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Transcript of John Cena on Larry King Live

Posted By: wrestling-radio.com on Jul 18, 2007

CNN LARRY KING LIVE

The Crash of the TAM Airliner in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Autopsy Findings on Chris Benoit and His Family; Interview With Larry Flynt, Jeane Palfrey

Aired July 17, 2007 - 21:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, shocking amounts of testosterone found in the body of wrestling superstar Chris Benoit when he killed his wife, his son and then himself. And get this -- authorities think he may have sedated his son before suffocating him.
We'll get exclusive first reaction from WWE champ John Cena.

Also --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LUNSFORD, TESTIFIED AN HOUR AGO IN JOHN COUEY PRE-SENTENCING HEARING: I hope you hear her cries as you try to sleep at night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Mark Lunsford -- how on earth was he able to stand in court today and face down the monster who raped his 9-year-old daughter Jessica and buried her alive?

And then --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WENDY VITTER: To forgive is not always the easy choice, but it was and is the right choice for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: In a dramatic press conference yesterday, Senator David Vitter spoke for the first time on the scandal linking him with the D.C. Madam and her alleged prostitution ring. And his wife, who once reportedly threatened to do a Lorena Bobbitt on him if he strayed, stood by her man.

Now in another exclusive, the alleged D.C. Madam speaks out on Senator David Vitter and his wife.

And also with us, "Hustler" publisher Larry Flynt, who exposed the Vitter scandal.

And then, his wife is live in the morning and he's live here tonight. It's the other man in Kelly Ripa's life -- not Regis, her hunk husband, "Age of Love" Mark Consuelos.

All next on LARRY KING LIVE.

Good evening.

We begin with that story you probably know -- the plane with as many as 170 people aboard has crashed and burst into flames in Sao Paulo in Brazil. That's Brazil's largest city. No immediate reports of deaths, but obviously there will be many, many fatalities.

It was a TAM Airline Airbus 320.

Joining us in Washington is aviation expert Carl Rochelle.

And on the phone, Arthur Wolk, an aviation safety expert; Julien Brierre, the freelance reporter in Sao Paulo; Captain Juan Carlos Maimone, a retired American Airline pilot who has flown into that airport many times; and our very own Miles O'Brien. Carl, it's so early but what's your first read?

CARL ROCHELLE, AVIATION EXPERT: Well, there are two or three things to look at, Larry.

One is the weather, which was obviously a factor in this. And when an airplane comes down like that, you bear in mind that those wheels aren't turning when they hit the water. They are still. And they have to spool up before any braking effect can take place.

So you get something that's called hydroplaning sometimes. If the airplane was a little fast and if the spoilers weren't set in advance, if the automatic braking system was not turned on, if the pilot was high and hot, the runway was slick -- there are an awful lot of factors that contribute to this.

The wind is also a factor. We don't yet know what the wind force was and whether he was landing up wind or down wind. He should have been landing into the wind, but we don't know all of these things. They will come into it like that.

But this is not the first time something like this has happened. Several years ago in California, an Air -- I think it was a 737 -- an aircraft ran off the end of the runway and came within something like 20 or 30 feet of a new gas station.

So the potential is there.

KING: Wow!

ROCHELLE: And what has made this worse, of course, is hitting the fuel and exploding and causing all of the fire, which makes it very difficult to get out of the airplane, Larry.

KING: Arthur Wolk, our aviation expert -- a safety expert -- with us on the phone.

What's your early read?

ARTHUR WOLK, AVIATION SAFETY EXPERT: Well, I would think certainly the weather was a factor. Apparently, it was very heavy rain. But more importantly, the airport, while being busy, also was built in the '30s and has not really been updated. The runways are short. They don't shed their water as quickly as they should, which makes braking action difficult. And, in fact, a federal judge in Brazil actually prohibited landings at that airport by large aircraft like the A320 for a period of time. He was overruled by the court of appeals.

That airport just is not up to what I'll call the safety standards that we expect to see for commercial traffic.

KING: In a minute we'll talk with a captain who landed there many times and with a freelance reporter who knows the area.

But first Miles O'Brien, what's your thoughts?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION EXPERT: Well, Larry, there are reports -- consistent reports from airline pilots who have been in and out of there recently -- that this particular runway, which was only about 6,000 feet long. The Airbus A320 would need, on a good day, about 4,500 feet; on a rainy day maybe a different story.

In any case, this runway had been recently repaved. And according to these pilots who are in the know here, they were waiting for the concrete to cure long enough in order for them to groove the runway, put those numerous thousands of grooves horizontal to the direction of the runway which allows the water to be shed more efficiently off the runway. In other words, if there weren't grooves there, as is reported, as we're hearing from these pilots, it's quite possible that this rain condition, which has been there for several days, might have caused water to collect and might have made the braking action much less than those pilots had anticipated. Another thing to look at here, Larry, is there are reports from witnesses on the scene that that airplane was struggling to regain altitude, was trying to take back off again. If the flight crew had made the decision once they landed, realizing that they're -- they had hydroplaned and their wheels weren't braking as they should, did they make the decision to go full throttle and try to fly again and not have enough space on that short runway to do that, and thus putting them in a situation where they ended up crashing?

Given the velocity of the crash and the distance from the runway, that is one of the things that the investigators will be looking at very carefully, Larry.

KING: Captain -- thank you, Miles.

Captain Juan Carlos Maimone is a retired American Airline pilot. He's flown into that airport many times

What can you tell us about it, Captain?

CAPT. JUAN CARLOS MAIMONE, RETIRED PILOT, HAS FLOWN TO SAO PAULO AIRPORT: Well, I pretty much agree with everybody else over there. And one of the things in that particular airport, even with that happened in almost 90 percent of the airports in South America, they keep from building business nearby the airport and you don't have any escape. Once you leave the runway, you've got a building right in front of you.

This would never happen in the United States, but it happens pretty, pretty often in South America -- buildings, buildings, gas stations, (INAUDIBLE) right next to the runway.

In this particular case, I cannot believe it's not even 150 feet from the runway to the next building. So in this particular case, according to what I hear, the pilot trying to raise some power to get the airplane off the ground, which I believe is impossible because it's pretty large airplane. And besides that, if you have a lot of water on the runway and you don't have enough power or enough concrete to get that thing off the ground.

KING: Thank you, Captain.

Julien Brierre is a freelance reporter in Sao Paulo. We'll wind up with him.

Julien, they're reporting -- Brazilian TV. In fact, it was just reported on the earlier program that 10 are definitely dead in one of the buildings.

Do you hear that?

JULIEN BRIERRE, FREELANCE REPORTER, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: I'm sorry, Larry, there was a problem on the line.

But what I can tell, last -- it's the numbers that are getting from television here and from authorities. Colonel -- Colonel Manuel Antonio Zarajujo (ph). He told about, of course, not exactly, but around 200 people dead on the scene between passengers, between crew people and people on the building on the scene.

KING: Thank you, Julien.

Julien reporting 200 dead. That makes sense, with 170 on the plane and possible others in buildings. We'll be following this throughout the night.

Up next, the toxicology reports from the murder/suicide of wrestler Chris Benoit and his wife and young son.

Don't go away.

(VIDEO CLIP FROM WRESTLING MATCH, COURTESY WWE USA)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. KRIS SPERRY, GEORGIA CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER: We analyzed the urine of Chris Benoit for the presence of steroids. And the only steroid drug that we found was testosterone. And this was measured at a level of 207 micrograms per liter. Now, along with other analyses that were done in the urine, we were able to ascertain that this level of testosterone indicates that he had been using testosterone, at least within some reasonably short period of time prior to the time that he died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Coming to us now from his base in Tampa, Florida is John Cena, a return visit with the WWE champion and superstar.

He knew Chris Benoit professionally, as well.

Toxicology test results are in, in the shocking double murder and suicide involving Benoit, his wife Nancy and their 7-year-old son Daniel.

Investigators say that Benoit had steroids, the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and a painkiller in his system last month when he did the killings. According to the tests, his body had 10 times the normal level of testosterone. His wife tested positive for therapeutic levels of Xanax and painkillers. And his son had a high level of Xanax, indicating he likely was sedated at the time of his death.

What do you make of that, John?

JOHN CENA, WWE CHAMPION & SUPERSTAR, WORKED WITH CHRIS BENOIT: I make that the media kind of jump to conclusions. You can see that Dr. Kris Sperry said that there were elevated levels of testosterone. Chris tested clean for all anabolic steroids. Granted, the testosterone levels were high. But Kris Sperry also went on to state that even with his elevated levels of testosterone, there is no link between high testosterone level and the behavior that happened in the Chris Benoit murder.

This is -- this is one of the things where the media, when the people seized -- when the authorities seized Chris Benoit's house, they found anabolic steroids. So immediately the media wanted to latch onto that. Now the theories on whether or not Chris sedated his children -- or his child or his wife before suffocating them both, that is what it is. It's just theory.

Like I said, Larry, the last time I was on the show -- and thank you very much for having me back -- what we have is an unexplainable tragedy. And people will theorize about this for as long as they want to, similar to the murder of president John F. Kennedy. But it will be just that.

The toxicology report is out and it's obvious. Even with elevated levels of testosterone, Chris tested clean for anabolic steroids.

KING: All right.

But it's obvious, also, to assume, John, that he must have -- and maybe in an act of kindness in this weird case -- given the 7-year-old Xanax so that he would be relaxed and sedated.

CENA: No, you're right, Larry. But like you just said, it's an assumption. And like with most of the details in this case, just because there was no -- there was no note. This is not a telltale suicide. This really was an act that came out of left field. And because there's no answer, the media wants to point to an answer. And that's why the steroid issues comes up. That's why the painkiller issue has come up. That's why all these things have come up.

But like I said, this really came out of left field and I think this toxicology report proves it.

KING: What are your confreres saying, the other people in wrestling, your pro-wrestling partners and the like, what are they saying about this story?

CENA: Larry, we're doing the best we can to make sure our life go on and my livelihood and our business goes on. The only one thing that has really hurt me and really that I take so sour about this whole situation is how the media shifted its focus from this horrible tragedy to our business, and has gone on degrading our business and how we handle our business.

The WWE has a substance abuse testing policy. It tests for performance enhancing drugs and illegal narcotics. Chris Benoit tested in April 2007 and was clean. So, by the toxicology report, what should have happened between April and the day that these acts were committed is Chris supplemented testosterone. That's all. That's it. Plain and simple.

But it's a shame that the media has shifted its focus to the WWE, which tries so hard to protect and maintain the integrity of its athletes.

KING: In fact, the WWE's statement is, on Mr. Benoit's last drug test in April, administered by Aegis Labs, A-E-G-I-S: "He tested negative for anabolic steroids and for testosterone. Given the toxicology report of GBI released today, it would appear that Mr. Benoit took testosterone sometime after his April 2007 tests."

How often are you tested, John?

CENA: I -- since the testing began in February 2006, I've been tested six times. It's a -- the drug testing policy is administered so that each athlete, each performer gets tested four times a year. So I'm probably due for another two tests before the year's at end. But it's done at random, so at least I could be tested four times. At most, you could be tested any amount of times.

But the bottom line is four times per year guaranteed.

KING: Any penalty for testing positive?

CENA: The first penalty is a 30-day suspension and a clinical discussion about rehab. The second penalty is a complete six to eight week rehab program. The third penalty is finding another place to work, which I do appreciate because the WWE is not just kicking their talent to the curb. If they have a problem, the WWE is trying to make steps to fix it rather than just eliminate it. So they'll try twice to help you out and if you can't be helped, then obviously you have to go elsewhere for work.

KING: What do you make, John, of the large amounts of testosterone?

What do you make of it?

CENA: Obviously, Chris supplemented testosterone between April and the time of the tragedy. Now --

KING: I mean but why?

What do you take -- what do you take it for?

CENA: I don't -- I'm not a doctor. Larry, I don't know. And that's something that I'm really uneducated about. I wish I could help you out there, because maybe that would help us. Maybe that would give another theory to what's happened.

But as far as testosterone supplementation, I -- I can't give you an educated answer, so I don't even want to theorize.

KING: John, thanks, as always, for joining us.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

CENA: No, thanks for having me back, man.

I appreciate it.

KING: John Cena, the WWE champion and superstar.

By the way, we did a whole show on this last week with John, Brett "The Hitman" Hart, Chris Jericho and others. If you missed it or wanted to see it again, it's available by pod cast and you can download it at cnn.com/larryking or on iTunes.

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