AEW News Roundup: WWE legend compares popular star to John Cena, 4-time champion advises Tony Khan to fire "a bunch of people" and sign Sasha Banks (June 29, 2022)
Welcome to another edition of the AEW News Roundup, where we bring you the latest stories from All Elite Wrestling.
A WWE legend recently compared one of the Jacksonville-based promotion's recent signings to 16-time world champion John Cena. Meanwhile, a multi-time champion had a suggestion for Tony Khan to sign Sasha Banks.
We round off today's edition with a story about Mark Henry revealing his feelings during the much-acclaimed WWE Title feud against John Cena. So without further ado, let's begin:
#3 Bully Ray compares AEW star Claudio Castagnoli to WWE legend John Cena
I’m the one who knocks🚪 https://t.co/p0nGSUgSW0
Claudio Castagnoli (f.k.a. Cesaro in WWE) recently made his AEW debut at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view. He faced NJPW star Zack Sabre Jr. in a singles match and defeated the latter via pinfall.
During the latest edition of the Busted Open podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray heaped praise on the Blackpool Combat Club member. He then compared the Swiss star's "muscular endurance" to 16-time world champion John Cena:
"Great to see Claudio. Amazing reaction. He looked like he was so happy to get that warm welcome. As always, he's in phenomenal shape. Claudio pound for pound when it comes to muscular endurance in the ring, I don't know of anybody else like him. There is one. There is one guy with that level of muscular endurance as Claudio, and I would say we're going to see him on Monday Night Raw tonight, John Cena," said Ray.
The Hall of Famer added:
"Cena has incredible muscular endurance. And if you go back and watch Cena versus Claudio from back in the day, when they start to get 20-25 minutes deep and they're still able to pick each other up the way they are and do it safely and execute the way they did. You'll see what I mean, but yeah, great night for Claudio. Good match against Zack Sabre Jr."
While Claudio Castagnoli made a triumphant start to his AEW career, it will be interesting to see if he's able to continue that momentum on this week's Dynamite: Blood and Guts.
#2 Disco Inferno advises AEW President Tony Khan to release some stars to sign Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks has been in the news recently after she and Naomi walked out of RAW due to creative differences last month. The duo haven't been seen on WWE television since and there have been conflicting rumors about Banks' departure from the company.
While speaking on the Keepin' It 100 podcast, Disco Inferno said that Tony Khan should release "a bunch of people" and bring The Boss to AEW:
"Well, I would get rid of a bunch of people and bring her [Sasha Banks] in. That's what I would do. I would want to bring her in. But I would want to cut the fat of the people I brought in that I'm not doing anything with. I'll just let them go. You know, he [Tony Khan] should offer people the releases right now. Because I guarantee you there's going to be tons of people on that show that are not happy with creative at all, because they're doing nothing with them. You know, if he offered them a release, I wonder, you know, if that would free up some money," Disco Inferno said.
It remains to be seen what unfolds next in the WWE-Sasha Banks standoff and whether she'll join AEW if she eventually ends up leaving the global juggernaut.
#1 AEW star Mark Henry recalls his WWE Title feud with John Cena
Mark Henry’s fake retirement and attack on John Cena is one of the greatest moments in WWE history. https://t.co/PFOdWSeYnt
On the June 17, 2013 edition of RAW, Mark Henry faked a retirement and attacked John Cena in the process. The two would go on to have a WWE Title match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, where Cena emerged victorious via submission.
While speaking on the Busted Open podcast, Henry described his feelings during the feud:
"I was pumped, and the one thing that- and it relates to John, there's a spot where John is on the apron and I look over and he's crying and I couldn't look at him. I was trying my best not to look at him. And then I talked about the one thing that escaped me was the WWE Championship. John came in and gave me the title, and I said no, you can't never give anybody anything in wrestling. You gotta earn it, you gotta take it, and I gave it back to him," said Henry.
Following his loss at Money in the Bank, Mark Henry turned babyface and was eventually written out of the world title picture.