6-time WWE Champion is the GOAT ahead of John Cena, Vince Russo says (Exclusive)

John Cena is often referred to as the GOAT, aka The Greatest of All Time, by WWE's commentators. Vince Russo has a lot of respect for the retiring WWE star, but he thinks that status belongs to Hulk Hogan.

In the 1980s, Hogan was WWE's main attraction as Vince McMahon turned the company into a global phenomenon. The Hulkster headlined eight of the first nine WrestleMania events and captured the WWE Championship six times.

Russo appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws show with host, Dr. Chris Featherstone, and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, EC3. The former WWE head writer agreed with EC3 that Cena deserves to be in the GOAT conversation. However, he does not think the 16-time world champion has surpassed Hogan.

"I think Cena was great," Russo said. "I never got to work with Cena. That was a regret of mine. I think Cena was great. I think Cena is a pro's pro, no question about it, but I'm always gonna give that honor to Hogan." [4:14 – 4:26]

Watch the video above to hear more from Russo on why his future in wrestling could depend on Lyra Valkyria.

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Why Vince Russo places Hulk Hogan ahead of John Cena

At the height of his popularity, Hulk Hogan appeared in movies and television shows when he was not competing in the ring. Similarly, John Cena has significantly reduced his WWE schedule over the last decade and transitioned into acting.

In Vince Russo's opinion, nobody will ever match Hogan's ability to bring new fans to the wrestling industry, turning it into popular culture. Russo reiterated Cena's standing in the GOAT conversation but said it would always be Hogan for him to hold that accolade.

"Hogan brought the wrestling business into pop culture, man. He made wrestling cool. He presented wrestling to the world. I don't ever think there'll be anyone greater than him, but Cena was absolutely a bonafide star, bro. No question about it," said Russo. [4:35 – 4:55]

Russo also gave his take on why a WWE star recently had a good reason to complain to Triple H about his booking.

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Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws and embed the video if you use quotes from this article, with an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.