5 Times John Cena praised his WWE opponents

#2 John Cena praises Roman Reigns for handling the audience during promos

Back in 2017, Roman Reigns was on top of the world, after defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. After SummerSlam 2017, Reigns came face to face with another WWE legend, John Cena. Reigns and Cena kicked off a rivalry and a match was set for WWE No Mercy. Fans were excited beyond belief as this was one match that could have easily headlined WrestleMania. A few days before the match, John Cena opened up on Roman Reigns' ability to handle the audience and had nothing but praise for him.

“I think that's a testament to Roman Reigns' ability to handle the audience. You need pretty broad shoulders. That he hasn't had to come to anyone else for advice shows exactly how strong he is."

Reigns went on to defeat John Cena at No Mercy in what seemed like a "passing of the torch" moment. Cena turned into a part-time Superstar while Reigns became the face of WWE. The Big Dog is currently the Universal Champion on SmackDown and is hands down the biggest heel in WWE at the moment.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Kaushik Das