Top superstar given a major push because of being considered the 'next Sting' - Reports

Sting is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in the history of pro wrestling. Even after crossing 60, he is actively competing for AEW. He is one of the very few men to have competed in AEW, WWE, WCW and Impact Wrestling. John Cena was reportedly considered to be the 'next Sting' when he first started in WWE.

Before the former WCW World Champion started the Crow gimmick, he used to be high on energy and was able to control the crowd and excite them with his antics. His physique was also splendid. John Cena was thought to be charismatic like The Icon and also had a similar physique.

As per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Paul Heyman was a big fan of John Cena during his time in OVW. It was Heyman who plucked Cena out of the developmental territory and put him in a program with Kurt Angle on SmackDown. He believed that the former US Champion would prove to be like The Stinger.

''Paul Heyman plucked him from OVW when he was in control of SmackDown, because he saw the same future superstar and 'next Sting' label that some, including us, had given him. It probably was a little early in the sense while Heyman debuted him with Kurt Angle in a now-famous television debut segment,'' stated Meltzer.

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John Cena became a top superstar just like Sting

Paul Heyman's intuition about Cena came true as the former WWE Champion went on to become a pillar of the company much like The Icon was for WCW. Cena continued to be the top babyface of the company for over a decade and became a 16-time world champion during his time.

Despite never working for WWE, The Icon was still a megastar at the time Cena started his career. He joined WWE in 2016 and had a brief stint with the company, including a match against Triple H at WrestleMania and a Hall of Fame induction.

The Cenation leader is all set to team up with Kevin Owens to face Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn on SmackDown next week. It will be the last episode of SmackDown this year. Cena will be wrestling his first match on the last episode of the Blue Brand.