John Cena was asked about AEW in 2019 and his response remains relevant in 2025

John Cena was asked about AEW during an interview in 2019. His response at the time holds true several years later also.

When AEW first launched in 2019, it transformed the entire wrestling industry. Wrestlers are now offered higher wages and have another viable place of employment outside WWE. Most importantly, the Jacksonville-based promotion forced World Wrestling Entertainment to elevate its game to the next level. What fans see today is a result of several years of improvement due to intense competition from All Elite Wrestling. This has resulted in record-breaking numbers for the Stamford-based promotion, and whether they admit it or not, All Elite Wrestling has been a great rival for the global juggernaut since its inception.

During an interview in February 2019 with Chris Van Vliet, John Cena was asked about AEW. He responded that external competition was good because it forces WWE to step up their game or step aside. One could say that his comments remain relevant even in 2025.

"I think external competition is great because once again that will force us to step up or step aside and you can say what you want about them being competition or not competition, I view any form of digestible entertainment as competition because your eyes can go elsewhere. So that's how I view that," said Cena.

Cena further added that more competition from other promotions will only benefit the pro wrestling industry.

"Competition also stands for the state of the wrestling economy and it's really good right now. There are a lot of people overseas and smaller promotions are getting larger and more traction which means you are consuming more sport entertainment and/or wrestling which is great for everything," he added.

You can check out his comments in the video below:

The byproduct of this competition is the intense and well-crafted storylines that fans enjoy today. This has resulted in WWE making bold moves with regards to its creative direction. A perfect example of this is John Cena's recent heel turn. The Stamford-based promotion would possibly have never been bold enough to turn their biggest babyface into a heel if it wasn't for competition from All Elite Wrestling. This move is similar to when WCW turned Hulk Hogan heel to compete with WWE. This move helped them stay ahead of the Vince McMahon-led promotion for several months.

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Dustin Rhodes is outraged by John Cena's actions at Elimination Chamber

At WWE Elimination Chamber 2025, John Cena won the Men's Chamber Match to earn a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41. Following this win, Cody Rhodes came out to congratulate the Cenation Leader. They were soon joined by The Rock, who expected Cody to give him his soul. However, the American Nightmare declined The Final Boss' offer.

In a shocking turn of events, Cena turned heel and brutally attacked Cody. Then Rock, Cena, and Travis Scott beat up the champ and left him in a pool of his own blood. Following this segment, Dustin Rhodes took to his X (fka Twitter) account to express his outrage towards John Cena and The Final Boss.

"Shame on you 🤬!!! BOTH OF YOU!!"

You can check out his tweet below:

It will be interesting to see John Cena play the role of a heel for the first time in over twenty years.