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WWE is possibly the biggest sports entertainment company, and John Cena is a superstar who has carried the promotion on his back for over a decade. Not only did Cena’s on-screen character help him gain a lot of fans and a few haters, but he also managed to get into some mixed relationships with other Superstars backstage.
While some superstars absolutely adore the 16-time world champion, others simply hate him for various reasons. In this article, we will look at the three WWE Superstars who don’t like the Doctor of Thuganomics and five wrestlers who really like him behind the scenes.
#8 Likes John Cena: Theory
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Theory, formerly known as Austin Theory, is a WWE superstar who is rising up the ranks pretty quickly. Making his first WrestleMania appearance back in 2020, Vince McMahon's protégé has already shared the ring with legends like Brock Lesnar and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Becoming the youngest United States Champion at the age of 24, one can only imagine what the future holds for Theory.
There have been many comparisons made between Theory and Cena, which include's the former's ring gear being similar to the one worn by the 'Prototype' John Cena. Here's what the youngest United States Champion had to say about the Face that Runs the Place:
"When I was eight, first time I’d ever seen WWE, I was invested. John Cena was the first person that I’d seen. Just his character, the way he carried himself helped me through a lot of personal stuff in my life. That’s what built my connection with loving professional wrestling, and sports entertainment. This was just huge for me, because my whole life I’ve modeled myself after this guy." [Metro.uk]
With John Cena open to returning to the promotion to put younger stars over, and Theory rapidly rising up the ranks, it wouldn't be a surprise if the two face off at a big event very soon.
#7 Does not like John Cena: Chavo Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero and John Cena enjoyed some of the best matches together in the ring, and the 16-time world champion paid a rich tribute to the mexican legend following the latter's death.
While Eddie may have been close to John Cena, his nephew Chavo Guerrero does not like the Cenation leader and how ‘overrated’ he is. Chavo has shown no respect for John Cena and has been extremely vocal about his dislike towards him.
Taking to his official Twitter account, Chavo has been critical of John Cena’s position in the company and the status he enjoys, going as far as to say that Big Match John is nowhere near the likes of Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior.
In a separate tweet, Chavo has stated that he does not think that Cena deserves to break Ric Flair's record for most world championships for WWE, and has called for a boycott of all Cena matches if he goes on to break the record. Chavo has even stated that he could outwrestle the superstar with one hand tied behind his back!
While the two men are on completely different career paths now, it seems like they won’t be looking each other in the eye for any reason any time soon.
#6 Likes him: Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho was already a huge name in wrestling when John Cena walked into WWE. Reports suggest that Y2J saw a lot of potential in ’The Prototype’ long before backstage officials managed to put their trust in the superstar.
Jericho has been around the world ever since, becoming one of the pillars of AEW. John Cena, meanwhile, is making waves in Hollywood, but continues to be one of WWE's biggest merchandise movers and crowd-pullers, even though he only works a handful of dates per year. That hasn’t changed things between the two men, who are known to like each other and be good friends backstage.
Jericho has told several drunken stories involving the two Superstars, one of which involves John Cena giving advice to a married couple and pulling them from the brink of divorcing each other! That’s not all, as the former AEW World Champion recalled a night when the two men got really drunk, and Big Match John outlasted him in a drinking game. Y2J then remembered waking up in a hotel bed thanks to Cena, who was sitting in a corner still drinking and listening to songs on Jericho’s iPod!
Both men will likely go down as the most influential men in the entire wrestling industry.
#5 Does not like him: Wade Barrett
Five-time Intercontinental Champion and former King of the Ring winner Wade Barrett has several accomplishments under his belt. However, he will likely be remembered as the leader of The Nexus for as long as WWE stays in business. The Nexus came up as a heelish faction comprising of NXT Superstars, and their main target was John Cena. Fans were treated to this storyline for months, but things did not end the way the WWE Universe would have liked.
For those who don't know, it is believed that John Cena pitched the idea of him leading Team WWE to victory against Nexus at SummerSlam 2010, which ultimately led to the downfall of the faction. Wade Barrett and a number of other members of the faction have blamed Cena for burying The Nexus, with Barrett saying a lot of harsh words about him during interviews, as can be seen below.
#4 Likes him: Cesaro
Cesaro is regarded as one of the biggest missed opportunities in WWE. Many fans believe that there’s no one better than Cesaro at what he does in the ring, and he is by far the strongest pound for pound wrestler we’ve seen emerge from the company. With all that under his belt, it’s a bit of a shame that The Swiss Cyborg was not able to enjoy runs with the company's top championships.
Talking about his relationship with John Cena, Cesaro has always been all praise for the 16-time world champion. The two have been gyming partners, and Cesaro has also visited the Doctor of Thuganomics during his time battling injuries.
During an interview on WWE’s The Bump (June 24, 2020), Cesaro spoke about how much Cena has influenced him and his career over the years. He went on to state the following:
“John Cena is one of the top 5 Superstars of all time. His work ethic is second to none. John Cena's in-ring ability I think is absolutely amazing and everybody knows that and I think it is still underrated.”
The Swiss Cyborg also holds some of Cena’s advice very close to his heart:
“I’m very honored. I don’t take it lightly, as some people might just be like, ‘Ah yeah, I’m awesome and everybody likes me!’ Something that John Cena always said: you’re only as good as your last match. And I believe that.”
Cena has also been all praise for Cesaro and had pushed to have the Swiss Superman appear on the upper card rather than being stuck in the mid card.
#3 Does not like him: Mr. Kennedy
Mr. Kennedy could have had a fruitful WWE career had he managed his attitude better and continued to put in the hard work, but the curtains soon came down on him. Kennedy was the premier heel who won the Money in the Bank contract too. But it was when he got the WWE Universe to "Boo" John Cena that started causing problems for him.
According to Jim Ross, John Cena did not like Kennedy’s attempt to turn the WWE Universe against the company’s biggest babyface. Such tactics did not work in his favor, as WWE had always valued Cena as their top crowd-puller and premiere superstar. That wasn’t all as reports claimed that Cena and Randy Orton had actively complained to Vince McMahon regarding Kennedy’s poor attitude in the ring that could have led to wrestlers getting injured while competing against him.
During an interview, Kennedy stated the following about Cena:
"Besides some personal burials that have taken place… I'm just not a huge fan."
Judging by their history, it’s evident that the two superstars never got along too well and Kennedy still dislikes the Doctor of Thuganomics.
#2&1 Like him: Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch
Seth Rollins has been around WWE for some time now, and after conquering NXT and winning the brand’s title, he went on to lead The Shield and win almost everything there is to win in WWE. While John Cena may be in the company's past, Rollins seems like the future and might turn out to be the one to break John Cena’s 16 world championships record in the years to come, if he keeps going at the pace he is already.
While the two men have a competitive rivalry on screen, it seems like Rollins likes Big Match John off-screen and we’ve seen the two Superstars and their fiances appear together during certain events. The Visionary's fiance (now wife) Becky Lynch was also given a huge boost by Cena some time back, and she was thankful for the same, which would have certainly made Rollins really happy.
That’s not all, as it seems like The Visionary has also helped Cena in a real-life situation, with Big Match John calling Rollins a friend and appreciating him for giving him some valuable advice to help him out.
Even though Rollins has broken Cena’s nose during a match, it seems like the two don’t have any bad blood and continue to have a good friendship outside the ring where they share their shortcomings and problems. Lynch is seen as a very friendly character backstage, and we are glad to know that the current top stars of WWE are on very good terms with the former face of the company.
