Veteran confirms pitching for John Cena to become fourth member of top WWE faction
Brian Gewirtz has revealed that he pitched the idea for John Cena to join The Evolution as its fourth member in 2002.
The legendary faction helped shape the Ruthless Aggression era as Triple H utilized it to become the most despised villain in all of professional wrestling. The stable also served as a platform for Randy Orton and Batista to become credible top guys as they eventually embarked on highly-successful runs as solo performers in WWE.
Interestingly enough, John Cena was also amongst the names discussed to be a part of the heel collective, as revealed by Brian Gewirtz during a recent appearance on 'The Kurt Angle Show.'
The former WWE writer recalled being a part of several creative meetings regarding the formation of the now-iconic faction and clarified that they contemplated The Franchise Player's inclusion for a mere two minutes. Here's what Brian Gewirtz revealed on Kurt Angle's podcast:
"When I say this, I want to point out that this was discussed for maybe under two minutes in a single writer's meeting with Vince, but in a single meeting, in which there were hundreds, if not thousands, of meetings. But, this was during the Jindrak to Randy Orton like, who is going to be the fourth member of Evolution period of time," revealed Gewirtz. "And, I do remember, I don't know if it was me who said it, somebody said it, I might have said it, was, 'What about that John Cena guy joining Evolution?' What if we did that?" [1:06:35 - 1:07:06]
Brian Gewirtz on WWE turning down the idea for John Cena to join Evolution
Despite bursting onto the scene in a promising fashion, John Cena still needed a compelling character to get over with the fans during the early 2000s.
Brian Gewirtz explained that while John Cena in a Four Horsemen-styled faction looked great on paper, the 16-time world champion was not the ideal fit for a group like Evolution and required a different creative path.
The former head writer of WWE also opened up on the backstage reactions to his proposed plan, as you can view below:
"And again, it was tossed around for a couple of minutes, and I think it was deemed that John, especially John at that particular time, hadn't really found himself yet. I think this was pre-rapping, John," Gewirtz added. "This was, 'Great match with Kurt, then what, John?' Ruthless Aggression? Hmm, I don't think so, you know. Maybe he is just a little too goofy. He just doesn't fit; it was the kind of like the feedback back then." [1:07:07 - 1:07:38]
The OVW Class of 2002.
20 years later, they have 46 world titles between them and are renowned worldwide!
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Cena last wrestled at SummerSlam 2021 where he unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the world title. Fans will have to wait and see when he returns to the squared circle.
Would you have liked to see John Cena as an Evolution member? Sound off in the comments section below.
If any quotes are used from this article, please credit The Kurt Angle Show on AdFreeShows.com and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.