"They decide how they feel about characters" - John Cena on who pushed him to his best
John Cena's last run in WWE was very gratifying for him, particularly due to the immense support shown to him by the WWE Universe.
The 16-time WWE Champion joined The Pat McAfee Show to talk about a variety of subjects. When asked about the reaction he got during the Summer of Cena leading up to SummerSlam, Cena admitted the reactions all caught him by surprise.
"Summer of Cena to me, I was caught by surprise every single arena I went to because it's usually a lot more, as Michael Cole would say, polarizing than that," John Cena admitted. "So that was kind of my first experience where I would say a majority of the audience appreciated my presence there because normally it's weird. (...) I think that's what makes WWE beautiful in the live audience so special is because they decide how they feel about characters."
"I love every single time I step on the canvas.. the WWE live audience is so special because they decide how they feel about characters & that audience kept me at my best" ~@JohnCena
#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE https://t.co/qiepA5fRhh
John Cena thanks the WWE Universe for always keeping him at his best
Cena described how he believes that the WWE Universe always went out of their way to keep him at his best, and that's something he's very thankful for. The former WWE Champion was often booed by a solid portion of the crowd during his full-time run as a WWE Superstar. Discussing these negative reactions, Cena spoke in a gracious manner.
"So I'm glad you actually got to see that reaction but being out there for more than just that period of time, I need to let you know that it certainly wasn't always like that," John Cena said. "And I was actually really grateful for the fact that it wasn't because it challenged me every single night if I'm going to play this virtuous character, I better do a damn good job because not only did they want to tell me to eff off, but they were waiting for me to slip up and the audience themselves always kept me at my best, and I'm very thankful for that."
What do you make of Cena's comments? Were you surprised by the reactions he got last summer? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit The Pat McAfee Show with a link back to this article for the transcription.