"I thought he was the s**t" - 3 WWE women who admitted to having a real-life crush on John Cena
A few former and current female WWE Superstars have admitted to having a real-life crush on John Cena.
After debuting on the main roster in June 2002, The Leader of the Cenation quickly became a fan favorite in Stamford-based company. Over the next few years, he became the top guy and the face of WWE.
As he rose to stardom, many female fans developed a crush on the 16-time world champion, including Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner and reality TV personality Snooki. Some former and current female WWE Superstars have also admitted over the past few years to being attracted to Cena growing up.
Here are three WWE women who admitted to having a real-life crush on John Cena.
#3. WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Liv Morgan
Growing up, Liv Morgan was a big WWE fan. Although she admired several superstars, the 28-year-old's favorite was John Cena. The current SmackDown Women's Champion had a significant crush on The Leader of the Cenation.
Morgan has spoken several times about her attraction to Cena. She told WWE Pop Question that she thought the 16-time world champion was "the coolest ever" when he played the Doctor of Thuganomics character.
"I had a huge, huge, huge, huge, huge, huge, huge crush on John Cena. I thought he was the coolest ever. He came out with his backward hat, chain gang soldier. I was like, 'Me too, bro,'" Morgan said.
In a recent interview with Complex, the SmackDown Women's Champion disclosed how Cena influenced her wrestling career.
"I loved John Cena, I thought he was the s**t. I had such a crush on him. He would pump his little sneakers, and I'd pump my sneakers, and I didn't even have pumps. I would just [pretend] to push my little pumps [while watching him on TV]. I thought he was amazing. He has been, whether I know it or not, a subconscious influence on my career. You know because he wore sneakers for the majority of his career, so I think maybe it's something that kind of embedded in my mind, and maybe a reason why I like to wear sneakers," she explained. (H/T - WrestlingInc)
Both Morgan and Cena are currently on the WWE roster. While The Leader of the Cenation is now a part-time superstar, the former member of The Riott Squad is active on SmackDown. The two, however, recently shared a photo backstage on RAW when Cena returned in June 2022 to celebrate his 20th anniversary in the company.
#2. Former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion Zoey Stark
After competing for a few years on the independent circuit, Zoey Stark joined WWE in January 2021. The 28-year-old has since been active on NXT 2.0. She is now a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion.
Stark has admitted to having a crush on John Cena growing up. In an interview with What's NeXT in June 2021, she revealed that she had several posters of The Leader of the Cenation on her wall.
"I had a little crush on him growing up. You know, I had the fat head on the wall, you can't see me posters all over," Stark said. [2:41 - 2:50]
Last month, Stark became the number one contender for Mandy Rose's NXT Women's Championship after winning a battle royal on NXT 2.0. The two superstars will now square off for the title on the August 16 episode.
#1. Former NXT star Jessie Elaban
After playing Volleyball at Concordia University Texas, Jessie Elaban (fka Jessi Kamea) switched to professional wrestling in 2017, joining Vince McMahon's company. The 33-year-old competed for about four years in WWE before the company released her from her contract last November.
While training at the Performance Center, Elaban admitted that she was attracted to John Cena growing up.
"Ok, it was John Cena, only because like, you know, he did his own trumpets and like the music would come out, but then I heard that he was dating Nikki Bella, and I was like 'oh, that's sad' because I was like 'I like her too and I just didn't wanna get in her way," Kamea said on an episode of Ask the WWE PC in 2017. [1:01 - 1:12]
After her release, Elaban stepped away from wrestling for several months. However, she returned to the squared circle last May, joining Coastal Championship Wrestling. The former NXT star has since competed in five matches and remains undefeated.