
Former WWE United States Champion Tom Pestock, formerly known as Baron Corbin, has recalled John Cena punching him “dead in the face.”
In November, it was revealed that WWE had informed Baron Corbin that they would not be renewing his contract when it expired at the end of 2024.
During his time in WWE, Corbin was prominently featured as an in-ring performer and authority figure during his 12 year run.
Among Corbin’s most notable feuds was his rivalry with John Cena in 2017 that saw Baron being cost his Money In The Bank cash-in and being embarrassed by Cena at WWE SummerSlam.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Corbin, real name Tom Pestock, recalled a funny story about working with John Cena. Giving background on a match Cena had with Bray Wyatt under his “Husky Harris” persona, Pestock said:
“I will start with the backstory of it. So when Nexus was up on television Bray Wyatt was not Bray Wyatt. He was Husky Harris, we’re going back here.
“There is a rumour that I believe is 100% true that Husky poked John Cena in the eye in a match, and Vince was so mad, Cena was so mad that they sent Husky Harris back to NXT. We’re all grateful for that because Bray Wyatt was born.
“So this story of I’m gonna tease Randy, because Randy’s a buddy of mine, but you’re always taught don’t hit Randy, he doesn’t like to be touched. Everybody’s kind of scared to work with Randy. It’s not like that, Randy’s tough. Sometimes he’s a baby. Sometimes Randy, I know you’re listening, you’re kind of a baby. Love you.
“So this whole rumour of Cena has been poked in the eye a couple of times and it sent Bray back to NXT for two and a half years, this was a massive punishment for that.
“So fast forward to this six man, and I’d only been on the main roster [a short amount of time]. I still had hair, we’re going way back. Still had the long, beautiful locks.”
On Cena punching him “dead in the face” after he accidentally poked him in the eye, Pestock said:
“It’s the beginning of the match, the match starts, this is my first big match. We got a lot of crazy spots. There’s a lot of cool stuff. I’m supposed to attack Cena.
“So I drive Cena to the corner, put him in the corner, and I wind back to throw a body shot, and my thumb lands about knuckle deep in his eye, and I’m like oh no! And he starts cussing ‘You motherf*cker,!’ He’s dropping F-bombs, like we’re talking first 20 rows are hearing this he’s going, ‘You motherf*cker! You poked me in the motherf*cking eye, What the f*ck!?’
“I mean, he’s laying it in on me. I’ve got my back to him at this point and I’m hearing all of this, I’m literally about to start crying, because I’m like I’m finally on the main roster. I’m up here, now I’m going back to NXT! Because this whole thing of Bray poking him in the eye I’m going dude, I’m going back to NXT.
“Without a doubt, I’m so screwed. I don’t want to go back to NXT. I’m so sad but I know I have to turn around to John for the next spot, and he’s still mother-effing me up and down. And I was just like, can we rewind life like five minutes?
“Let me start over, all of these things, and then we’re on live television, and these are all going through my head. The audience is even like, I can see in their eyes, they’re like John Cena is cussing, he’s going ape sh*t on Corbin.
“Finally I have to turn around because this is the time, I’m delaying this as long as I can possibly turn. I turn and John punches me dead in the face. It was a solid potato. I wore it, and I was like cool. Then for the rest of the match I’m trying to remember these spots, but I’m trying not to cry, because I’m like I’m going back to NXT.
“I just got out of there, just the range of emotions I’m going through for the rest of that match. I’m just like, dude. I’ve walked through the curtain so dejected, and they’re like, that was amazing. And I’m just head down in the corner like it’s over for me, man.”
On Cena’s backstage reaction to him when they came backstage, Pestock said:
“John comes back, and I just look at him, puppy dog eyes. He’s like, ‘Hey, that was great.’ I go, ‘John I am so sorry.’ He goes, ‘Oh, we’re good. I gave you it back. We’re good.’ And I was like, Wait, this is gotta be at work. He’s lying to me. I’m gonna walk out this curtain and they’re gonna like, we need you to get your bags. You’re going back to NXT. But that was the end of it.
“I was good. But, like, I legit thought my life was over. I was like, This is it? Because I poked John Cena in the eye and he mother effed me up and down. The whole match I’m panicking trying to remember stuff. And I walked through the curtain, he’s like, Oh no, we’re good.”
Tom Pestock, whose new post WWE ring name will be Bishop Dyer, also addressed potentially signing with AEW or TNA Wrestling now that he’s a free agent, which you can read about at this link.
To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on BlueSky by clicking this link!
Trending
- Joe Hendry Replaced By AEW Star Following WWE Royal Rumble Debut
- The Hardy Boyz WWE Return Update
- Duke Hudson WWE Release Reason Revealed
- Report: The Rock ‘Mad’ After WWE WrestleMania 41 Status Leak
- Sami Zayn Off-Air WWE Raw Update After Kevin Owens Attack
- Real Reason For Roman Reigns WWE Injury Announcement
- WWE NXT Star Confirms Release From The Company
- Huge Planned Match For WWE WrestleMania 41 Revealed
- Popular Former WWE Tag Team Reunite At AEW Star’s Event
- Alexa Bliss Comments On Bray Wyatt WWE Royal Rumble Tribute