Dreya Mitchell recalls her recent interaction with John Cena.
Last December, more than 20 indie wrestlers gathered in Florida for a women’s wrestling seminar led by former WWE Women’s Champion Bayley. Amidst the four-day seminar, special guests such as Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Natalya, and John Cena also lent their knowledge.
For Dreya Mitchell, the feedback she received from Cena was especially impactful as it validated an idea she and fellow Canadian Leah Sparks put forth in their practice match. Individually, Cena praised Mitchell’s energy as well.
“In our match, we took a risk with our finish and ended in a submission, but we were so adamant on it because it’s like you wouldn’t expect that,” Mitchell told WrestleZone’s Ella Jay. “Another friend of ours talked to us about submissions and stuff. We were like, we’re doing this. Whatever we plan, we’re not touching this. And the fact that afterwards, one of his first critiques was ‘Love that finish.’ We looked at each other, and we’re like we made the right choice in not touching that. We were so stressed out changing so many things, but that thing is what persisted.
“The fact that someone as John Cena was like, ‘You two girls, the match you just did, that finish, that was the right choice.’ It was a surprise of a finish, so getting that from him was definitely great,” she continued. “Something he’ll always say is like, ‘You have great charisma.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I try, man.’ So those two things are definitely, to this day, it’s still always something I say whenever someone asks me about this.”
The timing of John Cena’s appearance was notable
The timing of Cena’s appearance at the Lodestone seminar was particularly notable, as it took place just one week before he officially retired from in-ring competition at Saturday Night’s Main Event. According to Mitchell, Saturdays are “coveted” in pro wrestling, so Cena spending several hours with them on one, just one week before he hung up his boots, meant even more.
“He took that last Saturday of his career before calling it quits and he decided to give it to us,” Mitchell said. “Not only just be there and watch and be like ‘Good job guys,’ but actually being so involved the whole day with each and every one of us. That is so meaningful because it’s John Cena. He has a thousand things going on. Again, he was just retiring, which is a big thing for everyone. So the fact that he decided I want to help whatever I can do and then he took his whole day and was so focused on us, it was crazy. A year ago, if you would have told me that not only I would meet John Cena but he would watch one of my matches live and talk to me about it, I’d be like, ‘Yeah, sure.'”
Watch our full interview with Dreya Mitchell:
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