Returning WWE Superstar is on the same level as The Rock, says Bill Apter (Exclusive)
John Cena's return to WWE to announce his farewell tour has ignited the pro-wrestling community's speculation about what the next year holds for the star. According to legendary journalist Bill Apter, Cena has entered the fray to fill the void left by The Rock's absence.
During The Rock's run before the last WrestleMania, WWE saw a massive uptick in viewership and ratings. With Roman Reigns and Rock both currently out of action, Bill Apter thinks that the presence of John Cena, albeit in the last run of his career, will help the company attain that level again.
Speaking on Sportskeeda's UnSKripted, the veteran journalist stated that The Rock was a major factor in bringing people into sports entertainment and giving them something to remember.
"One of the things that brought them higher, to a higher level, bringing in people who didn't watch pro-wrestling or WWE was when the Rock was there. Brought it up for a while. It levelled off, but it is still doing great. So to me with the Rock out of there, when you ask people who is in WWE? They are like, come up with a name. But they always say the Rock during that period of time, the Rock was there, because it was all over the place on internet, newspapers, everywhere."
He added that 16-time world champion John Cena was at the level of The Rock and was a recognizable face that the company can once again bank on.
"Now they've got John Cena, who everyone knows from his movie career. From his commercials, from the TV stuff he has done. So he is on kind of that like Rock level. So he brings the recognizable bill board type of name to the company." [7:53 onwards]
John Cena will enter the last leg of his legendary WWE career in 2025. He will seemingly be in the company from January to December of next year and have a farewell tour.
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