"That's a lot of bulls***" - John Cena Sr. on his son passing the torch to Roman Reigns
John Cena Sr. does not think “passing-of-the-torch” moments exist in modern-day WWE.
Throughout WWE history, many legendary superstars have “passed the torch” by losing to another top star who is viewed as their possible successor. The Rock’s victory over Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 is considered by many to be the most famous torch-passing moment in WWE history.
Ahead of SummerSlam 2021, it has been widely reported that John Cena could return to face Roman Reigns in the main event. Like The Rock vs. Hogan, Reigns vs. Cena would be viewed as a symbolic match between WWE megastars who hit their prime in different generations.
Speaking to Boston Wrestling MWF’s Dan Mirade, John Cena’s father highlighted his concerns if WWE books the match.
“I just don’t think that’s gonna happen,” John Cena Sr. said. “What good is putting Cena up against Reigns? First of all, you gotta hear me out: there is no passing of the torch. That’s a lot of bulls***. I’m sorry to say it is. It used to be a passing of the torch. Now it’s a lot of bulls***. My whole thing is, if you put Cena with Reigns, let’s say Cena does the job [lose] and justly so… Reigns, is it gonna make him any better or any worse? No, because there’s gonna be boo and boo. Who do you really want to win?”
Despite being presented as WWE’s top babyface for over a decade, John Cena often received boos from large sections of WWE fans. Roman Reigns experienced similar crowd reactions during his run as a babyface singles competitor between 2014 and 2020.
John Cena Sr. wants his son to turn heel
Although John Cena had success as a heel earlier in his career, he has performed as a babyface in WWE since 2003. However, the Leader of the Cenation hasn't been seen in WWE since he lost a Firefly Funhouse Match at Wrestlemania last year.
Cena has been focusing on his acting career outside of WWE ever since. However, his father believes it is not too late to present the 44-year-old as a bad guy when he makes sporadic appearances on WWE television.
“I would rather see Reigns face somebody else and bring Cena back, and bring Cena back as a heel,” John Cena Sr. said.
John Cena Sr. added that his son should only face Roman Reigns if it leads to a long-term WrestleMania storyline with multiple matches. If that does happen, he believes his son could win Reigns' Universal Championship to become a 17-time WWE World Champion.
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