Six superstars were allegedly "John Cena's guys" in WWE; two of them are now in AEW (Exclusive)
Like almost every top WWE Superstar, John Cena had his favorites during his heydey, and EC3 recently revealed six names who had the backing of the Cenation Leader in the company.
Ethan Carter spent three years in NXT between 2010 and 2013 when the black-and-gold brand was still in its reality TV era. Carter's first WWE run coincided with John Cena taking an interest in talent from the developmental brand as the veteran famously even feuded with the Wade Barrett-led Nexus faction.
Barrett was amongst the talents in John Cena's good books. EC3 also mentioned the likes of Rusev (Miro in AEW), Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and Bo Dallas as the stars who had the support of the 16-time world champion.
Interestingly enough, AEW's Trent Beretta, who had a six-year spell in WWE, was a 'John Cena guy' backstage as they trained together in the gym.
Here's what EC3 revealed on this week's The Wrestling Outlaws:
"Rusev (Miro). A lot of the guys from the gym, Wade (Barrett), Drew (McIntyre), Sheamus...Sheamus was a Triple H guy too. Most of the guys that got it during that time; Trent Beretta, Bo Dallas." [5:11 - 5:42]
EC3 was in NXT long enough to realize that Triple H had the power to push talents of his liking.
The former IMPACT Wrestling star added that a handful of John Cena's close aides were overlooked as The Game went ahead with his vision for NXT.
"Triple H had the developmental power. His guys were getting more of the push, while John's guys, who were getting over doing unique things and working hard, were kind of left aside." [4:57 - 5:10]
EC3 on what his ex-girlfriend told him about the "two teams" in WWE's developmental system
June 1st 2010, NXT. It was announced that Wade Barrett won the first season of NXT @WadeBarrett #NXT #WWENetwork #WWE http://t.co/FQhDv9WrGu
EC3 was relatively new to wrestling during his first stint in WWE and recalled his ex-girlfriend noticing two different camps in NXT.
The former 24/7 Champion was too focused on his career and unaware of the division among talents who favored Triple H and John Cena. EC3 agreed with his former partner's observation and quickly learned how things worked behind the scenes.
He continued:
"My ex would actually say this. It seems like there are two teams in developmental. 'What do you mean, Hon?' She's like, there's a team of guys that John likes, and then there are other guys that Triple H likes. I didn't really notice it, but it takes some outside perspective to watch what we're doing and see that. And then I'm like, 'Yeah, I think you're right.'" [4:30 - 4:54]
During the latest Wrestling Outlaws episode, EC3 explained why he wanted John Cena to defeat a massive name at WrestleMania 39, and you can read more on that right here.
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