John Cena and JBL had a fair share of history during their time in WWE. Cena, who completed 20 years in the company, had defeated JBL at WrestleMania to win the WWE Championship. That marked his his first world championship reign. Recently, during an episode of “Busted Open,” JBL discussed the 20 years of John Cena and revealed whether or not he saw him as a future star when he first joined WWE.
JBL shares honest opinions on John Cena
Speaking about Cena’s 20th year anniversary, JBL said that:
“If you say, ‘Is he the G.O.A.T?’, he certainly is in the debate of the G.O.A.T,” JBL began. “You know, it’s hard to compare eras. How do you compare Cena with Sammartino who owned the Garden for 10 years. But to me, he’s the best representative our business has ever seen. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”
“650 Make-A-Wishes. He gave a million dollars of his own money to social inequity to help solve the problems of society. He’s just one of the best, most respectful guys I’ve ever been around. He is the best representative of this business that I’ve ever seen.”
Cena arrived to WWE from the developmental territory and soon made his mark in the company. He then went on to become the face of the company, having multiple title reigns. He is a record 16-time World Champion and certainly a future Hall of Famer. Speaking about Cena, here is what JBL said:
“No doubt about it. You know, it’s a world of difference between doing an eight minute match. Anybody can do that, be trained to do that, you know, you start the match, you get heat, and you go home. To do a 30-minute match is difficult. That’s really deep water because now you have to go on a roller coaster and you’re into the unknown.”
“I think maybe John had done a 30-minute before. It may have been with Kurt Angle, who’s also one of the greatest of all time like John is, but I was the first or second. Vince pulled me aside and asked me, ‘How is he?’ I said, ‘He’s your guy.’ Vince was really surprised, happily surprised. He had no feeling one way or the other. He said, ‘Really?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, he’s that good.’ Now I never dreamed he would be a 16-time world champion. I don’t think anybody did. But I could tell right away that this was the guy that they needed going forward.”
John Cena made his highly-anticipated return on the latest edition of Monday Night RAW to celebrate 20th Anniversary of his debut. Fans had been speculating that the reigning WWE United States Champion Theory would be Cena’s opponent at SummerSlam.
