John Cena's dislike towards 42-year-old former star may have hurt his WWE push, believes Dutch Mantell
Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell recently mentioned that John Cena potentially disliking a 42-year-old former WWE Superstar may have hindered his career advancement in the Stamford-based promotion.
The name in question is Alex Riley, who was a part of World Wrestling Entertainment from 2007 to 2016. During his tenure with WWE, the star was popularly known for his alliance and feud with The Miz.
On several occasions, during single matches between John Cena and The A-Lister, Riley would distract the referee and help the latter star emerge victorious. The former WWE Superstar was over among the fans when he turned babyface on The Miz, but after the storyline, the company could not play their cards well for him.
On the 30th edition of "Ask Dutch Anything," the former manager responded to a fan's question regarding John Cena's alleged negativity towards Alex Riley and its potential impact on the 42-year-old star's WWE success. Dutch Mantell said:
"Remember earlier I was talking it doesn't take a lot to lose your push, not with Vince (McMahon), not with him in charge. It could be anything, so Cena probably didn't like Alex Riley, so he probably just went and poured his heart out to Vince. 'Well, we can fix that.' They just didn't tell Riley nothing and just stopped pushing him."
He added:
"And probably, I don't know if it's true; Alex Riley will never know if it's true or not, but his thesis on it or his final thought on it is probably true because I've seen it done, and I think it was done in this case."[56:41 - 57:33]
Check out the full episode below:
Dutch Mantell opens up on John Cena's backstage antics
During the same conversation, the WWE veteran spoke about Cena's attitude backstage during his prime run.
According to Dutch Mantell, John Cena did not shy away from voicing his opinion if he wasn't eager to work with someone. The wrestling veteran also mentioned that even when writers planned matches, the 16-time World Champion would sometimes alter plans backstage if he wasn't happy with his WWE opponent.
"If Cena didn't want to do it or he didn't like how (...) See, the writers would come up with the finish, how they wanted it to end. They wouldn't come up with the exact mode or method they wanted to use (...) If they worked it out before Cena got on the scene, well, he's gonna change it all. He didn't like this. He didn't like that," Mantell said.
After a massive upset against Solo Sikoa and putting over The Bloodline member at Crown Jewel 2023, The Leader of Cenation has been away from the ring. Fans await if they get to see the 16-time World Champion compete at the upcoming WrestleMania 40.
Do you think John Cena cost former WWE Superstar Alex Riley his massive push? Sound off in the comments section below.
If you use the quotes from this article, please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and add an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.