Former WWE champion takes credit for John Cena's rise to superstardom: "It was ridiculous"
John Cena is considered by the WWE as its greatest of all time or the 'GOAT,' and Cena was the face of the company for more than a decade. Hall of Famer Kurt Angle was one of his first rivals and might need to be credited with elevating his status.
On a recent episode of "The Kurt Angle Show," the Olympic Gold medalist was asked what it was like to work with Cena when he was just starting on the main roster. Before breaking the ceiling with his Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick, he was an up-and-coming superstar with generic attire and character.
The Cenation Leader made his debut against Angle in 2002, uttering the phrase Ruthless Aggression that described the next era of WWE. The Wrestling Machine wants a little bit of credit for helping hone Cena's skills because they worked together a lot early on.
"I love working with John. I got to wrestle him when he was a little green and I don't want to take responsibility for him getting better and better but the company kind of glued him to me when he first started. Him and I would wrestle each other at the house shows for like for about six months. It was ridiculous. It was like we were stuck to each other's hips and he was getting better and better. And I knew he was gonna be a big star. I consider him the greatest WWE Superstar of all time because he's won 16 WWE titles, world titles," Angle said. [1:16 - 1:55]
John Cena would reach the pinnacle of WWE superstardom less than three years later. Cena defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield to win his first WWE championship at WrestleMania 21. He also feuded with Kurt Angle before the Olympian requested his release in 2006.
John Cena refuses to be acknowledged as the GOAT
While WWE and Kurt Angle among other legends have called John Cena their GOAT, the 16-time WWE World Champion didn't want the nickname. Cena told Chris Van Vliet why he doesn't think of himself as the greatest ever.
"I would say people who elevate the business to new heights. This is just my perspective – Hulk Hogan would have to be in there, Steve Austin, Dwayne Johnson, and Roman Reigns," Cena said. (H/T WrestlingInc.)
At the age of 47, John Cena has teased retirement and has only made sporadic appearances since 2019. Cena has been focused on his acting career with future projects like films such as Jackpot and Head of State, as well as the TV show Peacemaker Season 2.