For a number of years, John Cena has been seen as the yardstick and the standard that everyone needs to reach in WWE.
During his full-time career, Cena racked up 16 World Championship wins and dominated the top of the card. He won every major honour there is to win, often more than once, and became seen within the company as the figure everyone else should aspire to be.
Someone who heard this message was Sami Zayn. The Tag Team Champion joined WWE in 2013 and starred in NXT before moving to the main roster in May 2015. Zayn actually made his main roster debut against Cena, answering the star’s United States Title open challenge, being introduced by Bret Hart on Raw in Montreal.
Speaking during an appearance on After The Bell, Zayn recalled his time in NXT, and how coaches and management had created an ultra-competitive environment. This led to recruits being told that if they didn’t want to be the ‘Next John Cena‘ they shouldn’t be there.
“I remember when I got to WWE, it was NXT or something like that, it was very much the mentality of, ‘you should be furious that you’re here. You should want to get out of here. You should want to get on the road. Everyone around you is your enemy, they are all vying for your spot. This is a competition. You have to be the best to get out of here. If you don’t want to be the best, you shouldn’t even work here.’ I remember a line something to the extent of, ‘If you don’t want to be the next John Cena, you shouldn’t even be here.’
I remember hearing that and being completely [mouth agape]. ‘What? This is insanity.’ Let’s just say we’re in a room with 100 people, let’s just say the next John Cena is in this room. There’s only one, so the other 99 people in this room should be miserable at all times trying to aspire to be that person? What kind of insanity is that?”
John Cena Responds To Claims He Buried Austin Theory
John Cena made his most recent WWE appearance at WrestleMania 39 where he was defeated by Austin Theory. During the build-up Cena delivered a damning promo, talking down Theory’s abilities, claiming that fans didn’t care about him. This led to claims that the veteran had been overly harsh and buried Theory, rather than elevating him.
However, Cena has since disputed those suggestions, pointing to the fact he lost the match at WrestleMania and he didn’t say anything to Theory on-screen he hadn’t already said backstage.
H/t to Fightful