John Cena praises Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Cena was asked to name his “number one”, and he pointed to Reigns. He spoke highly of the way Reigns has redefined how to be a top guy.
“My personal number one, I think right now, I think Roman Reigns has to be considered strongly. What he’s done with the championship, what he’s done as essentially a select event performer, he’s redefined how you do it.
“Not only that, the reason I rest a lot of accolades on Roman’s shoulders, and I told this to him personally, his ability to pass energy to more than himself, I haven’t seen since the Four Horsemen. But the difference between him and Ric [Flair] is Ric was always there, and that’s brilliant. I’m an ‘always there’ guy. I like to always be there.”
Cena continued, “I love that Roman did it his way. He did it his own way by crafting his own personality. He did it his own way by redefining what it is to be at the tip of the spear. He is there selectively. He has made himself exclusive, and in doing so, he has brought like eight people with him. He has allowed the whole Bloodline to get over. So with me, if you put me in that conversation, I can only help the person that I was working with while I was working with him.”
The 16-time champion then addressed the perception that he buried talent during his WWE run. He explained how he poured so much effort into the people he worked with and the stories they told. Cena then described how Reigns’ run has been remarkable because other people get over by being affiliated with his energy, and his presence is felt, even when he’s not on TV.
“The reputation I had in the sauce, while I was in it, was I buried talent because I really invest my whole heart in this,” Cena said. “I sat with Austin Theory for like ten hours, invested a day to talk about our why, like what’s our story gonna be? I would do that with everyone. I live it. My heart’s on the plate. But after they were me, they didn’t take that energy with them, but I gave it to the next guy. So who’s next? It was, and now it’s Kevin Owens. Alright, Kevin, come here, we’re gonna sit down for two weeks and just talk about stuff. Then we’re gonna go out there and try some crazy stuff, see what works, and put our best foot forward. Kevin’s done. Sami, no problem.
“What Roman does, just being affiliated with his energy, he gets so many people over. That’s something I could never do, period. You’re with me, and you got a chance when you’re there. But a lot of times, you went off to do stuff that wasn’t looked at in the same way, and the perception of the audience is, ‘Oh my god, he buried him.’ Winning and losing doesn’t matter. I haven’t won a match in five years. Roman’s ability to be that good, to spread his energy so thin, and do it exclusive, and that’s the difference between Ric. Ric was always the centerpiece. Roman has off days, but he’s still there. His presence is so great. I think that’s never been done. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
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