WWE News: John Cena says AJ Styles debuted in the wrong role

What's the story

WWE has experienced a lot of changes in the past few years and John Cena recently sat down with Edge and Christian on their Pod Of Awesomeness to discuss what approach he takes to work with the new talents. He also admitted he wanted to work with AJ Styles because he felt WWE didn't do him justice at first.

In case you didn't know...

Jonh Cena has been the face of WWE for a long time. He's been through some historic battles and used a few mantras along the way but the one he has stood behind is you can't see him.

But what we have seen in the last couple of years is an influx of smaller guys making their names in WWE. Once thought of as the land of big men, WWE is now playing host to some amazing matchups featuring guys who once seemed to be too small for WWE.

The heart of the matter

E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness has had some "good gets" during the run of its podcast but John Cena is probably the biggest so far.

John Cena gave credit to WWE for AJ Styles being the result of years of evolution in it. He said one could probably find the roots of it in CM Punk as him and Daniel Bryan paved the way for many other smaller guys to come in from the indie circuit and pay their dues while making it to WWE.

He explained how a match against a guy like Brock Lesnar or Braun Strowman is going to be a different ballgame than one against AJ Styles.

"You know I'm at a point where I do need to showcase my abilities. But essentially the goal is for a guy like AJ [Styles] to show he can hang with John Cena and to do that he really has to show what he's made of."

Cena said they have to showcase the abilities of his opponents to make the best match possible. Working with someone like The Beast Incarnate or The Big Dog is a different story than working against someone with a more eclectic move set like AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, or Kevin Owens.

He also discussed how he enjoys showcasing someone's abilities for the first time on WWE's stage like he did with Kevin Owens when KO came up out of the blue still with the NXT Championship.

Cena explained how he considered himself to be the one who really broke AJ Styles out for the WWE Universe. Because when The Phenomenal One first made his debut, it wasn't the right place for him. Cena also revealed he needed to use this fact as an argument when he was disputed about the direction of the angle.

"You know I really love the chance to be able to showcase guys for essentially the first time. Like I know that Chris [Jericho] worked with AJ before but I don't think he really got a proper chance. He debuted in the wrong role, he really didn't do much. And that's kinda what I based my argument on when we kinda butted heads a little bit."

What's next

As Cena transitions himself out of the ring and into different avenues of entertainment, WWE will keep going. But due to his help, it will be a much different landscape.

John Cena left a lasting impression on AJ Styles' career in WWE. Those two took part in some fantastic battles and even coined the iconic phrase "beat up John Cena" in the process.

Cena is willing to work with anybody who has that special ability to make it to WWE and he respects their drive. He also wants them to look as good as possible in the process.

Author's take

John Cena might have his fair share of critics but he thrives on that because he seems to love shutting them down. He will rise above hate and help others along the way.

Sometimes all someone needs to really get to that next level is to have a little "John Cena dust" sprinkled on them and Big Match John is more than glad to be there.