"Thank you, John" - Former WWE Champion says he became a better wrestler the day he faced John Cena

Former WWE champion Alberto Del Rio sat down for an hour-long interview with Pro Wrestling Defined, where he opened up about his admiration for John Cena.

Del Rio and Cena battled against each other on various occasions in the WWE. The Mexican star thanked the Cenation leader for teaching him valuable lessons about the business.

The former WWE Champion spoke about the differences between Lucha Libre and the American style. He explained that John Cena helped him understand how wrestling worked in the United States.

Alberto Del Rio was already a seasoned and well-rounded performer when he faced John Cena in WWE. However, the veteran star admitted that he became a better in-ring worker after wrestling the 16-time WWE champion.

At Vengeance 2011, John Cena and Alberto Del Rio would contest a Last Man Standing match in a broken ring.Alberto Del Rio would defeat Cena for his 3rd WWE Championship in our #AlternateHistory.#WWE pic.twitter.com/zA3hemy05L

— Bad WWE Stats (@BadWWEStats) June 25, 2020

Del Rio said that John Cena was a master at putting matches together and that Cena's opponents just had to show up at the arena:

"First of all, thank you, John. Thank you! I learned so much from you," declared Alberto Del Rio, "I have been saying this for years and I'm going to continue saying this for more years to come. John Cena doesn't get the credit that he deserves from the fans. He is a great wrestler. A real wrestler. You don't even talk to him before the match. Like, you just go there, and he knows. He was the one teaching me. I've never said this to the fans, but they always ask me, 'Why I'm so good building the matches and like being the architect to put those matches together or how to take the fans on that rollercoaster of emotions. Of course, there were many people and wrestlers that helped me on the way, but John Cena was the one. Like, I became a better wrestler the day I wrestled John Cena. When we started that first feud, at the end of it, I was a better wrestler just because I worked with John Cena."

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He was the one making me understand that: Alberto Del Rio on John Cena's impact on his career

Alberto Del Rio wrestled in almost every major city across America during his time in the WWE. He realized how every fanbase had different tastes regarding wrestling styles.

Despite the repetitive nature of WWE's live event cards, John Cena made it a point to have contrasting matches to suit the city.

WWE Live 2013 - Forest National : John Cena Vs Alberto Del Rio @DelRio_WWE @JohnCena #Catch #CombatDeLutte #LiveEvent #Sport #WorldHeavyweightChampionship #Wrestlemania #Wrestling #wrestlingmatch #WWELiveEvent #Belgie #Belgique - https://t.co/OKFoYp5Zfo pic.twitter.com/dj7qfxMHzG

— Miguel Discart (@Miguel_Discart) February 3, 2019

Del Rio stated that Houston fans might not like a match that got over with the San Antonio crowd, and it was pivotal to have multiple plans in place:

"He made me understand. He was the one making me understand that. It doesn't matter that match you had in San Antonio last night made them go crazy. You cannot use the same match in Houston because Houston people might not like it. The rule applies for the people in Dallas. So, you have to be ready. You have to go out there and listen to what they want," added Alberto.

John Cena is currently on course for a massive SummerSlam showdown against Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. The match has all the ingredients to be one of the show-stealers of the night.

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If any quotes are used from this article, please credit Pro Wrestling Defined and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.