John Cena has heaped praise on WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns saying that he’s now forging his own path in WWE.
Roman Reigns has had a tough ascent to the top of the WWE ladder. Although he has competed in five WrestleMania main events out of eight appearances on ‘The Grandest Stage Of Them All,’ the WWE Universe never quite took Reigns to heart.
The reaction for Reigns changed markedly when he announced he was battling leukemia. After several months away from the ring, Roman Reigns returned and famously remarked “I’m in remission y’all” to the relief and delight of anyone watching.
After a few months away once again at the beginning of the pandemic, Reigns returned at SummerSlam 2020 with a whole new attitude. No longer bothered by the fan’s feelings towards him, Reigns aligned with Paul Heyman and soon recaptured the WWE Universal Title.
For John Cena, this new attitude of Reigns and his new presentation as a villain is the best we’ve all seen of ‘The Head Of The Table.’
Cena explained in a conversation with Bleacher Report:
“Roman is walking in his own steps, he follows in no one’s footsteps. This happens every time a marquee attraction has moved on. I went through it, everybody said it with Steve [Austin] and The Rock and I understand that. But Roman is crafting his own path, and I think it’s very important to say that he’s doing a great job. I feel this is the best he’s ever been and that comes with comfort. I don’t know what got him over that hill, but he’s over it and that’s a very important one to jump over.”
Cena then compared Reigns’ journey with his own to the top of WWE:
“I just went out there comfortable with who I was and comfortable even if I failed. Taking brave choices and those brave choices haven’t stopped and aren’t stopping today as I continue to try to challenge myself. Roman has hit that point and that is, for audiences, a beautiful thing. Now he’s going to challenge himself and entertain the audience in ways they didn’t think he was capable of.”