"This guy is really good" - Wrestling legend discusses the moment WWE fans started respecting John Cena
Former WWE Superstar Tommy Dreamer recently spoke about John Cena getting cheered by fans and earning their respect.
Cena made a rare appearance on SmackDown this week, showing up on the Titantron while The Bloodline was in the ring. The 16-time world champion mentioned that he had taken up Kevin Owens on his offer to form a tag team. Cena made it clear that he would return on the December 30 episode of the show to take on Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn.
On a recent episode of the Busted Open podcast, Dreamer mentioned that Cena turned things around for himself during his run with the United States Championship. He detailed that The Cenation Leader put on spectacular matches during that run and cemented himself as an all-time great while also earning the respect of fans.
"When John Cena was the US Champion and he was doing that Open Challenge, having match after match, having bangers before bangers were a thing, that's when I feel like it kinda turned for John Cena. People were like, 'Man, this guy is really good.' Appreciate what you have until it's gone because he's gone." [3:22 - 3:42]
After 20 years and so still, our man #JohnCena is still the best hype man and look with how much ease he cuts a promo🔥
#RomanReigns #bloodline https://t.co/1jMlT7U5m7
Tommy Dreamer praised John Cena for being a cornerstone of WWE
During the same conversation, the ECW Legend showered praise on John Cena. He mentioned that Cena had been the face of WWE for two decades and always came through for the company on big occasions.
"You gotta appreciate him because he's gone. He doesn't need to do this. John is always a great representative of WWE. John also, he can do it in the ring and he thrived going almost every place that he went. It was the cool thing to do to boo him, like he was the away team. He'd still always pull it out under this amazing pressure and still have great matches." [2:10 - 2:45]
"For 20 years, you have created an environment for me to be my true self. You've also been brave enough to tell me when I suck and you've also been kind enough to tell me when I don't."
@JohnCena #WWERaw https://t.co/h6y2jp1dAb
Dreamer detailed that it was cool to boo Cena back in the day, but now that he's stepped away from the ring, fans have come to appreciate him and respect his body of work.
What do you think of John Cena? Is he the greatest of all time? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Busted Open podcast and add a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.