"He wasn't any good" - When John Cena addressed claims Ex-WWE star was fired for being gay

After spending two years in developmental, John Cena made his WWE main roster debut in 2002. Over the next two years, he shared the locker room with several superstars, including Chris Kanyon.

Kanyon had a three-year run in the Stamford-based company, during which he held the United States Championship and the Tag Team Titles alongside Diamond Dallas Page. However, the company released him from his contract in 2004. Following his departure, Kanyon claimed that he was fired for being gay.

In an interview with Howard Stern in 2006, then-WWE Champion John Cena addressed Kanyon's claims. The Leader of the Cenation stated that the former Tag Team Champion was not a good wrestler.

"Here's the weird thing about Chris. And I've known Chris for a long time. He actually came out of the closet after he was fired. He just, he wasn't any good. [He was not a good wrestler?] No. He was hired by WCW initially for like a demon persona he called Mortis, which was pretty entertaining. He had the whole mask and everything. He came to us with his WCW persona of Chris Kanyon, which was just a guy in tights," he said. [10:01 - 10:27]

Cena added that Vince McMahon did not fire Kanyon because he was gay but because he was not a good entertainer.

"And with Vince, you do have to have a certain technical bravado, you gotta be able to wrestle, but at the same time it's WWE, you gotta be able to entertain the people. Chris just wasn't any good. [You say he was fired because he was not a good entertainer?] Yeah. [Not because he was gay?] Not at all. He came out of the closet after he was fired," Cena added. [10:28 - 10:42]

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John Cena faced Chris Kanyon in WWE's former developmental brand

In June 2002, John Cena debuted on SmackDown, confronting Kurt Angle. A few days later, he had a one-on-one match against Chris Kanyon at an OVW event. The bout ended with the Leader of the Cenation coming out victorious.

While Cena continued wrestling in WWE and became the face of the company, Kanyon moved to the independent circuit after his release in 2004. The former Tag Team Champion last competed 13 years ago when he defeated The High Society in a handicap match at an NYWC event. He sadly passed away in April 2010 when he was only 40.

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