5 stars who should become AEW's version of John Cena

#3. AEW's young rookie Brian Pillman Jr

AEW youngster Brian Pillman Jr. is a second generation star who bears the name of one of the most popular wrestlers of the 90s. While he is proud of his lineage, the 28-year-old is also looking to make his own mark in the wrestling business. During a 2020 conversation with The Shining Wizards Wrestling Podcast, Brian Pillman Jr. discussed his philosophy when it comes to how his genetics play a part in his ring style:

"I think I’m at an advantage there just because I was very smart in that I didn’t study my dad’s work a lot," Pillman explained, "I try to avoid it for fear that I would pick up on too many things...When it comes to his moves in the ring resembling those of his famous father, Pillman concedes, "[it] just so happens to look that way because of our genetics…our body language in the ring and stuff like that."

While the connection between Brian Pillman Jr. and John Cena is not obvious at first glance, you might be surprised to know that both wrestlers had a run at Ohio Valley Wrestling. Cena's history in OVW is of course well-documented and he even won the OVW Heavyweight Champion for a brief period before debuting in WWE.

But what may not be common knowledge is that Brian Pillman Jr. is also a former OVW Heavyweight Champion. In fact, he held the company's top title as recently as January 2021, when he finally had to vacate the championship due to his growing commitments with AEW.

Another interesting tidbit is that John Cena wrestled on a Brian Pillman Memorial Show back in 2001 as a young rookie still sporting the "Prototype" gimmick while training at OVW. It's a fascinating piece of coincidence and certainly makes for interesting trivia if the young Pillman and Cena ever cross paths in the future.

Other than a seeming love for muscle cars and being a varsity-wearing jock, AEW's Brian Pillman Jr. attitude and current rookie standing felt similar to Cena when he challenged Kurt Angle on his debut. AEW will do well to provide more opportunities for Brian Pillman Jr. to succeed. He is currently part of a tag team with Griff Garrison at AEW and seems to be competing in the tag division for the time being. But at only 28-years-old, the sky's the limit for the young wrestler to become a Cena-like star for AEW in the next decade.