CHICAGO -- The AllState Arena roared upon hearing John Cena's new theme music, "My Time is Now," fill the air. As the new WWE Champion made his way to ringside for his championship coronation -- now a week-and-a-half into his championship reign -- it was quite obvious that Cena is on cloud nine.

Complete with a new rendition of the WWE Title -- a "spinner belt" -- wrapped around his waist, the young athlete from West Newbury, Mass. appears ready to usher in a new era of World Wrestling Entertainment. Thursday night, WWE.com caught up with the champ to get the inside scoop on his first week as WWE Champion, his customized championship, and his upcoming hip-hop album.

WWE.com: What has your first week-and-a-half as WWE Champion been like?
John Cena: It's been great. WrestleMania 21 was a dream come true. At SmackDown! in San Diego, it felt like I was still dreaming. And right from there, we got to go overseas [to Australia] and tear it up, so it's been unbelievable.

WWE.com: Where did the inspiration for the new WWE Championship belt come from?
Cena: Just like the United States Championship, the WWE Championship needed a makeover. When I won the U.S. Championship, that was everything to me, and I remade it accordingly. And if the U.S. Championship was everything, this is ten-fold. I had to come out real big on this, because everybody already saw what I did to the U.S. Championship, and it had people thinking, "what else can he do?" But this is what I'd want a title to be -- anything and everything -- and there's some crazy stuff on here.

WWE.com: Can we expect more modifications to be made?
Cena: Like I said, I'm definitely adding more shine to it. Rest assured, I'm still gonna kick this thing up a few notches. It's gonna be even nicer.

WWE.com: Why create a new belt, and not keep with tradition by retaining the old WWE Championship belt -- the one worn by JBL?
Cena: I ain't about doing things the traditional way, I'm about doing things my way. And just the fact that JBL had that belt all that time makes me want to change it up, ‘cause I'm sure it pissed him off. But of course, some people may not agree with my modifications, but this is my vision of what a World Championship should look like, and I think it's class.

WWE.com: Can you tell me a little bit about the new WWE Championship? How long it took to make? How much does it weigh?  What kind of jewels are on it? How much did it cost?
Cena: First and foremost is the glaze. This things got all kinds of diamonds on it. You got round clear and pale yellow diamonds, round rubies. There are over 2,800 mini square Princess Cut diamonds, plus there are clear triangular and marquise cut diamonds, Marquise cut emeralds, clear Baquette [rectangular] cut diamonds, and  one big 16mm clear diamond on the side plate. Altogether, there's a 3,484 diamonds and gems.
Then of course, you have the gold -- 14K. My belt's got more carrots than Bugs Bunny. And you know, it's got to have the platinum. I mean this thing's got so much shine on it, it weighs like 12 pound. And it's worth so much loot, that I'm actually considering hiring two armed bodyguards to escort me and the championship around.

WWE.com: Do you have any preference as to whom you'd like to see win the SmackDown! Championship Series and become the number-one contender for your WWE Title?
Cena: It's like I always say, you want some, come get some. Of course I'd like to have a rematch with JBL and show him that my win over him at WrestleMania 21 wasn't just a fluke, and that I'm not the Buster Douglas of WWE. But I also wouldn't mind having some different competition, like Kurt Angle, Big Show, or Booker T. Honestly, it really doesn't matter who wins the Triple Threat in the U.K., ‘cause your boy will be ready.

WWE.com: Can we expect your title reign to be like JBL's, or will this one be different?
Cena: I'll take my hat off to JBL, he did have one of the longest championship reigns in WWE history, but I don't agree with how he kept it. JBL was all about finding shortcuts, and having people help him win matches, whereas I'm all about doing things myself -- I don't need nobody's help. So while I'd like to hold the WWE Championship as long, if not longer, than JBL, you can definitely expect a very different type of reign, and this masterpiece sitting right here in front of you is just the beginning.

WWE.com: Your new album, "You Can't See Me," will be coming out on May 10th. Can you tell me a little bit about this? How long it took to make? Who produced it?
Cena: Well the album was produced by Sony, and it's something I've been working on for quite a while now, but I think that the timing for this release is perfect for me, and if you noticed, the cover of the album looks very similar to my new WWE Championship.

WWE.com: How do you think the final copy turned out?
Cena: I think that a lot of fans are going to be pleasantly surprised when they pop in the album and listen to it. It's got a lot of great tracks, and a lot of different beats. I think that even people who like this type of music, but aren't necessarily wrestling fans will enjoy the album, and hopefully when they listen to it, and they'll want to tune in to SmackDown! to see what their boy's doing.

WWE.com: Can we find your new theme music, "My Time is Now" featured on this upcoming release?
Cena: Absolutely, it's the first track -- the album also has my original theme music, "Basic Thuganomics," which was also really popular. And it's funny, because when I cut "My Time is Now," I hadn't even won the WWE Championship yet, but now that song couldn't be any truer. And it's not even like WWE had to promote it, or acknowledge it I any way. The song speaks for itself, so they just popped it in a few weeks ago, and it's gotten nothing but a great response.

WWE.com: What do you feel your future in the hip-hop industry?
Cena: Making music is something I love doing, Don't get me wrong, I love this business like nobody else, and this is my thing -- I live, eat, sleep, and breathe this --
but whenever I have some time away from the ring, you'll find me in the studio. So will I continue making music? Of course. Do I have a future in the hip-hop industry? Who knows, we'll see how things go.