Angeles. However, two layers remained as Cena opened up about certain hot topics, but spun those topics back into a favorable message about WWE's present or future.

The following are highlights of Cena's 60-minute talk with Austin.

- Cena challenged the WWE locker room to go out on a limb with ideas for their characters and not be afraid of rejection.

"It's not that what we have isn't good. I think we have a locker room full of very, very talented Superstars. But, I also think we have a locker room full of Superstars who are fearful for their employment. And, they're not willing to take that one step," Cena said.

"I don't get a mad at a lot nowadays. What really frustrates me is when I see a guy with all of the tools or next to all of the tools who is afraid to take that leap of faith."

Cena added that many wrestlers look at Cena as "hogging the spotlight" or crowding out new stars, but Cena said he wants wrestlers to come alongside him to create multiple big stars for the crowd to attach to.

"I've been able to look at this product objectively. I take myself out of the equation," Cena said. "I think a lot of the reason the reactions (pro/against Cena) are the way they are is because for quite a few years, WWE didn't step up to the plate and correctly build new Superstars and correctly provide new main event talent," Cena said.

"I wish - and right now I'm very excited - we are on the cusp of getting a true All-Star line-up for the first time in a long time. I think you'll see that (the chants) go away. And I'm objectively looking at it because when you have one dude and you're trying to make Superstars off that dude, a majority of the audience only recognizes that one guy. It's why when you have a feud with Daniel Bryan or The Rock, you don't hear the 'Let's Go Cena / Cena Sucks' as much. It's cheer for one guy, boo the other guy. But, when it's a one-man party out there, often times, the crowd gets attached to the one man."

Cena did acknowledge WWE's management techniques having a tendency to create even more of that "walking on eggshells" feeling in the locker room, which hurts wrestlers's confidence.

"A lot of this business is false motivation. They'll pat you on the butt and go, 'Oh, good match.' Right when you come through Gorilla. I wish there was more motivational reinforcement," Cena said, referring to Austin's speech to him several years ago to never settle and strive to make WWE's business better.

"It's just lack of confidence. The amazing thing is a lot of these guys are so confident once they're in that box and the bell rings doing their thing. I've talked to a lot of guys - they have such great personalities."

As for his own Creative input, Cena framed it as not having much say in the structure of what he's doing, but given freedom to make it his own.

"Oddly enough, you hear these stories about guys planning their own future. I'm not really good at 'booking stuff.' I'm not saying it doesn't interest me. But, I'm good with, 'Hey, we have this for you.' 'Okay, I'm going to take this and make it great,'" Cena said.

- Cena confirmed that WWE is moving toward more of an action-based and less talk-based product, which he attributed to WWE trying to expand internationally.

"Our product is moving to more action and less talk," Cena said. Cena said he's more of a promo/character development guy, but he's adapting because it's the "wave the business is riding."

Notably, Cena said he is trying to learn Mandarin so that he can help WWE expand its business into China.

- Regarding his personal health, Cena said he "feels good" and is taking care of his body to have longevity.

"I'm doing the best I can. I feel great. I'll be turning 37 in April," Cena said. "In your plea for longevity, you can't be young in the ring all the time. So, I still feel as if I can keep up with anyone who comes through the door. I have a certain amount of stuff I do on a television basis, but every once in a while, I try to do some stuff that's unique."

- Regarding three-hour Raws, Cena called it "ambitious" and "tough to carry" for the talent roster.

"I really think the optimum time - my window is two-and-a-half hours. Where even if it's two-and-a-half balls to the wall, people want more and they want to come back," Cena said. "It's a stretch. I think the Creative department and the Superstars are doing the best they damn well can to carry those three hours. And, it's going to be a transition."

- Cena shared his philosophy on WWE's product that he values "crowd noise" and crowd involvement more than anything else in evaluating whether something works/worked. Cena said it's why he has encouraged the dueling chants and not shied away from "cat-calling" fans, such as the Royal Rumble PPV, because he feels like it means the crowd is invested in what he's doing.

"As a professional, when all those chants have nothing to do with you, through all that, there were undeniable moments where people regained interest in what we were doing," Cena said about his infamous Rumble match against Randy Orton.

Cena said "sometimes it's best to let them (the fans) be the star of the show." He joked that he would have liked to have produced Daniel Bryan to whip both their asses, but that was not WWE's plan. So, they had to do the best with the situation.

Cena said he re-evaluates what he's doing if he sees people going to the concession stand or getting a t-shirt during one of his segments because it means they're disinterested, which is the worst form of crowd response in his mind.

- Cena foreshadowed his quality match with Antonio Cesaro Monday on Raw by noting he recently worked out with Cesaro and spent some time with him at the Performance Center in Orlando when Cena was filming a Muscle & Fitness cover to be released during WrestleMania Season.

Cena noted he likes to get to know wrestlers personally when he senses that WWE is ready to go with someone at the main event level.

- Regarding WWE's move to pushing all new talent through the Performance Center, Cena said, "With the fall of WCW, we have hit the point where we can no longer draw. We can no longer pick from certain promotions or even the competition. We have to develop our own."

- The interview concluded with Cena trying to pitch a WrestleMania 31 match to Austin and Austin trying to get some WrestleMania 30 information out of Cena. However, Cena said he's not sure where things will end up since he did not win the Royal Rumble to create a clear path.

- Also in the interview, Cena credited Arn Anderson for helping him throughout his career, shouted out to Nick Dinsmore (Eugene) for helping him through the OVW Developmental years, talked about his muscle car collection, and covered some other topics.

Cena did not address C.M. Punk's WWE status or his role on the "Total Divas" reality TV show.

[ LINK: Cena's full chat with Austin is HERE at PodcastOne.com ]

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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